Gepard Antiaircraft Systems From Germany Target Iranian Drones Over Ukraine

Ukrainian troops say Gepard mobile antiaircraft systems donated by Germany have proven effective at stopping Russian-operated drones made in Iran. The Ukrainian crews say they can detect the drones at a distance of 16 kilometers.
Originally published at - www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russi...
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#russia #ukraine

[Matthias Kreidenweis]

As a german i can tell you that I am very proud that the Gepard is well suited to protect you. I hope you guys are doing well and the war will end soon with victory of Ukraine. May god bless you.

[Sasha Alex]

Help from german people is vital. Thank you!!!

[Daniel Lucena]

Those Guepards shooting down russian drones...priceless...Even tho they need some other anti drone systems...

[Fuzer]

@Daniel Lucena cattling guns

[John Sikes]

As a non German I am very happy that Germany seems to be finally getting its act together, and fine weapons like this will definitely put a dent in the Russian's plans, if they even have any (sometimes I'm not convinced that they do, the current obsession with Bakmut is a little weird, maybe to gain SOMETHING, anything?). IMO there are more important things the Russians should be doing right now...including actually using some of their top weaponry for something MILITARILY useful. I just mistyped plans as planes, which made it funnier, actually. Hopefully it will do some of that, too, against manned full size stuff. I can hardly wait to see some video of that occurring. :-) Cheers from the US. I will say one other thing, at least Germany isn't afraid to put a tank in. Better than we are doing, so far, in that area, but that will soon change, as it will almost certainly have too, and not in the far future. That, or somebody needs to be producing shells for Russian/Ukrainian weaponry at a scorching rate. Pretty sure they aren't. Oh, and that KF-51 of yours, that thing is to drool over. It looks more like a spacecraft inside than a tank. When the stuff around it gets integrated (other weapons, men, etc) into its systems, it is going to be a BEAST! Not that the Leopard II is any slouch. I would guess that one is similar to the highly upgraded Abrams vehicles in capabilities. It is becoming inherently obvious to me that a SERIOUS and extended anti drone capabilities be built into all of them . That should be easy peasy, especially for the stationary quad type grenade droppers, just needs to get done.

[Kimmo Koskinen]

Gotta love Gepards, also cheaper to use against drones, than waste an anti-aircraft missiles on them.

[ironman tooltime]

If a 100k missile save 1m of damage, its not a waste.

[FLYBOY]

@ironman tooltime: but If 15k in fuzed ammo shoots down 50 drones.

[John Sikes]

@FLYBOY Then "we got us a Convoy!". :-)

[ToSa 252]

@FLYBOY They said they only need 150 rounds for 50 drones.😅

[John Sikes]

@ironman tooltime If it is all that is available at the location/time, true that, but doing it cheaper and even more importantly with ammo that is more quickly replaced, is better, if available and effective...and I expect this German tank probably is if available within strike range. The even more important issue than bucks destroyed is life destroyed, since most of these drones are intended to hurt and kill civilians, directly or indirectly (power, water, etc). Anti missiles are better used against missiles, and the fewer that are used to take down drones, the better, so they are available for the tougher intercepts.

[MrCantStopTheRobot]

Although I'm a former tanker, I've always admired the Gepard. I'm glad today's remote-controlled aircraft and gliding missiles fit the profile, to renew Gepard's usefulness, protecting things.

[FJ5]

@petunized why would they show the locations of there defence on video? Russia gets instantly shelled as soon as some little street sign gets geo-located Russia could so the same to them...

[hssdiv]

@petunized here is one from yesterday's attack kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZ2qhKqhr7yeg9U

[petunized]

@hssdiv That was the one EVER, not just from yesterday attack. That's all the 30 gepards had achieved for over a month.

[petunized]

@FJ5 Gepard is mobile. They can easily move it. Oh and they show every success they can acheive. They desperately need it. For them it's mostly propaganda war.

[FJ5]

@petunized that's a lot of assuming going on there... You don't know that is the reason, stop thinking you are smarter then everybody else. Gepard is still a capable system and the 35mm if used in a anti amor role would still shred cold war tanks... It's really unlikely that they have in all that time just downed one Missile... They fired 2 salvos and hit a flying Missile, I can't imagine that they perform badly! Edit: spelling

[A. W.]

I was a Leopard2 Driver in 1989 and I could experience the Gepard in some maneuvers I took part. I sat in the Leo2 when we shot live ammunition and it's a experience of its own. But hearing the Gepard firing his two 35mm Cannons made me Goosebumps. Holy Christ, the Sound is terryfiying. P.S. At this time there were more than 400!! Gepards in Service in the German Army and more than 2500 Leopard 2.

[David Quak]

In 1989 we still had leopard 1.

[LVPN 0]

More successful would be sending Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Tom Cruise to fight in Ukraine, they are far more efficient than all that overpriced gear

[K Cuzz]

I have so much respect for the Ukrainian soldiers. They have had to learn so much in such a short amount of time to hold back and push back the Russians. You all rock! Glory to Ukraine!

[John Sikes]

And they've gotten to the point where they are teaching the countries that developed some of these weapons new and better ways to use them. I have seen multiple NATO member generals, including US, say exactly that. As absurd as it sounded, dragging that missile out into the ocean to get the range they needed from what they had available worked. That's some goofy genius, right there. I helped design some weapons for a defense manufacturer, and related back that would have gotten a WTH out of me...and then something like "nice". The Ukrainians REALLY think outside the boxes. The mother of invention, and all that. You can also turn some of this knowledge around to use as a developer of said weapons to add features to support some of that usage more readily, fix deficiencies found, etc., if the design company is so inclined. And yes, I have heard they come up the learning curves very fast. There it is the fact that the Wolf is motivated, while the rabbit is committed. Luckily in Ukraine the Wolf doesn't even seem to be to motivated, for the most part, and when you look at the overwhelming advantage they have in weapons and ammo, in some cases the ONLY ones with certain weapons, like long range missiles and cruise missiles, it is a good thing. The Ukrainians are great, but the Russians making a mess of most of this is good, too. But don't let anybody tell you they are totally incompetent, the real military, anyway (conscripts with no previous experience and no training, not enough to matter anyway, probably mostly are). In some areas there are massive Ukrainian casualties, and the Ukrainian civilian casualties, when all is said and done are going to be staggering, I expect. The Ukrainians actually thanked one of the military higher ups with a letter for his contribution into level of corruption going on. I think that may have been slightly before the main invasion.

[feynthefallen]

The Gepard always were my favorite tanks. They were soooo high tech and ahead of their time when they came out, and it greatly saddened me to see them mustered out. Although I wish to god they weren't needed, it is somehow deeply satisfying seeing them get to do the job they were built for after all, protecting the innocent and helpless from mindless violence. They are beautiful machines and they finally are receiving the accolades they so richly deserve.

[LVPN 0]

More successful would be sending Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Tom Cruise to fight in Ukraine, they are far more efficient than all that overpriced gear

[Atreyu]

Today it was announced that Germany wont build its ammunition in switzerland anymore since it is such an unreliable partner in terms of weapons. Really glad to see our politicians acting fast without spending months or years talking about possibilities!

[Claus-not-Santa]

Who has announced this and where?😮

[SPC]

Yeah Germany is slow in making decisions. The Gepards took 6 months since it was promised to be delivered. So much beaurocracy there. As simple as getting married is a nightmare to go through with so much red tape you had to go through.

[aeroflopper]

they need to source from the UK, its what we best at, prouducing war munitions

[chris99103]

@SPC rules and procedures are there for a reason and usually assure things working properly, this is the base of "made in germany" and why german engineering and manufacturing has always been highest standard...but sometimes things could be little quicker I agree

[73kimura]

I never thought there would come a day when I would actually feel proud of my country to deliver weapons into a war zone. Slava Ukraini

[Lennard Schneider]

Same! 🇩🇪❤️💛💙🇺🇦

[Claus-not-Santa]

And why you feel proud now??😮

[Henrik Schmidt]

@Claus-not-Santa Because Germany is doing the right thing!

[A B]

Das zeigt dir mal wie inkongruent deine vermeintliche Moral ist

[Harold Barry]

Thank you to all countries and all people who help and support Ukraine. Please Donate and help Ukraine get through this winter. Slava Ukraine.

[Sigrid qwq]

Harold, hoffentlich macht der Winter sein Ding........

[Gizzeit 🇺🇦]

@Sigrid qwq I didn't get what you meant here. For us, ukraininans, it sounds like "russian terrorists will succeed in destroying power systems and winter will force us to surrender". I hope that is _not_ what you tried to say. But if you were talking about russians will freeze in trenches - you should also know, our people will also freeze in trenches without decent support. Russia is actualy more northern country than we are, although enormous corruption in their armed forces rendered them severe shortage of proper gear. In fact, we still stand thanks to russia having corruption in much biger scale, than anyone have thought, and Ukraine is actually not as corrupted as we felt it (still far from perfect though). Otherwise it would be very straightforward invasion. Thankfully, things went the way they did. But now we _need_ all the support to push them back ASAP, because every day of war means more farthers, mothers, husbands, wifes, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who will never return to their families. We do not demand, as noone is ought to help us - but we are asking. And we are thankfull for every bit of support.

[Ádám Megyesi]

Sooner or later… you’ll loose this “war”.

[Emma Smith]

If people had more access to information about the real Ukraine, you would lose more than half of the support you are getting.

[Ouwe Stomp]

I had a friend who was commander on a Gepard, we called them 'Pruttel' in the Dutch army. He was a conscript in 1980, served 16 months as a sergeant. They had 2 teams on each Gepard so they could operate for 24 hours. It was a boy's dream serving on such a mighty AA tank.

[Miriam Weller]

It's one of the most shit anti air system there are. Not even Bundeswehr hold them in the army and they run on old crap... So even for Bundeswehr it was too crappy.

[Carl Sasau]

@Miriam Weller The Bundeswehr did not hold because politicians thought the cold war is over and a system like that was no longer needed. It was modernized before and is still one of the best anti air cannon systems in the world. Only thing important now however is, that the Ukrainians like the tank.

[WarriorPoet]

@Miriam Weller why do you think it's the most shit anti air system? Alot of countries like the netherlands, brazil and Qatar still operate them.

[Gerard Young]

@Miriam Weller Your statement is completely wrong. it has been phased out from service like many systems from the 70s and 80s. It’s actually proven itself when in service and now even more so in bringing down drones

[ForOurGood]

Finally the very long Gepard story is finding its feet and purpose in Ukraine, it really is an amazing system, I cant believe how fast it can swing around that huge turrent. As a citizen of the world, I want to give my greatest gratitude to Germany and it's people for sending so many of these systems to Ukraine, please keep sending them more! As for the Swiss, I hope they can find a way to see that the right thing to do is to send the ammunition, I don't think it needs any more explaination or justification, it just needs to be done ASAP.

[honnebombll]

With 7 more to come thats unfortunately all, there are no more Gepards in german inventory.

[Dieter Dödel]

@honnebombll ...but other nations have them and also similar systems.

[honnebombll]

@Dieter Dödel Yes of course, but its not up to us what happens with them.

[P.W. Studios]

Rheinmetall (the company that build the Gepard and its ammo) baught a new ammo-factory in spain in November. So now they can shift the ammo production for the Gepard from swiss to spain.

[jospi2]

Maybe we can get back the 15 Gepards that were send to the Football World Cup in Katar.

[Arrr Groundup]

It's interesting that an 'obsolete' piece of equipment like this has turned out to be so useful on a modern battlefield. It's incidental self defense capability is a big plus if itself is attacked by drones or missiles.

[Pou Glwa W]

The "obsolete" part of its framework is now totally computerized, completely optimizing and modernizing it for present day seek and kill.

[Frank Br]

The enemy is using equipment from the cold war area, when this tank was developed....

[jimmy neutron]

@Frank Br even so, if the radar can lock on and the target is within firing range it will still destroy anything modern flying in the sky.

[Henri Hämäläinen]

It was obsolete between 1990 and 2020 but it became useful again after drones begun to make their impact on battlefield. Modern airplanes and helicopters can kill Gepard from further away than it can shoot back so it´s not useful for its original purpose...

[jimmy neutron]

@Henri Hämäläinen twin 35mm autocannons with lock on are never out of date.

[Просто живи.]

Thanks to those machines we are able defend ourselves. Thank you, Germany.

[_/\_Sinex _/\_]

🇺🇦🤝🇩🇪

[Inner Light]

Good to see our Gepards in the Ukraine in action! 👊

[Ralf Donhill]

😻😻😻

[Sicklehead88]

@Taxes, death and trouble. nothing in particular to be honest. We are used to our tanks having big cat names ;-)

[ASTER]

Thanks allot Germany 💙💛 peace

[Inner Light]

@Taxes, death and trouble. German tanks have by historical reasons wildcat names.

[Sil ence]

Yes, i remember those Gepards from my time when i served in the military. Good to see, they are used to protect our freedom and many lives.

[Phil M]

The difference between the German crew training and Ukraine crew training is, one is practice and the other survival. You learn fast if you want to survive.

[S. G.]

I wish the soldiers to survive and also the Ukrainian people 🌻

[Lennard Schneider]

I am totally in awe of Ukranian soldiers so far. They are so quick on the uptake of all the new weapon systems, they are clever and very resourceful - and keep their humor and humanity intact. Amazing folks! Like one of the guys says: If you dont operate the Gepard's computer properly, you have to reboot the whole system which is a f*** waste of time... 😂 That's an attitude! If push comes to shove, better have Ukraine on your team 🇺🇦💙💛🇺🇦

[S. G.]

@Lennard Schneider i agree with your assessment complete. I could not express it so well.🌻

[Lofwyrf]

I think they skipped less important lessons. And skipped all the other stuff german operators having to learn. AND i don't think german soilders are trained 12 Hours a day.

[Cancun771]

I bet the 18 months are about conscripts since that is mainly what the Bundswehr had back in the day when these were front line equipment. We were not a professional army. They also thought it took 18 months to "train" us as lorry drivers. Then it got shortened more and more as the iron curtain fell and of the 12 months I actually ended up serving in '90/91, I mainly sat on my ass and was bored for half of the time. And still couldn't drive a lorry cross country to save my life, let alone shoot a gun properly because they just flat-out refused to teach us. I did learn to ride a moped cross-country though. _That_ only took two weeks since I had been doing basic moped riding for four years already.

[Bernd Rode]

Good job guys... I worked on this radar system 20 years ago as a technician... I think it's very good that the MSR 400 tracking radar with its KU band can also detect small drones. This radar system was actually built for large airplanes. If you read this. Signal transmission takes place via slip rings. They should be treated with care, then there will be no major problems. All that remains is to wish: Take care of yourselves and come back to your families in good health.

[Friend of Tellus]

May God protect and liberate Ukraine !!! Slava Ukraini !!!

[Sil ence]

The Gepard was made for "... wenn der Russe kommt".

[miwove]

That irony but true ...

[Exodon2020]

It’s fulfilling the exact same mission it was originally designed for - only a further 1,000km to the east. And I‘m pleasantly surprised by how effective it still is.

[Sebastian Rosenberg Lenda]

I know its an older weapon system, but i just love the Gepards, they are so OP.

[Enric Martinez]

well, against the Shaheds they are perfect, also against a range of other Russian aircraft and helis. And ammo is a tad cheaper than AA missiles.

[Semechki for Putin]

I think they were last upgraded in the 2000s. they were actually still very up to date when the bundeswehr got rid of them. that's why they're some of the best weapons germany has just laying around .

[Vulcano]

it's 20 ish years old. This is the 1A2 variant, not the much older B2L/1A1.

[Michael Davison]

Exactly what is needed to shoot down drones. Radar aimed Anti Aircraft Artillery. :)

[Sandy Sand]

life isn't a video game

[Kristoffer Mangila]

After years of not firing in anger, the Gepards are validating their designers' faith in them. Nice work!

[Ralf P]

I am glad to see the gepards being used for a very important task. First it looked like a kind of alibi help, but they obviously are useful. Hope my country delivers more to repell the russian army. Freedom for Ukraine 🇺🇦.

[Max Mustermann]

I was trained on the Gepard as a gunner while serving in the German armed forces in 2008. What I appreciated especially about the Gepard is its intuitive operability. A civilian could be trained to operate the turret within a few days, including gun maintenance, reamunitioning and light repairs. Moreover, due to its accuracy, we were able to hit the tiny attachment point to the string of the target sack that was pulled by a plane multiple times during one training day, so that the sack fell to the ground and had to be replaced. For a system from the cold war, it is good accuracy

[Jan Erik Lokken]

I think a Norwegian ammunition manufacturer has agreed to start new production of this special type of ammunition for these anti-aircraft guns on the Gepard.

[chris99103]

there is reliability problems with their ammuntion right now

[M. Monta]

Norwegian ammo is first class. You don’t know much about norwegian military weapons and ammunition, if you don’t know that.

[Thomas Lacornette]

Yes in June but maybe it's not enough for war consumption.

[Daniel Whyatt]

Yeah I heard this as well. Apparently they will be making the smart 35 mm shells needed for the guns. This was mentioned sometime ago now so it’s weird that it wasn’t specifically mentioned at the end of the video. That is unless there is some issue right now with the contract. Either way though, I really hope this will be happening soon. This anti-aircraft system is exactly what Ukraine needs right now, and they need as much ammunition as possible for every calibre of weapons needed. Let alone new spare parts for the vehicles that are getting worn out.

[Sindri Jóelsson]

It's NAMMO

[Matthias Wagner]

For many decades, Germans have proudly watched their "toys" like Gepard, Leopard, or Panzerhaubitze 2000 whenever being shown in the media, but they have never been more than that in our minds: Just expensive toys. It´s surreal to see them being placed into a real war now, it´s such a strange feeling. Playtime is over: Our toys have become lethal weapons of war now, as it seems...

[Special User22]

Thanks for keeping this toys in good conditions for such a big amount of time, now it saves lives of so many innocent people in Ukraine. Thx for great toys from all Ukrainians 😉

[Jan van der Meer]

Where are the leopards?

[Xander Cruz]

Every weapons developer and researcher on Earth is experiencing a golden age of data regarding the 120 years worth of weapons being used in this conflict.

[I'll Be True-Official]

rather than "lethal weapons of war" perhaps, "a vital means of saving lives from brutal weapons of war."

[Mathias Weitz]

This tank has saved a lot of lives and hasn't killed anyone.

[Web crawler]

the Gepard was vital during the Charkiw offensive where it shot down helicopters and even jets as a Gepard crew stated. I wouldn't put my hand in the fire for nobody getting killed in the process.

[Tyrson]

@Web crawler Have heared this too. Even that it was used vs ground targets since its cannons deliver morefirepower then any non battle tank and its radar was usefull to coordinate the manpads. Those drones are so slow (150 km/h?) That they can be radar tracked for minutes before getting close.

[Ben Jamin]

@Tyrson Not unrealistic, the Gepard has a special fire mode (manually aimed single shot) against ground targets and carries dedicated anti-ground-target armor piercing ammunition in separate magazines.

[John Wilkes]

I bought this kit a couple of decades ago. I was at a clear out sale and chose this over a car model. I like to know all about the models I build. When I considered this I wondered why it was off the radar. When Germany announced that they were sending these to Ukraine I found a new appreciation for this weapon system on tracks.

[Chimel31]

I would understand neutral Switzerland not selling ammo for offensive weapons, but the Gepard is a defensive anti-aircraft weapon. Besides, being "neutral" not selling defensive ammo to Ukraine means being not neutral by supporting Russia's invasion. There are only 2 camps here, and not selling weapons to both actually means supporting Russia in this case, making the Swiss Getards.

[Tracchofyre]

Gepards can also be used pro-active as battle Tank destroyers. It already have been used in Ukraine for that. It kills almost everything on the ground.

[ToSa 252]

Have you ever seen what a Gepard can do with a Russian T-tank? It looks like Swiss cheese afterwards.

[Chimel31]

@Tracchofyre Right, but that's not how Ukraine is planning on using these precious few Gepards. As I understand it's meant to be used as anti-aircraft, not deployed on the front line to attack tanks, which Ukraine can destroy in many other ways.

[Lennard Schneider]

@tosa I'd say that's not the Gepard's fault these turret throwers have alu foil armor..

[Lance Schaerer]

It's pretty deadly to see these old SPAAG back in use and to be doing as important a job as they are doing is impressive

[Inverted V12 Powerhouse]

Gepard once consider niche/obselete, now back in the light with a new role.

[Angelika Lindenau]

Upcycling

[69quato]

It's a weird thought - created at a time with attack helicopters in mind, when the idea of drones was merely sience fiction. Who'd thought back in the 70s they'd work so well in 2022.

[Flinn Gaidin]

@69quato probably the people building & using them back in the seventies thought they'd be pretty useful (yeah, there have been UAVs/drones around since then).

[LucYfYre Arch of TwiLight]

Seems like the rise in drone usage should make this system a no-brainer and begin new production and new R&D for even better systems.

[Daniel Whyatt]

Yeah, just looking at them now, it’s hard to think they were ever considered obsolete.

[Christie Osborne]

Hopefully a country with more guts than Switzerland will step up and make the shells they need for the Gepards.

[Harry Dehnhardt]

Rheinmetall bought a spanish company last week for shell production and Gepard ammo.

[B W]

You can be certain the Swiss have the guts to handle and bank billions of rubles, euros, pounds and dollars from nations that are either at war in Ukraine or assisting in it, the same as in 2 the world wars. Still, as long as the the Swiss think that they are maintaining their pristine morality, thats the main thing.

[Knietief Imdispo]

The Swiss said: "Why do the germans always blame us? And why do they even comply with the contract?"

[Jürgen Engelhardt]

As a ex-gunner and driver of Gepard i am happy to see that our Gepard´s do a helpful job and save lives! Take good care for them.

[Jakob C.]

German here, sorry that it took us so long to ramp op our support, but I am glad that we are finaly supplying aid in quantitys. Let this only be the beginning of a much more extensive support program that will hopefully segnificantly shorten the time and casualty number required for Ukrainian victory.

[Jan van der Meer]

I ve got shiploads of money. Where can I buy a leopard? An A4 will do.

[T B]

The German firm Rheinmetall has acquired the Spanish ammunition manufacturer Expal Systems SA, so as to set up production of 35-mm ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft guns in Spain, since Switzerland (the original manufacturer of the 35-mm ammo) refused to allow its product to be supplied to Ukraine (Swiss ideas of neutrality between warring parties got in the way apparently).

[primalamusica3]

Interesting! Thank you

[CDF DeSantis]

Very nice system. Ukraine needs all the help it can get against these Iranian drones. Good for Germany! The Ukrainians are so clever to be able to learn how to operate the systems on an accelerated timeframe. They don't have time to waste. Needs must. SLAVA UKRAINE!

[Peter Kim]

Oerlikon is the Swiss company that owns the patent on the ammunition. Oerlikon is owned by Rheinmetall. The ammunition design/type for the Gepard is produced in Switzerland, and is subject to Swiss arms export agreements. However, many other countries use Oerlikon 35mm AA guns, and produce ammunition under license. Rheinmetall had no need for another factory until the Swiss government decided to enforce the transfer ban. It seems the other licensees can be allowed to produce ammunition for the Gepard, but few have been willing to make the required investments, and none have been willing to invest in expanded production. The fact that Rheinmetall just bought a factory in Spain for this purpose could be one reason- why invest in new capacity when the patent owner can just do it themselves. No point competing with Rheinmetall using a license from Rheinmetall, so just use the license for its original intent- to insure supply for domestic defense.

[Nene Oribamise]

Thanks to Germany God bless 🙏

[Sigrid qwq]

Nene, God bless you, you need it more...

[Eva Lieblich꧁꧂]

Glad to see we can at least help some - Love from Germany

[Ethan Richardson]

Thank you Germany for the military support

[Rafael]

There needs to be some sort of punitive action taken against Switzerland. There is no reason whatsoever that they should be withholding defensive ammunition from Ukraine. It's an outrage.

[Huncho]

They would break international law in doing so.

[Cade Brummer]

It’s their country they can do what they want lol get over it.

[Provenly_Smarter_than_99%]

While i agree with the sentiment I dont think punishing switzerland would be wise during these volatile times. It could break european unity even more. Better just let switzerland do its own thing..

[Mimir]

@Huncho What international laws?Its only national laws in Switzerland that holds it back

[TigruArdavi]

In face of the utterly evil and state terrorism, you are no longer neutral when you stay "neutral". The Swiss may just pray never to get attacked, savy as they are, being such a small country they'd be pretty hard effed if the rest of the world did decide to stay "neutral" then. Shame on the Swiss government. Hope we find a quick solution to the ammo issue. Glad the Gepards are such a help. All the love and support to Ukraine from Germany. Slava Ukraini🌻🇺🇦

[spud pud]

Having a war production is not neutral. Making dark money from dark money is not neutral. Being 'swiss neutral' is just an excuse to be smug in their evil. Swiss neutral should be a new meme.

[Josef Aschwanden]

@spud pud u just jealous that we have peace since 1848.

[S-Cut]

Those are really wild times when Germany sells Ukraine tanks for fighting against Iranian drones in a war Russia started, while Africa is suffering a lack of food transports because of it 🙈 the fights are happening in Ukraine, but it's literally a world war

[Careonovam]

Most of them weren't sold as far as i know, they were donated.

[Mi chi]

sells?

[Careonovam]

Also, it's hard to call it a world war, when (on paper!) only 2 partys are engaging in direct combat. Thanks to globalization and trade agreements pretty much every country will be affected by war in some way.

[Christian Schellbruck]

@Careonovam In most US-wars the USA let others do the main work. See in Irak they supported saddam, in Afghanistan they supported the Taliban. In Bosnien they supportet muslims. In Syria they supportet the islamic state and now they support ukraine against russia. But only for their own goals.

[Dan Pan]

You can also use it quite well against lightly armored ground targets or in urban combat, the twin cannons cut through bricks like butter. greetings from germany

[The Zero Line]

Germany has given as little as help as possible, but the help it has given has been some of the most valuable help Ukraine has received. Anything they make is brilliant.

[MITHO]

It's so good to see that this weapon system still serves a good purpose in the end, although it was actually already retired in Germany. Thus, the large amount of money that the development and procurement cost was at least not in vain in the end. It's a pity that many Gepard had already been scrapped and their number is now very limited. But you brave Ukrainians bring out the best in our big cats. And that makes us very proud here in Germany.

[Michael Greenwood]

I wouldn't be surprised if a SPAAG variant of the KF61 happens due to this. Not to mention other countries making their own designs again.

[BenX74]

Rushed out of the retirement home, straight to the battlefield, finally doing what it was born to do: blowing attacking Russians out of the skies. With the advent of suicide-drone warfare, systems like this will make a big comeback. If the enemy launches 100 cheap drones at you, you cannot fire 100 expensive SAMs at them, because you'll most certainly run out of missiles before they run out of drones.

[Краватка Байдена]

Also a missile probably costs 10 or 20 times more than that kind of drone.

[Garry Stone]

Thank Germany for helping Ukraine! This is great news!

[gogalevus]

There is something very unique about German machinery; It is a pity that Japan's defense industry remains to be a small sector in the nation's overall manufacturing output.

[Claus-not-Santa]

What is unique about German machinery?😮

[JostVanWair]

@Claus-not-Santa Works very well but is extremely overengineered. Can't say the same about your tanks, Ivan.

[Mcrl2000]

Im german and in my opinion we should massively increase our efforts to support ukraine. Its a shame that our army is so low on ammunition and equipment. Our politicians thought we don’t need huge military spendings anymore. That was a huge mistake as we can see now.

[Oliver Garcia]

I'm Swiss and I think our Bundesräte are spineless cowards for knowingly leaving the Ukrainians without those 35mm bullets.

[Mishka Samogonoff]

They should finally give up, gas > ukrainians

[PrivateMemo]

@Mishka Samogonoff This isn't about gas. It's part of the Swiss neutrality.

[AwesomO]

By choosing neutrality they choose russia :/ you cannot really be neutral all the time sometimes you have to choose a side. That said I think our german government also did too little too late and Im also embarrassed for us.

[Locker vom Hocker]

Schön zu sehen, dass die Geparden jetzt in guten Händen sind. Viel Glück und Erfolg damit.

[I'll Be True-Official]

Genau. endlich einmal aber sehr gut gemacht! Diese Verteidigung rettet Kinder.

[Chemical Brother]

Dito. Sehe ich genau so ! Nur komme ich gerade nicht hinterher was da in der Schweiz passiert kann mich da jemand in kurz Form informieren?

[rantanplan178]

@Chemical Brother Man nennt es "Neutralität" Kurz genug?

[Smiling Bandit]

Never underestimate a nation fighting for its freedom. Especially when they get their hands on weapons to equal the powers on the battlefield. 18month for a standard training but those Ukrainian soldiers made it in two months because they wanted to get back to their motherland ASAP and defend and free it from the Russian aggressor. That’s a level of motivation not a single Russian soldier can compare with.

[Aleksander Szczurek]

Thank you Germany and please send more. Ahh, and remember to tell France the same! Greetings from Poland

[Kerstin Blume]

Many thanks to the Polish people for supporting Ukraine so strongly. ❣Greetings from Germany! Slava Ukraini

[Kind der 90 ́er]

Tak jest, bardzo chetnie - bendze me robic - tylko moje "Francusko od Matura" nie jest super doskonale - od jakies Niemiec ktore umio Popolsku movic. I tez Dzin kuje na wasze Pomoc ( PL-Ludzie + PL-Urzad ) do UA tez >> te ponad 200 Czolgi (Tanki > T 55 + T 72 ) + Pierune-Rakiete + etc. etc. + duzo duzo inne Pomoc do UA-Ludzie.. Greetings from Germany. I jeszcze cos >> Tak, Polska ma ratzie na wiele politiczne Tematu - especialy Temat > Ukraine i Temat > Politiczne Islam.... Dzin kuje. May God The Lord bless Polska. Amen.

[Callsign DD9LS]

I read that 7 more Gepard's are coming to Ukraine and the problem of lack of ammunition is also solved. Rheinmetall has bought a Spanish ammunition company and the Norwegian company NAMMO now also produces ammunition for the Gepard. If we all work together, we can move mountains. Thanks also to our neighbors in Poland who have done so much. Greetings from Germany. Slava Ukraini.

[Micha]

First nice comment about germany from a polish person I have read in years. Thank you so much! plz tell your government and the people whoe vote for piss party to stop hating germany plz. We're friends now

[XTreMe2k6]

@Micha i thought exactly the same.

[Chuck Griffith]

Thanks RFE for the constant and accurate reports from the field 👍

[Ralf Donhill]

Thanks Germany.

[Hello. It's me.]

T(h)anks Germany

[Grete Bremseth]

What on earth are Switzerland doing? Should be ashamed of themselves! Neutral in WW2 aswell!

[Christian Junghänel]

You are welcome 😉

[Torsten Weiss]

@Grete Bremseth Germany should cut the energy delivery to Switzerland this winter

[misterbacon]

Good gift from Germany. Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦👍

[Claus-not-Santa]

Gift???😮

[Hartmut Writh]

I am glad in two ways. 1) Our big leathal cats protect your country! 2) Your service men are not only extremly brave. They are very quick learners! Respect!

[Tomas P]

10 drones downed on one mission! Those guys must have been flying high after that day.

[Friend of Tellus]

This weapon is probably one of the most effective conventional weapon systems ever made !!!!

[Boo-misc]

I am so happy that this is really helping the brave ukrainians to protect themself and their homeland. Thanks a lot for sharing this video. This thing is one of the most bad as looking heavy armour ever produced.

[Don Princo]

Thank you very much Germany, for your contributions. I was under the impression that Germany was dragging her feet, making excuses and playing delaying tactics when it came to helping their Ukrainian friends. I guess I was misinformed.

[honnebombll]

I am not sure it is known in other countries. It was forbidden by the constitution to send weapons in countries that are at war. That was Germanys "philosophy" since WW2. So even if the Government would have wanted to send weapons on Feb.24th they couldnt. So to change that it was also necessary to change the constitution which needs a 2/3 majority in both the Parliament and other chambers. All that caused a delay of course. Scholz in general is hesitant but i am not sure if it would have been much faster with a different leader. Oh and besides that our secretary of defense is a disaster she has absolutely no control about her department.

[honnebombll]

@Andi K Nicht so ungeduldig sie ist ja noch am "analysieren" ;) Wir waren ja nicht die einzigen bei denen die Munition knapp ist die anderen Länder sind aber mittlerweile auf die verrückte Idee gekommen welche zu bestellen. Daraus folgt erhöhte Nachfrage höherer Preis vor allem wenn man als Letzter bestellt, plus die Inflation in diesem Zeitraum kann man vermutlich mittlerweile schon mit 40 anstatt 20 Mrd. rechnen. Also Bilanz bisher 20 Mrd. verbrannt ohne das auch nur eine einzige Socke bei der Truppe ankam. Da hast du völlig recht leistet man sich so was in der Wirtschaft wird man nicht nur entlassen man landet vermutlich sogar vor einem Gericht.

[Christian Junghänel]

To think we put them out of service ! Insane!

[Mathias Weitz]

There are newer german systems, which are more effective, but not available in scale - like mantis, same range as the gepard, but much smaller.

[Christian Junghänel]

Or Skyranger on a boxer chassie!

[theacme3]

Reinmetal bought a spanish ammo maker to produce the ammo. I think a Norwegian company also announced it would be willing to start a production run. I think germany should refurbish the rest of its old gepard inventory so the starting of the new ammo production run gets its maximum value. They sure are very very useful in this low cost drrone environment while at the same time russia showing complete incompetence in taking out any specific high value targets itself.

[Vatnikslayer_Stormshadow]

There is only 7 more Gepard systems left with the industry that were supposed to get scrapped but are being refurbished now and will arrive early 2023.

[theacme3]

@Vatnikslayer_Stormshadow source? German goverment announced to send 7 more as soon they are ready. But where did it say there are only 7 left?

[Johnny]

This war has shown that future wars are fought with drones and missiles. In such environment, the Gepard AA tank is a must have. Actually, if Ukraine had say hundred of these, they could build a nearly impenetrable wall of air defense.

[Norbert R.]

Please note that Rheinmetall has built a new production line for Gepard ammonition in Germany, production for Ukraine will starting in Januar 2023. Happy Christmas.

[RonJohn63]

These are also very good against IFVs and even tanks (of course can't _destroy_ the tank, but can damage tread, destroy vision slits, radio antennae, IR scanners, etc). The US needs something like them.

[Claus-not-Santa]

It would be nice to see reaction of US, when China and Russia are building a combined Naval/Airforce Base in Venezuela 🇻🇪 and Cuba 🇨🇺 😅🎉😂

[RonJohn63]

@Claus-not-Santa manifestly off-topic.

[Geopolitix]

@Claus-not-Santa are you suggesting Russia and venezuela are capabale of organising their way out of a paper bag AND building a base!? oh dear....

[Jak Leo]

The USA has Wsrthog A-10.

[RonJohn63]

@Geopolitix China sure is.

[Mr misanthrope]

Thank you Germany, love and respect from Canada, keep the support flowing to our brave friends in Ukraine!

[Melchior von Sternberg]

Here we see a weapon in perfection, the precursor of which (of course without the radar system) was already being developed by German tank builders towards the end of World War II, but arrived on the battlefield too late in a classic way to make a difference... After the war, the British carried out tests with the Mk 108 30 mm automatic cannon in order to be able to examine the weapon's effectiveness in peace and quiet. It was an air gun (air force jargon "jackhammer"), which was installed in an adapted form in the air defense tank mentioned, which made it even more effective. I'm attaching the British film, which is almost 3 minutes long, so you can get an idea of how this weapon worked almost 80 years ago... kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2Kvhquno5aEj5I

[Georgy Antonovych]

Big thanks to Germany! The famous Deutsche Qualitat gets solid confirmation with this hard regime testing in Ukraine

[TheMadSqu]

Slawa Ukrajini mein Freund!

[Georgy Antonovych]

@TheMadSqu geroyam Slava!!! Thanks for support

[William Lloyd]

Interesting that an obsolete antiaircraft weapon has new relevancy in the age of cruise missiles and drones. PS - American Army M247 Sergeant York self-propelled antiaircraft gun program was cancelled

[Marvin66]

It wasn't expected. AA tanks like the Gepard are obsolete against fast moving jets particularly if they have HARM anti radiation missiles or similar weapons. Drones and cruise missiles are very good targets though for the Gepard.

[Art McTeagle]

I imagine they would be devastating against any helicopter within range as well.

[Ben Jamin]

@Art McTeagle that's what it was meant for. The reason they used those big ass 35mm guns was to punch through the heavy armor of Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters. The guns are propably good enough to shoot down modern helicopters, the problem is that their electronics are propably better than the Gepard's.

[King]

The Gepard however was never really obsolete. They always loved it in the german army. It was just a lack of funding, that forced them to make the tough decision and put it out of service. Now they hopefully know better.

[Señor Marcos]

@Marvin66 This is absolutely wrong.

[schwanzus minimus]

I have a lot of respect for the Ukranians adapting to Putins terror that fast and for not giving in. I am happy that German technology makes a difference in Ukraine, but I whish we also would send combat tanks. I realy hope, this will change as soon as possible. Slava Ukraini!

[Katzen sind weich]

Well done Germany. You came through!!!

[Katzen sind weich]

@Sigrid qwq Sigrid, what are you saying?

[jdoe]

This German tech is perfect against drones not just for its reliability but for its efficiency as missiles are too expensive and should be used in most cases against aircrafts.

[Krautmaster86]

anti drone weapons seem to be very important for current and future wars

[Triton]

From Germany with love... Slava Ukraine 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨

[Crazy People out there]

Why would a country ban the delivery of ammunition to a nation that is trying to protect its citizens?

[flabber ghast]

Good to hear from the soldiers. I am puzzled why Switzerland is even in the military business if they do not supply the items during a war and why would any manufacturer rely on them for their parts production?

[Bert NL]

When I was in the Airforce, we had to learn to aim and give fire on planes flying over. We used FAL rifles for that. At that time I thought that was rubbish, The only low flying planes were helicopters. There were no drones then. I think it may bring these drills back. If you can down a slow flying drone with some 7,65 rounds or .50 it is great.

[tellyboy17]

After half a century it still looks like something from Star Wars.

[McRüssel]

Kraut Space Magic!

[TheMadSqu]

I always thought it was stupid that the Bundeswehr phased them out. I can totally understand why they did not want to do demo shots for the documentary but everyone should look up a video of a Gepard in action. It´s just soo cool!

[Lunak]

50 years old and still kicking - thats what i call German Engineering 💪

[JeLeSachais!]

In Swiss banks there must be more large Russian accounts than Ukrainians ...

[aegir meingot]

this what i think

[aegir meingot]

@I B exactly. and they only accepted jews with money in these bad years. poor ones could have gone to hell.

[aegir meingot]

@HoganTon ein schweizer spricht klartext. hat stil!!

[Cristobal Stark]

It is weird to find a weapon system “beautiful”, but the gepard is such a gorgeous machine

[Larry Nivren]

Yup because it is a DEFENCE-SYSTEM..... and it WORKS.... NEVER mess up mwih a german GEPARD!

[ArcticFox]

Important to note, the gepard is monted on a leopard tank hull... Meaning slowly the Ukrainian as been trained with the leopard.... Don't be surprise in a near future to see leopard tank on the battlefield for Ukraine... As long training is not completed we will not know about it... but at some points don't be surprise to see entire unit of leopard on the battlefield with Ukrainian soldiers using them

[Freelancer]

Be sure, soon the Leo's will roll.....

[Claus-not-Santa]

LOL, another expert.........😅🎉😂

[Jan van der Meer]

I whould not be surprised. I whould be flabbergased. It is a private company how donated the PRTLs. Not the german government.

[Freelancer]

It's Rheinmetall, preparing Leo 2A4 is in progress.

[gaglikabar]

What a smooth sound of the engine. I like it. Old but not obsolete. Imagine that how effective could be the new version the LINX .

[T ridder]

Well yes the linx can be used for AA, however a Mantis turret with its airburst programmable ammunition would be the better fit.

[Sugandese Nuds]

@TheBlondeViking you guys know how we germans feel about Diesel. *SNIFF* Its fucking delicious

[FactoryofRedstone]

@TheBlondeViking The Gepard is to my knowledge built on the Leopard 1 Frame. If it also has the same engine, then its engine can run basically on everything. Diesel, Petrol, Aviation Fuel, Sunflower Oil (Fritten Fet)... . The newer engine of the Leopard 2 sadly can't do this anymore, it needs at least 50% diesel.

[Simon _]

@T ridder both Linux, Puma and Mantis can use AHEAD Ammunition (airburst) with modifications the Gepard could do the same.

[jsn1970]

The Gepard system was designed back in the lae sixties and early seventies but it is still relevant and helps Ukraine fight against the russian aggressor.

[Stu Bur]

Despite being old tech, Gepards are still effective. There are hundreds of Leo 1 tanks around that could be converted into Gepards. If the tech was updated, then they could probably hit targets using half as many rounds on average.

[Max P.]

Crazy to see that 80s technology that's claimed to be obsolete is still perfectly usable and definitely still up to the task. Retiring this beast was a mistake. Update some of the systems and this thing would count as new.

[John Z]

Good job Germany!

[Fast Sheep]

Germany make awesome weapons systems. Thanks

[Tree flower]

As a German Im really ashamed that our government didn't send more and earlier the military equipment the Ukraine desperately needs!

[TofuBoi]

This is more cost effective than using missiles. Great job Ukraine! and great job Germany!

[AnAtheist]

Never thought to see one of these in real combat action, but here we are in 2022.... good to see it helps, imagine the lifes it safed in Odesa. cheers from Germany

[I Love Aviation]

I still cannot understand that these were retired back then when anyone thinking defence knew that there will be drones in future and Heer will need mobileand highly dynamic protection to move forward. Feeding the Gebhard with modern munition detonating per-target laying a wolfram particle sector is just nuts and very up to date taking the twin radar system into account. Feeding HE rounds makes it a propper surface to surface weapon with both - a tremendous impact even capable to punsh armored vehicles seriously and a massive impact to moral of the opponent simmilar to incomming artillery. Sure, Rheinmetall invented Mantis and there are some more or less capable, proven and available systems out there. But vs the Gebhard they cannot stand a chance in effectivity if cost and availability, mobility, maturity and useability are taken in account. I miss that cat. She is more or less like a ground based A-10. Gotta love the Mauser twins when you think defence. Or you like it as a carussell 🎠 P.S. Love the GoPro at the muzzle. Did I mention that I start to hate Swi>Z

[Pasquale Heredia]

Awesome work Germany, thank you. Slava Ukraine! And Switzerland, wtf?? Seriosuly?

[Klaus Haas]

Für euch Ukraine viel Glück👈❤🇺🇦🇩🇪❤👈

[Alex N.]

There is a video circulating on Telegram today, that shows a Gepard shooting down a Russian cruise missile. The Gepard is very precise, and despite the high cadence of the 35mm guns, it only needs few rounds to reliably kill a target. The operators allude to this in the interview.

[Lee Hotspur]

Drone are really easy targets once acquired by the aimer

[Claus-not-Santa]

.............but unfortunately you do not have a link to this fantastic video.......😅🎉😂

[Breiffni Hogan]

Flak panzer Gepard. A superb air defence weapon system. Made in Germany and proven in Ukraine. Operated most effectively by the Ukrainian personnel to defend and ultimately free their country. Top marks to all involved !

[Jon van Kleef]

A great asset for Ukrainian army against all flying objects. I have operated a Gepard for 14 months, fantastic weapon!

[Strakin]

Switzerland is a bit "strange" here: If they are really neutral, then they should not produce ammunition in the first place honestly. Making money seems to be ok with them, but they knowingly ignore what ammunition is used for.

[etuanno]

Armed neutrality my dude, to the teeth actually. Most ammo was used for training or stockpiling before the Ukraine conflict. In the last 77 years there wasn't a war in Europe.

[Strakin]

@etuanno The thing here is: They dont produced it only for themselves, they sold it. I would not say anything if they just used it for themselves. Swiss sold about 1 billion in arms in 2020 alone.

[Bradley Anderson]

How about manufacturing 35mm shells in other countries and stop purchasing anything from Switzerland?

[Geopolitix]

I think Rheinmetall have already come to that conclusion. They purchased a huge Spanish ammo manufacturer the other week ( forgot the name but you'll find it). on the other side of the coin, I bet the Oerlikon board will be getting twitchy about their future sales prospects given its their ammo not being sent. Perhaps a little self-interested corporate greed here will also help them motivate some Politicians to review that ban.

[Heiko Lang]

Rheinmetall recently bought a ammunition factory in Spain to do exactly that….

[e6bav8r]

It's a German tank with Swiss ammo. I guarantee you other ammo exists, just perhaps not from countries supplying Ukraine with the amount they want and/or need.

[Guntram Blohm]

It's not just random ammo, it's software controlled. The barrel tells the bullet how far the target is, at the very moment it fires, and the bullet explodes just after the right amount of milliseconds. Which means you don't even need a direct hit; the bullet just needs to be in the vicinity of the target. But it also means you can't just use any random bullets, you need to fit your tooling to integrate shell, explosives electronics, and data transfer correctly for the shells to work.

[Mike Sanchez]

Duh

[Hector Nagano]

I have confidence in anything made in Germany. Now ,if the could get a hold to a few Leopards that would be fantastic.

[Andi K]

Go shopping by Rheinmetall.

[Sigrid qwq]

@Andi K , today no shopping, no Kredit Card fore looser...

[Andi K]

@Sigrid qwq no money, no tanks. Germany is no credit bank.

[Michael Greenwood]

@Andi K Yeah... about that.

[Alfonso Wenzel]

Well done Germany, hope keep Ukraine back up.

[Quang Nhat]

When they only need 3 rounds to down a target, you know that these guys are real deal.

[Pat Webster]

Love your stuff RFE!!! Slava Ukraini!