The Royal Netherlands Army ordered 445 Leopard 2 tanks on 2 March 1979, making them the first export customer of the Leopard 2.
Deliveries began in July 1981. The minor differences between the Dutch Leopard 2NL and the West German Leopard 2A4 were that the Dutch version included locally produced equipment, FN MAG machine-guns and a passive night driving periscope.