In 2011, the Netherlands sold all of its Leopard 2A5NL tanks in order to disband its tank forces entirely. However, due to the political situation, the Dutch government reconsidered this decision in 2015 and leased 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks from Germany. The vehicles received new smoke grenades and machine guns as part of the Leopard 2A6NL modification. Otherwise, they remained the same German tanks, with their main advantage being the new Rheinmetall L/55 120 mm gun. Currently, all of the tanks serve in the German-Dutch Armored Division. In September 2024, the government announced plans to supplement the tanks with new Leopard 2A8s.

The Dutch Leopard 2A6NL was introduced in Update 2.41 "Firebirds" as part of the French ground research tree. Based on the 2A5 modification, the Leopard 2A6 combines the strengths of its predecessor with an extended Rh120 L/55 gun that features improved ballistics. However, the new gun did not resolve the tank’s long-standing issues, including mediocre survivability, an inability to fire effectively rearwards, and a significant number of weak armor spots. Compared to the German Leopard 2A6, it differs in smoke grenade launchers and machine guns.