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Gepard

In July 2022, Germany supplied 30 decommissioned Gepards. By the way, 30 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks were currently in service with the Armed Forces. These antiaircraft guns were developed in the 1970s in Germany to counter low-flying, armored attack helicopters, such as the Russian (then-Soviet) Mil Mi-24. They also seem to be effective in engaging small targets, such as Iranian-made kamikaze drones that Russia uses.

Germany intends to provide Ukraine with 45 more Gepard, or Cheetah, anti-aircraft tanks by the end of the 2023 in its defensive struggle against Russia. The plan was announced by the head of the Ukraine Situation Center of the German Defense Ministry, Brigadier General Christian Freuding, in the June 25 edition of the newspaper Die Welt. A total of 34 Gepards have been delivered, and 15 more would be added in the coming weeks. "In addition, we want to deliver up to another 30 Gepard tanks towards the end of the year in cooperation with the US," Freuding said.

The Flakpanzer Gepard (Flakpanzer is a German term for a tank-based antiaircraft vehicle) can spot targets up to 15 kilometers away and engage them within 6 kilometers. The Minister of Defense of Germany noted that the Gepard armed forces are effectively demonstrating themselves in Ukraine.

The Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is based on the chassis of the Leopard 1 tank and has two Oerlikon KDA automatic guns that can fire up to 1,100 rounds per minute. It is effective against air targets and even in battles with armored vehicles, since it has the appropriate ammunition.

Gepard was created to protect ground troops from aviation. The Gepard radars allow to detect targets at a distance of up to 15 kilometers, track them and destroy them effectively. At the same time, these anti-aircraft guns are able to distinguish between enemy and own aircraft, which allows you to avoid "friendly fire".

Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled installation is designed to cover ground troops, destroy air targets at inclined ranges from 100 m to 4 km and at heights of up to 3 km, flying at a speed of up to 350-400 m/s, as well as ground and surface targets with with a range of up to 4500 meters. Gepard is built on the Leopard tank chassis. The unit has been manufactured by the Krauss-Maffei company since the mid-70s.

Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems have shown themselves positively in the hands of the Ukrainian military, and Germany wanted to ‘find’ more of these systems for Ukraine, as the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports. And in this case, we are talking about the 15 Gepard air defense systems that are in Qatar – at one time the country purchased these installations to provide security for stadiums during the World Cup, while now they can go to Ukraine to help shoot down more Russian missiles and UAVs.

Germany officially discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar the possibility of purchasing these 15 anti-aircraft self-propelled guns, as well as receiving ammunition from Qatar. As the newly appointed Minister of Defense of Germany, Boris Pistorius, notes, these ‘anti-aircraft tanks’ demonstrated themselves well in the war in Ukraine, and a larger number of such weapons ‘would definitely help the Ukrainians.’

By February 2022 Ukraine had already received 32 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns from Germany. The list of the assistance transferred to Ukraine on the German government’s website was updated 08 February 2023 This time, two more Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and 6.000 rounds of ammunition were shipped to the frontline.

Besides Gepards, Germany also provided approximately 6,000 rounds of ammunition. On top of that, another 12,000 rounds were initially on hold. Germany bought these from Switzerland some decades ago on the condition that Switzerland would have a veto over future resale or donation. Initially, requests to lift the veto were rejected. However, February 2022 this country decided to somewhat disregard its neutrality and lift the taboo on the re-export of some items.

Germany will send another 45 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns to the Kyiv authorities in 2023, and will continue to strengthen Ukraine's air defense systems with IRIS-T systems. This was stated in an interview published on 24 June 2023 in the newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag , General Christian Freuding, head of the working group for coordinating assistance to Ukraine under the German Defense Ministry. He said "34 Gepard installations have already been delivered, and 15 more will be added in the coming weeks. In addition, we will send 30 more in cooperation with the United States towards the end of the year". According to him, it is in the means of air defense that Ukraine now needs the most. "We are doing everything we can. But does Ukraine have enough air defense systems? Definitely not," the general added.