Saturday November 30, 2024

Germany to supply Kiev with 20 more Marder infantry fighting vehicles

Published : 10 Apr 2024, 02:37

DF News Desk

Modernized older Marder infantry fighting vehicles in front of a hall during a tour of the Rheinmetall plant in Unterlüß. Rheinmetall is supplying 20 more infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. File Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa.

German armaments maker Rheinmetall is to deliver an additional 20 Marder (Marten) infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine by the end of the year, the company announced in Dusseldorf on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

The consignment to the value of tens of millions of euros, funded by the German government, brings to 120 the number of Marders supplied to Ukraine by Rheinmetall since the Russian invasion.

The tracked IFVs are being taken from stocks held by Rheinmetall and being modernized.

"The version of the 1A3 Marder that has now been ordered also features integrated laser range finders, which enable efficient and precise target elimination," Rheinmetall said.

The German military, the Bundeswehr, has also transferred 20 Marders to Ukraine from its own stocks.

Designed through the 1960s and produced up to 1975, the Marder is being replaced in the German military by the Puma.

Rheinmetall has also supplied artillery and ammunition to Ukraine. The company is planning to open production facilities in Ukraine.