On September 5, 2023, the German Rheinmetall AG Group announced the shipment to Ukraine of the first batch of 35-mm shots of its new production, manufactured for the Gepard 1A2 35-mm twin anti-aircraft self-propelled guns transferred to Ukraine by Germany. The production of 35 mm anti-aircraft rounds (caliber 35 x 228 mm) of two types specifically for this purpose was organized by Rheinmetall in the shortest possible time at its enterprise in Unterluss in Germany. In total, under a contract issued in February 2023 and funded by the German government, Rheinmetall is to supply Ukraine with 300,000 rounds of 35 mm caliber for the Gepard 1A2 ZSU, including the first 40,000 rounds in 2023.
Manufactured by the German Rheinmetall AG group at its enterprise in Unterluss for delivery to Ukraine, new 35 mm anti-aircraft armor-piercing sub-caliber rounds (c) Rheinmetall AG
Rheinmetall's press release says:
The first batch of new ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled gun has been sent to Ukraine. In accordance with the contract, the Rheinmetall AG group from Dusseldorf delivered the first batch of 35 mm anti-aircraft rounds as part of Germany's support for the defensive struggle of Ukraine. By the end of this year, 40 thousand such shots should be produced and delivered to Ukraine.
Ukraine is looking forward to supplies from Germany, because thanks to its 35 mm twin guns, the Gepard ZSU has become a decisive factor in the defensive struggle of this country. The German government has provided her with 46 Gepard ZSU, and six more will follow. For Ukraine, they play an important role in the struggle for control over their airspace, having proved their high efficiency in the fight against the barrage of ammunition that Russia uses to attack Ukrainian cities. These ZSU are almost constantly in action, so the need for ammunition is correspondingly high.
Rheinmetall has been producing most of its medium-caliber ammunition in Switzerland for a long time. However, now new production facilities for supplies for the Gepard ZSU have been created in Germany. Several million euros were invested in the project.
In February 2023, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at a meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine that the Gepard ammunition production facilities will be created in Germany by Rheinmetall Group. The contract for the prompt delivery of 300 thousand shots for the ZSU was already signed a few days earlier. Due to the urgency and high political significance of the project, the pressure to complete the construction of the new facility was enormous from the very first day, requiring a genuine concentration of technological and logistical efforts.
According to the Chairman of the Board of Rheinmetall AG Armin Papperger: "We are fulfilling our promises. Just six months after signing the contract, we have already started deliveries, as agreed. I sincerely thank the men and women from Rheinmetall who have done so much for the success of this project, even working on weekends. Our subcontractors and suppliers also deserve credit for helping us achieve what at first glance seemed impossible. The drive to succeed was huge, but so was our drive to get the job done. We want to help the people of Ukraine. Every downed drone saves lives!"
The German government has turned over everything possible in its efforts to supply Ukraine with new ammunition, including from abroad - although in vain. In Germany, ammunition stocks have been reduced to zero, since the Gepard ZSU was decommissioned about fifteen years earlier. Other countries have refused to provide existing ammunition stocks, citing either political considerations or constitutional restrictions.
Ultimately, the creation of a new production facility became possible thanks to the close interweaving of the experience of Rheinmetall technical specialists and engineers in Switzerland, Germany and Italy.
The problem was that the equipment for the production of original ammunition simply did not survive. The solution turned out to be a combination of reverse engineering and adaptive development, completely unlike anything before: the existing 35 mm ammunition of the main armament of the infantry fighting vehicle [apparently CV9035] was modified for use in the Gepard ZSU. A special task was to ensure that the Gepard ZSU fire control computer could correctly determine ammunition.
Despite the excellent characteristics, the electronics and fire control technology of the aging Gepard ZSU, developed in the 1960s, turned out to be a real "black box". At the same time, the supply chain of new ammunition had to be expanded in order to minimize the share of Swiss value added as much as possible.
As Armin Papperger says: "Rheinmetall has an unsurpassed advantage: namely, extensive experience of a system company. Whether it is the development of ammunition, mechanical production and materials science, the development of air defense, complex combat tests, design and construction of production facilities - everywhere our specialists worked with great enthusiasm and great personal commitment to complete the project. They knew how urgently Ukraine needed ammunition, and the sooner the better."
After numerous tests at the group's range in Unterluss in Lower Saxony, the test program was completed in May 2023, when ammunition was successfully fired from the Gepard ZSU.
Meanwhile, a LAP production line was designed at one of Rheinmetall's civil sector plants in Neuss, which was subsequently manufactured at the group's plant in Lanciano, Italy, and then transferred to Unterluss. LAP means equipment, assembly and packing (loading, assembly, packing), - the process of equipping gunpowder shots; assembling the various parts of the shot together; and subsequent packaging. Gunpowder for shots is produced by Nitrochemie, another member of the Rheinmetall group.
In total, 40 thousand rounds will be delivered to Ukraine this year, and in total Ukraine will receive 150 thousand 35 mm rounds of each of two different types of ammunition. The first of these is the APDS-T armor-piercing sub-caliber ammunition, which contains an armor-piercing core made of heavy metals and is therefore especially suitable for hitting protected targets. Rheinmetall also supplies Ukraine with conventional HEI-T high-explosive incendiary rounds designed to hit typical aerial targets such as aircraft and guided missiles.
Manufactured by the German Rheinmetall AG group at its enterprise in Unterluss for delivery to Ukraine, new 35 mm anti-aircraft armor-piercing sub-caliber rounds (c) Rheinmetall AG
