First mechanized infantry unit of Greek army is now equipped with German Marder 1A3 IFVs.

According to information published by German company Rheinmetall on November 23, 2022, As part of another backfill activity commissioned by the German government, Rheinmetall is supplying Marder 1A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Greece. The first units of these Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles were presented as part of the parade of the Hellenic Armed Forces on the occasion of the national holiday on October 28th, 2022, in Thessaloniki.
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Rheinmetall Marder 1A3 IFV for Army of Greece. (Picture source Rheinmetall)

The backfill activity is a procedure developed by the German government to support Ukraine in its efforts against the Russian invasion in cooperation with its European neighbors and NATO partners. NATO partners hand over equipment from former Soviet production to Ukraine and receive available systems from Western production in return. Rheinmetall is already involved in ring exchanges with the Czech Armed Forces as well as with the Slovak Armed Forces, here with Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks.

The Hellenic Armed Forces, for their part, are giving BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicles of Soviet design and other military equipment for support to Ukraine and are receiving Marder 1A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles in exchange. In addition to the delivery of the Infantry Fighting Vehicles, an ammunition package, an integrated service package including training services, and a spare parts package will also be provided by the Bundeswehr and Rheinmetall. Deliveries should be completed by the end of 2023.

The vehicles provided are overhauled Marder 1A3 from former Bundeswehr stocks. These Marder 1A3s have been repaired at Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH at their own expense since spring 2022 at the Unterlüß site so that they are ready for immediate use. The first vehicles were loaded on October 11, 2022, at the Rheinmetall site in Unterlüß and transported to Greece.

The Marder is an Infantry Fighting Vehicle based on tracked armored chassis, which was developed for the German Armed Forces and is still in use, is one of the most proven weapon systems of its kind in the world. The vehicle was modernized several times in the course of its use and its combat value increased.

German army Marder 1A3 tracked armored IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The Marder 1A3 is an upgraded version of the Marder family of tracked armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV). The first upgraded vehicles were delivered to the German army on 17 November 1989. The vehicle is still in service with the German army.

The Marder 1A3 is fitted with a two-man turret with the commander on the right and the gunner on the left. The turret is armed with one 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 automatic cannon mounted externally. The second armament of the Marder 1A3 includes one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun MG3 mounted to the right of the main armament. Two banks of three electrically operated 76 mm smoke grenade dischargers are mounted between the coaxial machine gun and the gun.

The design of the Marder 1A3 IFV conists of three main parts with the driver seat at the front of the hull on the left side, the engine compartment to the right of the driver, a two-man turret mounted in the forward part of the roof, and the troop's compartment at the rear which can accomodate up to six infantrymen.

The all-welded steel hull of the standard Marder 1 provides the crew with protection from small arms fire and shell splinters, with the front of the vehicle giving complete protection from 20 mm armor-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) projectiles. The Marder 1A3 is fitted with a new armor package providing protection against 30mm cannon ammunition.