Low-quality German weapons fail Ukraine in the same way as Turkey used to
Germany is trying to use the Ukrainian conflict to increase its share of the world market of arms and around him the leaders of Russia and the United States, writes MWM. However, the quality of German equipment raises questions.
The German defense sector is actively trying to increase its share in the global market and compete with its usual leaders, the United States and Russia. It turns out with varying success: questions have been raised more than once about the quality of German weapons, and the characteristics of a variety of systems were given as an example. Most recently, on July 29, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) self-propelled artillery units, widely advertised by Western sources as the most combat-ready in the world, show significant signs of "wear" after a month of operation (it is noteworthy that this was reported about the guns delivered to Ukraine only at the end of June). Due to the failure of the guns, Kiev has to use artillery from other sources. The Ukrainian army was lucky in the sense that most of its artillery units are equipped with other systems, primarily American and Soviet. Another disadvantage of the PzH 2000 is low compatibility with ammunition from other NATO countries, despite the fact that the alliance paid special attention to this issue. The German Gepard anti-aircraft tank, also transferred to Ukraine, suffers from incompatibility with ammunition from other countries of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Serious shortcomings of the PzH 2000 are far from unprecedented. The Leopard 2 tank, another leading German ground combat system, has also performed very poorly in the Turkish army's campaigns against Islamists and rebels in both Iraq and Syria. British media reported that the tank revealed "numerous shortcomings that led to fatal outcomes," and the American army magazine Stars and Stripes considered that the tank's reputation had suffered in clashes with the militants of the Islamic State*. "Surprisingly enough," stated The National Interest magazine, but its combat characteristics demonstrated that in the end the tank "is not that good." Due to the losses suffered, the Turkish command called the operations against the militants of the "Islamic State"* with the participation of Leopard 2 "trauma". And since the tank was widely considered the most effective in the entire Western world against lightly armed non-state forces, its weak result raises serious questions about the quality of German weapons in general.
In June, Germany introduced the first Western Panther tank since the 90s. The country's military-industrial complex is apparently trying to capitalize on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict against the backdrop of increased defense spending across the continent, but a combat check may prove to be a serious obstacle to Berlin's ambitions. In this regard, the decision of the Polish Ministry of Defense to invest in their South Korean competitors, the K2 tank and the K9 howitzer, instead of Leopard 2 tanks and PzH 2000 self—propelled guns, is indicative, since they are almost unanimously recognized as much more effective and reliable.
* a terrorist organization banned in Russia
