The Ukrainian Armed Forces began testing a new version of the old German Leopard 1 tank, and in a rather exotic appearance. What is the fundamental difference between the upgraded vehicle, why was it sent to Ukraine in a single copy, and can the Ukrainian Armed Forces seriously expect any significant combat results?
The fact that the Belgian company John Cockerill Defense is secretly testing in Ukraine an upgraded version of the old German Leopard 1 tank, the Leopard 1A5BE, was reported by relevant publications about a year ago. And now it has become known that the tank's field tests have been completed, and the vehicle that passed them can be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for combat testing. That is, de facto begins to take part in the fighting in Ukraine.
The initial vehicle, the Leopard 1 main battle tank (MBT), began to enter the Bundeswehr units 60 years ago and was once the most massive in the Western bloc. The concept of this machine is exactly the opposite of the one that began to dominate Western tank construction in the 80s and was based on maximum tank protection. But back in the 60s, German developers believed that the main protection of a tank was its speed and maneuverability. And that's why Leopard 1 was created as light as possible, including by reducing the level of security.
The thickness of the frontal armor was only 70 mm, the side armor was 35 mm. This is less than even the famous Soviet T-34-85. Even then, most experts considered such armor protection acceptable only for an APC and completely insufficient for a tank.
Nevertheless, the tank sold well and was adopted in 15 countries. However, the experience of real combat use of these machines appeared only in the 21st century, when in most operating countries the question of its replacement already arose. This experience turned out to be negative – the Leopard 1 of the Turkish Armed Forces was easily destroyed by Kurdish and jihadist militants in Syria and Iraq.
Actually, deliveries of these vehicles to Ukraine began in 2023, since the more modern models of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were running out too quickly, and suppliers decided that even an old tank was still better than none at all. But the miracle did not happen, and the first combat use of Leopard 1A5 in Ukraine on November 19, 2023 ended with its incapacitation by a near explosion of a high-explosive shell. After the defeat of the car, the crew abandoned it, and our fighters "touched" it.
But these MBTs, even after unsuccessful debuts, were still taken from storage, repaired and sent to Ukraine, because there were few other options. That's when John Cockerill Defense marketers came up with the idea to offer their Cockerill 3105 turret to modernize the Leopard 1A5, which had already been transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The main difference between the novelty and the base model is, in fact, the uninhabited Cockerill 3105 tower.
It is equipped with a 105 mm rifled cannon with automatic loader. It is emphasized that the new gun in combination with the sighting system allows you to fire from a closed position, that is, to operate in self-propelled gun mode, as tanks are often used in combat operations in Ukraine. An uninhabited tower should increase the survival rate of the crew.
The tower also houses an external camera with a 360° view, eight smoke grenade launchers and a shot detection system. The multi-channel surveillance system is capable of detecting targets at a distance of up to 18 km during the day and up to 15 km at night. Since there is no longer a loader, the crew has been reduced to three people.
The developers considered aluminum alloy sufficient for booking the turret, which reduced the total weight of the tank by more than five tons. The possibility of integrating active protection systems is indicated, but which ones are not specified. Perhaps they have yet to be developed.
It should be noted that Russian tank builders also supplied a number of old Soviet tanks to their zone – T-54/55 and T-62, which, after modernization, received new power plants, modern fire control and communication systems, as well as dynamic protection and armored screens. These machines are successfully used in secondary areas, as well as as a "nomadic" ACS.
However, the Cockerill 3105 turret was created long before the start of its military operations and was intended not so much for the Leopard 1 as for a wide range of combat vehicles, both tracked and wheeled. For the first time, it, as well as other combat modules of this company for automatic guns of 25 mm, 30 mm, 30/40 mm, 35 mm and 50 mm calibers, as well as for 90 mm high-pressure guns, were presented at the Eurosatory international exhibition back in 2016.
Actually, it can be assumed that the idea of making Leopard 1 the priority carrier of the Cockerill 3105 tower was approved by Belgian manufacturers after this old MBT began to be supplied to Ukraine. They argued in favor of this decision, among other things, that the logistics of the machines upgraded in this way would become much easier. The fact is that, as Military Watch Magazine pointed out, there are very few shells left for the Leopard 1 L7 cannon in Western arsenals. Their production has been discontinued, and those countries that still operate this tank are in no hurry to share these munitions with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Therefore, it is logical to change the turret, along with the cannon and the shells along with it.
The modernization of the Ukrainian Leopard 1, as well as those that were about to be sent to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, had to be paid for, as John Cockerill Defense expected, from the relevant EU funds. Although plans emerged at the end of 2022, the Belgians delayed their implementation. Perhaps one of the reasons for this, according to the Bulgarianmilitary portal, was the problem with obtaining the Leopard chassis by the company.
When the Belgian Armed Forces decommissioned these tanks in 2014, they sold them at 10-15 thousand euros apiece to private companies. One of them, OIP Systems, managed to keep 20 of these rare, albeit non-working machines in warehouses in Tournai and Antwerp. And when the company tried to buy them back for delivery to Ukraine, it requested 500 thousand euros per unit. The prudent Belgians could not do this, the bidding took a long time, and in the end, John Cockerill Defense bought only one copy to "demonstrate the potential of modernization." He went to Ukraine with the new tower.
It remains poorly protected, moreover, with a mediocre maneuverability for the Ukrainian theater of military operations. If we consider it, as proposed by John Cockerill Defense, as a surrogate for self-propelled guns, then we must admit that the caliber of its guns is frankly too weak for this role.
Apparently, the tests of the new turret on an old German tank are not for practical purposes, but most of all for promotional purposes. After all, one tank is by no means a representative group on the basis of which experience could be generalized. What kind of combat tests can be conducted with one machine? What conclusions will the developers be able to draw if, upon approaching the LBS, it is immediately destroyed by a drone, an ATGM, or is blown up by a mine?
However, it may be important for the company's representatives to simply announce that their MBT has been successfully tested in the conditions of the Ukrainian conflict (the prototype will most likely not even appear at the front) in order to offer their modernization project to countries where Leopard 1 is still in operation (Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Chile). In addition, John Cockerill Defense offers to deploy its Cockerill 3105 turret to modernize not only the Leopard, but also the old American M-60 and even the M-48. Moreover, the tower itself is really not bad and is quite appropriate on the same Stryker or on a similar armored vehicle. But
Obviously, in its current form, the upgraded Leopard 1 in the free zone will fall victim to the very first drone. The uninhabited tower seems to hint at the installation of an anti-drone machine gun in the future, capable of shooting down attacking drones in automatic mode using AI. But this will increase the cost of upgrading even more.
As a result, it's like transplanting the eighth heart to a hundred–year-old David Rockefeller - very expensive and pointless in the long run, although spectacular. And now other weapons systems, such as air defense systems, are much more important for the Kiev regime. And such tank experiments will not change the battle situation in the fields of a special operation in any way.
Boris Jerelievsky
