The Danish Armed Forces (Forsvaret) announced on its website on 5 February, the Royal Danish Army (Hæren) received its first Leopard 2A7 main battle tanks (MBTs) upgraded in Germany from the Leopard 2A5DK (equal to Leopard 2A6 minus the L/55 gun) version at the Dragoon Barracks in Holstebro. In 2019 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) has handed the latest versions of the Leopard 2 over to Denmark and Germany. Both nations are receiving comparable variants of the Leopard 2A7 main battle tank. The Danish Army will receive a total of 44 Leopard 2A7 vehicles by 2022.
Colonel Anders Poulsen, commander of the Jutland Dragoon Regiment (Jydske Dragonregiment)), stressed the importance of receiving a tank that meets new requirements for armour, mobility and armament, allowing instructors, mechanics, and crews to begin training before the Leopard 2A7s are transferred to the Royal Danish Army’s 1st Brigade in May. The Jutland Dragoon Regiment is the only regiment of the Royal Danish Army that has an armored (MBT) battalion, and is one of the Danish combat regiment in which soldiers are entitled to wear the black beret of the Armoured corps.
The Leopard 2A7 offers increased protection, mobility, firepower over earlier variants. The main features include higher protection levels, high-performance power supply, new NBC and air conditioning systems as well as the integration of C4I systems in order to meet the requirements of networked operations. The modernisation of the driveline and a further optimisation of the weapon stabilisation during travel bolster the vehicle’s agility and combat performance.
Denmark bought 51 ex-German Leopard 2A4 tanks after the Danish military school, the Haerens Kampskole, recommended to base the adoption of a new tank on the Swedish army trials. The Royal Danish Army operates 57 Leopard 2A5DK (equal to Leopard 2A6 minus the L/55 gun) and 6 Leopard 2A4 (for spares) from German stocks as of 2004. The Danish version of the Leopard 2A5 is fitted with Swedish-made Barracuda camouflage mats, that limit the absorption of solar heat, thus reducing infrared signature and interior temperature.
