Ukrainian Leopard 1 Tank Survived A Dozen Drone Strikes: Report

One of Ukraine’s Cold War-era Leopard 1 main battle tanks survived as many as a dozen hits from Russian first-person view (FPV) attack drones, according to Ukrainian sources. The incident underscores the proliferation of this particular threat on the battlefield but also points to the effectiveness of the ‘up-armored’ version of the venerable Leopard 1, examples of which have received a variety of different protective measures in Ukrainian service.

A video published by the Ukrainian Militarnyi news outlet shows the tank in question, repeatedly being struck by drones, in a compilation of footage taken from original Russian sources. While it’s hard to say with certainty that we are seeing the same tank throughout the video, in the first part, at least, the same tank is seen from the perspective of multiple drones in the same location, parked among trees. We then see what’s purportedly the same vehicle moving along a tree-lined road, where it’s again targeted on multiple occasions.

According to Ukrainian sources, the tank, a Leopard 1A5, survived no fewer than a dozen hits from the quadcopter-type FPV drones.

The tank was first detected by Russian forces while stationary in a treeline. In this position, the Leopard 1 was targeted by five FPV drones. “The tank withstood three hits to the frontal part, as well as two more to the left side and rear of the hull,” Militarnyi reports.

After that, the tank moved away from its initial position on the treeline and began to move along a road. Here it stopped for some reason and came under attack again. It took another three drone hits, apparently to the hull above the engine and transmission compartment. This was still not enough to immobilize it, and it began to move forward again, after which “two subsequent hits to the same spot stopped the tank and probably caused a fire.”

It’s unclear what happened to the tank crew, but the Ukrainian report suggests that they likely escaped from the tank before it was put out of action, noting that most of the hits were not to the crew compartments and the time interval between the drones’ arrivals was sufficient for the soldiers to evacuate.

Provided the crew did escape, their survival was certainly helped by the additional protective measures that have been added to the Leopard 1s by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Main Armored Directorate.

The most obvious of these modifications in the video is the ‘cope cage’ structure over the turret. These overhead metal screens have become a trademark of Ukrainian and Russian vehicles fighting in Ukraine and are intended to deflect FPV ‘kamikaze’ drones as well as drone-dropped mortars. Further protection is provided by netting, draped over the cage.

The up-armored Leopard 1 also features nets elsewhere as well as grille-type slat armor over the more vulnerable rear part of the hull. Slat armor is designed to protect against the shaped charges in many anti-tank rounds, which need to detonate at certain distances from the target to be most effective. In the meantime, shaped charges and repurposed anti-tank projectiles are common payloads for FPV drones, as well.

Leopard-1A5V of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment pic.twitter.com/Eq2iZsZenD

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(@TheDeadDistrict) January 13, 2025

Leopard-2A4V of the 155th Brigade. Tank is equipped with K-1 ERA and folded cope cage. pic.twitter.com/k4JOhP3mBa

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(@TheDeadDistrict) January 22, 2025

Finally, and not so apparent in the video, due to the low resolution, are the explosive reactive armor (ERA) bricks that have been added to Leopard 1s, and other Ukrainian tanks, and which provide a defense against penetrating anti-tank munitions like high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) and armor-piercing rounds. ERA functions by detonating on impact before the round hits the tank’s hull. The counter-blast effect can disrupt the weapon’s effects or destroy it outright.

In the past, we have seen Ukrainian tanks, including Western-supplied ones, covered with an extensive outer layer of Soviet-era Kontakt ERA bricks, also used by Russia to enhance the protection of a range of different platforms.

Were it not for these measures, “the basic version of the Leopard would most likely have been destroyed by the first hits along with the crew,” the Militarnyi report contends.

After all, the original Leopard 1 developed in the 1960s was designed to provide protection against very different kinds of threats than those encountered on the battlefield in Ukraine, primarily the main guns of enemy tanks and anti-tank guns.

Other, non-kinetic defensive measures have also been added to fighting vehicles used by both Ukraine and Russia, although the Leopard 1 in the video was apparently not fitted with any kind of electronic warfare equipment to disrupt the control systems of the attacking drones. While this likely reflects the limited availability of these kinds of systems, it should also be noted that Russia is making increasing use of FPV drones controlled using fiber-optic cables, which cannot be disrupted by Ukrainian jamming.

Evading FPV drones is now frequently essential for survival in the Russia-Ukraine war and we have previously profiled some other standout incidents, including the Russian T-80 tank that came under sustained attack by a succession of explosive-laden FPV drones before apparently making good its escape. You can see the video of that engagement embedded below.

As for the Leopard 1, Germany first announced that it would transfer these to Ukraine in early 2023, providing examples that it had withdrawn many years ago and then held in storage. These were refurbished before being delivered and were also joined by further examples drawn from Belgian and Dutch stocks. The first of these tanks had begun to arrive in Ukraine in the summer of 2023.

By providing additional protection, using the package developed by the Main Armored Directorate, Ukraine has demonstrated that the old Leopard 1 can still play a useful role on the battlefield, although its presence also reflects the limited numbers of more modern tanks that Ukraine has available. While 155 Leopard 1s have been made available to Ukraine so far, the country only received 31 U.S.-supplied M1A1 Abrams and 29 Leopard 2A4s.

A recent video shows a Ukrainian Leopard 1 engaging Russian soldiers hiding out in a ruined building in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.:

The Leopard 1 is no longer used by Germany, but there are significant numbers available from storage depots. However, the issue of securing ammunition for the older tank’s 105mm rifled main gun could be difficult to resolve in the long term.

For now, however, the Leopard 1 remains very much in the thick of the action on the front lines. This recent video provides a remarkable demonstration of the resilience of the tank, once it has been provided with additional Ukrainian-sourced protective measures and once again highlights the ever-present threat of FPV drones on the battlefield.

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