Image source: topwar.ru
The first batch of German Marder infantry fighting vehicles has already been sent to Ukraine. This was announced by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The head of the Bundeswehr also spoke about the training of Ukrainian servicemen on German air defense complexes and Western-made armored vehicles.
According to Pistorius, currently more than a thousand Ukrainian servicemen are undergoing training in Germany, during which they learn to use Western air defense systems, Leopard tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden agreed on the supply of German military equipment to Ukraine in January this year. The German authorities expressed their readiness to supply the Ukrainian army with 40 units of Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Patriot air defense systems. It is assumed that 20 IFVs will be delivered to Ukraine from the reserves of the Bundeswehr, and another 20 - directly from the German defense concern Rheinmetall.
The Marder BMP was developed in the 60s by the German company Rheinmetall AG by order of the German armed forces. The combat vehicle is equipped with a 20 mm RH 202 automatic cannon and a 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun paired with it, mounted on a carriage on top of a double turret. The Rh 202 cannon uses 20×139 mm ammunition.
The BMP is capable of transporting 10 people, three of whom are crew members. The commander and the gunner are in the turret, and the driver is in front of the hull on the left (in the direction of movement). The combat compartment is located in the middle part of the BMP hull.
