120 mm Leopard MBT Ammunition Test Campaign in Denmark

, The performance superiority of Rheinmetall's DM 53 A1/ DM 63 120 mm tank ammunition was successfully demonstrated and confirmed during the recent test campaign in Oksboel, Denmark. 
 
The decision of the Austrian, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish and Turkish armies to procure DM 53 A1/ DM 63 120 mm tank ammunition from Rheinmetall Waffe Munition (RWM) GmbH was a direct result of the round's superior performance, successfully demonstrated in an extensive multi-year qualification programme with Leopard 2 A4, A5 and A6 weapon systems. 
 
The objective of Oksboel test campaign, conducted under the auspices of the Danish Army, was simply to prove that ammunition of various origins could be safely fired from the Leopard 2 without causing damage to the tank. Since the Leopard tanks and their targets were stationary and firing was conducted at specific ranges of 1,000 and 1,800 m, claims about heightened combat effectiveness (i.e. accuracy and lethality) are irrelevant. 
 
Moreover the Oksboel test campaign cannot be used as a proof for certification of the ammunition for the Leopard 2 tank. Only following the approval of Rheinmetall Waffe Munition being the Leopard 2 weapon manufacturer, of the tank manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and of the German Army as user, new ammunition can be certified, according to the respective NATO and German Army qualification procedures. Typically this procedure, according to Rheinmetall experience, will take two years and a remarkable quantity of rounds to be fired. On top of that an additional firing procedure has to identify the “System Error” of each tank. 
 
Rheinmetall offers DM 53 A1/ DM 63 to meet Hellenic Army's requirement for its Leopard 2 A6 HEL and Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks. 
 
In response to the RFI issued by the Hellenic MoD, Rheinmetall was the only manufacturer which submitted proven evidence regarding the DM 53 and DM 63 performance superiority and qualification results, when fired from both Leo 2 A4 (L44 gun) and Leo 2 A6 (L55 gun) tanks. As a result the relevant evaluation committee reported that only RWM products fully comply with the Hellenic Army mandatory operational requirements. 
 
Rheinmetall has also submitted a comprehensive co-production proposal which meets RFI's mandatory term for Greek Added Value in the respective ammunition. The proposal based on the experience accumulated after four years close cooperation with Hellenic Defence Systems (HDS) does not only exceed the threshold of GAV set by the RFI but also secures the success of the in-country co-production effort. This is achievable because RWM has full industrial rights ownership of the ammunition as well as German Government's license to transfer to the Hellenic industry the technologies for all ammunition parts defined in the RFI, including the high sophisticated penetrator. 
 
Rheinmetall is the world's leading manufacturer of tungsten penetrators. Among its customers is GD-OTS, which exclusively uses Rheinmetall tungsten penetrators in its KEW A1 and A2 tank ammunition. 
 
Consequently the Hellenic Army can be supplied with fully certified ammunition out of HDS co-production, at a short delivery schedule, only if Rheinmetall DM 53 A1/ DM 63 ammunition is selected.