Ukraine Tests Radical Leopard 1 Upgrade With Unmanned Turret and Indirect Fire Capability

Ukraine continues testing a modified Leopard 1A5 tank fitted with the Belgian Cockerill 3105 unmanned turret, with the platform expected to be deployed to the front line after ongoing trials.

According to Defense Express on March 16, representatives of Belgian defense company John Cockerill said at the BEDEX 2026 arms exhibition in Belgium that the upgraded Leopard 1 is currently undergoing evaluation in Ukraine.

Company officials indicated that the trials are progressing positively and that a Ukrainian unit operating the vehicle is expected to move to a combat zone on March 16.

The manufacturer has also proposed upgrading Ukraine’s entire fleet of Leopard 1 tanks with the same turret system.

The Cockerill 3105 is an unmanned turret armed with a 105 mm Cockerill HP gun and a digital fire control system designed to increase targeting flexibility.

According to Defense Express, the manufacturer claims that one of the system’s key capabilities is the ability to conduct indirect fire from covered positions, which the company describes as a feature not commonly available on Western tanks.

However, the outlet notes that in practice many tanks can perform indirect fire missions when supported by drone-based targeting and digital battlefield systems such as Ukraine’s “Kropyva” artillery coordination software. Leopard 1 tanks supplied to Ukraine have previously been used in such roles.

The turret also increases the gun’s elevation angle, which is important for indirect fire tasks, and incorporates a modern fire control system designed to strike targets beyond direct line of sight.

According to Defense Express, installing the Cockerill 3105 turret requires structural modifications to the Leopard 1 hull, including enlarging the turret ring. This process may increase costs and extend modernization timelines.

The exact price of the upgrade program and the time required to implement it remain undisclosed. The modified configuration would also reduce the tank’s crew from four to three personnel, as the turret is operated remotely from inside the hull.

At the same time, analysts cited by Defense Express note that the modernization does not resolve the Leopard 1’s limited armor protection, which remains one of the platform’s primary weaknesses on the modern battlefield.

The proposal to modernize Leopard 1 tanks comes as Ukraine and its partners continue to assess the role of heavy armored vehicles in a battlefield environment increasingly shaped by FPV drones and loitering munitions, which have significantly increased the vulnerability of armored units.

According to Defense Express, it is not yet clear whether the upgraded Leopard 1 has already been used in combat conditions or whether testing has so far been limited to training ranges.

The report notes that references to a unit “heading to the front” suggest that the system may soon undergo its first operational deployment in Ukraine’s war against Russia.

Earlier, Ukraine deployed Australian-supplied M1A1 Abrams tanks equipped with additional armor and anti-drone modifications near the frontline city of Pokrovsk. According to the 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skala,” the vehicles were fitted with Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor and improvised anti-drone netting to counter FPV drone threats before entering combat operations in eastern Ukraine.

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