Germany changed its position in the arms aid program to Ukraine, where previously the Bavarian State only sent individual weapons – anti-tank rockets and MANPADS missiles, the latest news from the Defense Ministers' meeting at the Ramstein military base in Germany has forced Germany to take a large part in arms supplies to Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, via the official Twitter account of the German Ministry of Defense – Verteidigungsministerium @BMVg_Bundeswehr (26/4/2022), announced that it would supply the Gepard (Flakpanzer Gepard) mobile defense system to Ukraine.
Christine Lambrecht also said Germany would double military support to Ukraine to 2 billion euros (US$2.1 billion). At the meeting, the defense ministers of the United States, Ukraine and a number of European Union countries (a total of 40 countries) discussed the need for Ukrainian weapons to increase Ukraine's defense capabilities in the face of the Russian military.
It was not reported exactly how many Gepard systems Germany would transfer to Ukraine. However, a source from Defense Express said that currently in the German defense arsenal there are about 50 Gepard units that are likely to be transferred.
The Flakpanzer Gepard is not new, and belongs to the group of self propelled anti aircraft gun (SPAAG) capable of operating in all weather conditions. With the Leopard 1 MBT platform, the Gepard was developed in the 1960s by West Germany, entered into service in the 1970s, and has been upgraded several times with the latest electronic devices.
In Germany, the Gepard was phased out in late 2010 and replaced by the Wiesel 2 Ozelot Leichtes Flugabwehrsystem (LeFlaSys) with four FIM-92 Stinger or LFK NG missile launchers.
The Gepard relies on a dome containing two 35 mm Oerlikon KDA automatic cannon barrels and two S band general search radar dishes – a range of 15 km at the rear of the dome and a tracking radar Ku band – a range of 15 km at the rear. rear of the turret, and a laser rangefinder in front between gun barrels.
Performance-wise, each cannon has a firing rate of 550 projectiles per minute, which gives a continuous fire time of 37 seconds before running out of ammunition (680 munitions for both barrels). The Oerlikon KDA 35 mm cannon has a projectile launch speed of 1,440 meters per second with munitions (FAPDS—Frangible Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot rounds), where the effective firing range is up to 5,500 meters.
The Oerlikon KDA 35 mm cannon can adopt two different types of munitions; Typical loading is a mix of 320 AA (anti aircraft) and 20 AP (armor piercing) munitions per barrel. The combined rate of fire is 1,100 projectiles per minute.
The Gepard Dome electronically relies on power from the Mercedes-Benz OM 314 4-cylinder multi-fuel engine. Meanwhile, the Leopard 1 platform is powered by the MTU multi-fuel engine, which allows the Gepard to go up to a maximum speed of 65 km per hour and can explore up to 550 km.
Currently, the Gepard is still operated by the Brazilian Army (36 units), Jordan (60 units) and Romania (43 units). All of them have the status of being used by the German Army. The Qatari government plans to acquire Gepard to protect the 2022 World Cup celebrations, which are used to counter the threat of attacks from kamikaze drones.
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