Ukrainian Assault Battalion Equipped with Marder 1A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

The soldiers of the 225th Separate Assault Battalion have recently been equipped with German Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles. This update was announced on the unit’s official page. It is estimated that the unit received a batch of 20 vehicles, transferred by Germany in July this year.
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German Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles. (Picture source: 225th Separate Assault Battalion)

With this acquisition, the 225th Separate Assault Battalion becomes the fourth unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to be equipped with these infantry fighting vehicles. The Marder 1A3 is already in use by the 25th Airborne Brigade, the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, and, more recently, the 100th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces.

According to public estimates from the Oryx project, Germany, along with Denmark, has transferred a total of 120 Marder combat vehicles to Ukraine and is preparing to send an additional 20 units. Before shipment, these used German infantry fighting vehicles undergo major repairs and modernization at Rheinmetall’s facilities in Unterluss and Kassel.

Last month, Rheinmetall established a repair and maintenance process for these vehicles in Ukraine at local facilities. This initiative aims to significantly reduce logistical challenges and simplify the process of repairing damaged equipment.

The Marder 1A3 is an infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured in Germany. It is armed with a 20mm MK 20 Rh202 automatic cannon, a 7.62mm MG3 coaxial machine gun, and a MILAN anti-tank guided missile launcher. In terms of protection, this vehicle offers standard protection against small arms fire of 7.62mm caliber and shell splinters. With the new armor package of the Marder 1A3, it can also withstand 30mm cannon ammunition.

Used by countries such as Chile, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Jordan, and recently Ukraine, the Marder 1A3 weighs 33,500 kg. The vehicle can reach a speed of 65 km/h and has a range of 500 km. In terms of technology, it is equipped with day periscopes, passive night vision devices, thermal sights, an air conditioning system, and an NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) protection system.

The Marder 1A3 can accommodate a crew of three people plus six infantrymen. Its dimensions are 6.88 meters in length, 3.38 meters in width, and 3.015 meters in height, making it an imposing and robust vehicle on the battlefield.

In April of this year, the 225th Separate Assault Battalion was reinforced with armored vehicles manufactured in Ukraine. The soldiers received 15 Kozak-2M1 MRAP vehicles and 25 Kozak-5 armored vehicles manufactured by Practika.

In May, the soldiers of the 225th Brigade captured a Russian T-90M Proryv main battle tank. The tank was immobilized due to damage in the engine and transmission compartment, rendering it immobile. Over the next eight months, various brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces made 12 attempts to pull the tank to the rear, managing to move it but not fully evacuate it. Due to the impossibility of repair, the damaged tank was eventually transferred to the 10th Department of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine for examination.

The Marder 1A3 is an infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured in Germany. (Picture source: 225th Separate Assault Battalion)