Germany offers two more Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.

According to the German government's website on March 7, the Federal Government will offer two additional Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to the Ukrainian army, keeping its support to the Ukrainian military in close coordination with its partners and allies. Hereunder is a list that presents an overview of lethal and non-lethal German military support for Ukraine. It includes deliveries from the Federal Armed Forces, as well as supplies from German industry financed from the Federal Government’s funds for so-called security capacity building.
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Germany will have offered 34 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine (Picture source: KMW)

Funding for the security capacity building initiative amounts to a total of 2.2 billion Euros for the year 2023 (after 2 billion Euros for 2022). The funds are to be used primarily to support Ukraine. At the same time, they will be used to finance Germany’s increased mandatory contributions to the European Peace Facility (EPF), which in turn goes towards reimbursing EU member states for costs incurred to them in providing support for Ukraine.

Gepard anti-aircraft tank

A few words about the Gepard, as two additional units given by Germany will reach Ukraine soon. Developed in 1968 and fielded in the 1970s, the Gepard Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer (German for anti-aircraft tank) was the lynchpin of Germany’s air defenses until it was phased out in 2010. Manufacturer KMW has retained a number of these tanks. Though it is called a tank, the Gepard is more a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), essentially a mobile vehicle with dedicated anti-aircraft capability.

Gepard has been developed on the tracked chassis of the Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank (MBT), and its anti-air ammunition has been made in Switzerland for its main armament, which is a twin 35 mm Oerlikon GDF autocannon that fires at 1,100 rounds a minute. Each 35 mm gun has 320 rounds of ready-to-fire anti-air ammunition and 20 rounds of anti-ground target ammunition.

The German Army had ordered 450 Gepards, the Belgians 55, and the Dutch Army, for which the version is known as Cheetah as it is fitted with a different radar, ordered 95. While the tank no longer serves any of these armies, it had been repeatedly upgraded during its service life, with the integration of C3 capabilities, improved target engagement, extended combat range, and superior self-protection, all of which enhanced its strike capability against combat aircraft and helicopters, remote-controlled missiles, and rockets. Chile had procured 30 ex-German Gepards in 2008, while a surplus 43 had been donated to the Romanian Army in 2004. The tank is moreover still in service with Romania, Brazil, Jordan and Qatar.

Gepard of the Romanian army displayed at BSDA 2018 defense exhibition in Bucharest (Picture source: Army Recognition)

German-delivered military support to Ukraine as of March 7, 2023

• 34 (before: 32) Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns including circa 59.000 rounds of 35mm ammunition*
• 4,000 rounds of practice ammunition for Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns
• 122 border protection vehicles* (before: 120)
• 30 mobile antenna mast systems* (before: 24)
• 270 generators
• 60 drone detection systems*
• 9 bridge-laying tanks Beaver on Leopard chassis*
• 120,000 first aid kits*
• 28 Mercedes-Benz Zetros trucks *
• 10 winter camouflage nets
• 26 load-handling trucks 15t*
• 32 frequency range extensions for anti-drone devices*
• 10 roll-off containers
• Iris-T SLM air defense systems and missiles*
• 3 mobile, remote controlled and protected mine clearing systems*
• 8 mobile and protected mine clearing systems*
• 40 laser target designators* (before: 20)
• 12 truck tractor trains and 4 semi-trailers*
• 145 Pick-ups*
• 168 mobile heating systems*
• 20 rocket launchers 70mm on Toyota pick-up trucks with rockets*
• 15 armored recovery vehicles Bergepanzer 2 Büffel*
• 12 Oshkosh M1070 tank transporter tractors*
• 7 tracked and remote-controlled infantry vehicles for support tasks*
• 35 load-handling Rheinmetall MAN 8x8 trucks
• 26 reconnaissance drones*
• 36 ambulances*
• 36.400 wool blankets
• 12 heavy-duty trailer trucks*
• 55 anti-drone sensors and jammers*
• 6 lift trucks*
• 60,000 rounds of ammunition of 40mm caliber*
• 18,500 rounds of 155mm caliber
• 50 MRAP Dingo vehicles
• 10 unmanned surface vessels*
• 14,000 sleeping bags
• Mi-24 helicopter spare parts*
• ammunition for multiple rocket launchers MARS II
• spare parts for M2 heavy machine guns
• 30 MG3 machine guns for armored recovery vehicles
• 100 MG3 machine gun with 500 spare barrels and breechblocks
• 17 heavy and medium bridge systems*
• 5 multiple rocket launchers MARS II with ammunition
• 14 self-propelled howitzers Panzerhaubitze 2000 (joint project with the Netherlands)
• 200 tents
• 116.000 winter jackets
• 80.000 winter trousers
• 240.000 winter hats
• 405,000 pre-packaged military Meals Ready
• 67 fridges for medical material*
• COBRA counter-battery radar system
• 54 M113 armored personnel carriers (systems of Denmark, upgrades financed by Germany)*
• 3,000 anti-tank weapons Panzerfaust 3 with 900 firing devices
• 14,900 anti-tank mines (9,300* from industry stocks)
• 500 FIM-92 Stinger Man Portable Air Defense Systems
• 2,700 Strela Man Portable Air Defense Systems
• 22 million rounds of ammunition for firearms
• 50 bunker-buster missiles
• 100,000 hand grenades
• 5,300 explosive charges
• 100,000 m detonating cord and 100.000 detonators
• 350,000 detonators
• 10 anti-drone guns*
• 12 electronic anti-drone devices*
• 100 auto-injector devices
• 28,000 combat helmets
• 15 palettes of military clothing
• 280 various vehicles (trucks, minibusses, all-terrain vehicles)
• 6 palettes of material for explosive ordnance disposal
• 125 binoculars
• 1 field hospital (joint project with Estonia)*
• 1,200 hospital beds
• medical material (inter alia backpacks, compression bandages)
• 18 palettes of medical material, 60 surgical lights
• protective clothing, surgical masks
• 600 safety glasses
• 1 radio frequency system
• 3,000 field telephones with 5,000 cable reels and carrying straps
• 353 night-vision goggles*
• 38 laser range finders*
• 165 field glasses*
• Diesel and gasoline (ongoing deliveries)*
• 10 tons AdBlue*
• 500 medical gauzes*
• MiG-29 spare parts*
• 30 protected vehicles*
• 7,944 man-portable anti-tank weapons RGW 90 Matador*
• 6 mobile decontamination vehicles HEP 70, including decontamination material
• 10 HMMWV/Humvees (8x ground radar capability, 2x jamming/anti drone capability)*
• 7 radio jammers*
• 8 mobile ground surveillance radars and thermal imaging cameras*
• 1 high-frequency unit with equipment*

Military support to Ukraine in planning/in execution

Due to security concerns, the Federal Government abstains from providing details on transportation modalities and dates until after the handover.

• 20 bridge-laying tanks BEAVER* (before: 7)
• 500 pistols SFP9
• 18 Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks with ammunition (joint project with further Leopard 2 operators)
• 2 Bergepanzer 3 armored recovery vehicles
• 300.000 rounds of Gepard ammunition (35mm)
• 2 air surveillance radars*
• 78 truck tractor trains and 86 semi-trailers*
• 40 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles with ammunition (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)
• Patriot air defense system with missiles
• 20 mobile antenna mast systems*
• 80,000 first aid kits*
• 114 reconnaissance drones*
• 1 Oshkosh M1070 tank transporter tractor *
• 17 mobile heating systems*
• 18 wheeled self-propelled howitzers RCH 155*
• 60 drone detection systems*
• 2 hangar tents*
• 7 load-handling trucks 8x6 with 18 roll of containers*
• 3 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft tanks*
• 7 tracked and remote-controlled infantry vehicles for support tasks*
• 6 mobile and protected mine clearing systems*
• Iris-T SLM missiles*
• 42 mine clearing tanks*
• 5 mobile reconnaissance systems (on vehicles) *
• 378 border protection vehicles*
• 1,020 projectiles 155mm*
• 156,000 rounds ammunition 40mm*
• 5 armored engineer vehicles*
• 3 heavy and medium bridge systems*
• 16 self-propelled howitzer Zuzana 2* (joint project with Denmark and Norway)
• 78 heavy-duty trailer trucks*
• 3 air defense system IRIS-T SLM*
• 12 communications electronic scanner/jammer systems*
• field hospital (role 2)*
• 8 frequency range extensions for anti-drone devices*
• 2 tractors and 4 trailers*
• 10 protected vehicles*
• vehicle decontamination system
• 5,032 man-portable anti-tank weapons*
• 172 trucks*

The total value of individual licenses issued by the Federal Government for the export of military goods in the period from January 1, 2022, to March 6, 2023 amounts to 2.666.400.040 Euro. The total license value includes the goods listed above insofar as their export is subject to licensing requirements under German foreign trade laws. This is not the case for all of the goods listed above. In order to speed up the processing of certain deliveries, the Federal Government has also eased certain licensing processes, e.g. with regard to military protective goods. These deliveries are also not included in the total license value. The values stated for used material from the German Armed Forces are also based on current values which can be significantly lower than the corresponding values for new or replacement goods. The total license value includes the goods regardless of how their procurement and delivery were financed. For security reasons, the Federal Government does not provide further details until the goods have been delivered.

* Deliveries from industry stocks financed by German funds for security capacity building. Some of the deliveries require upgrades or production is ongoing; also training measures are taking place.

Defense News March 2023