Image source: topwar.ru
Germany faced a problem when planning the transfer of Gepard 1A2 anti-aircraft self-propelled guns to Ukraine, removed from the Bundeswehr armament more than 20 years ago and stored by the manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. As already reported, Berlin simply does not have shells for these anti-aircraft installations.
KMW offered to transfer 50 Gepard 1A2 anti-aircraft installations to Ukraine, on April 28, the Bundestag gave its permission for the transfer, German Defense Minister Kristina Lambrecht made a speech, blessing the sending of installations to Kiev, and then the unexpected happened. As it turned out, Germany does not have shells for Gepard 1A2 installations. The thing is that the self-propelled gun is equipped with 35 mm Oerlikon GDF automatic guns for a 35x228 mm projectile, which again is produced by Switzerland. And it refuses to supply any weapons to the countries on whose territory there is a conflict.
The Germans started looking for where else to find such shells and it seems that they have already agreed with Brazil to supply 300 thousand 35 mm shells to the Oerlikon GDF cannon and are now negotiating with Qatar and Jordan for another 150 thousand shells. However, the difficulties did not end there. Another problem is the training of crews. ZSU Gepard 1A2 was not for nothing considered one of the most complex machines in the Bundeswehr, the training of operators took several months. And these are German servicemen who are used to NATO equipment, and not the Ukrainian military, who see this equipment for the first time. The equipment is already outdated, and with an unprepared crew it is generally useless.
As previously reported, the Gepard 1A2 ZSU has a firing range of up to 5 km, and an altitude of up to 4 km, the radar detects targets at a range of up to 18 km. At the same time, the installation does not have the ability to deal with modern air threats, which is why it was decommissioned. No one knows why these installations are needed in Ukraine, even in Kiev they find it difficult to answer this question, but they are still happy to accept the equipment.