Germany to provide Ukraine with 45 additional Gepard self-propelled guns
Germany, in partnership with the United States, plans to provide Ukraine with 45 additional Gepard self-propelled guns, which are expected to strengthen Ukraine's air defence.
This was stated by the head of the Situation Centre for Ukraine at the German Ministry of Defence, Christian Freuding, in an interview with Welt am Sonntag
The newspaper also reports that 34 Gepared vehicles have already been delivered to Ukraine and another 15 are planned to be delivered in the coming weeks.
"In addition, we want to deliver up to 30 more Gepard units by the end of the year in cooperation with the US. We are doing everything we can. But despite all this, does Ukraine have sufficient missile defence? Definitely not," Freuding said.
In the interview the Bundeswehr general also said that he considers air defence to be one of the weaknesses in the current counter-offensive of the Ukrainian armed forces.
At the same time, he reminded that Germany also plans to provide Kyiv with two more IRIS-T SLM air defence systems by the end of this year, and four more in 2024.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced a contract between the US company Global Military Products and the US Department of Defence for the purchase and supply of Gepared self-propelled guns worth more than $118 million.
"Global Military Products Inc, Tampa, Florida, has been awarded a $118,375,740 firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase and delivery of 35mm Gepard air defence missile systems," the department said in a statement.
The work will be carried out in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the final deadline for the order is 30 May 2024.
Also, during the previous military aid package for Ukraine, Germany ordered the Rheinmetall arms conglomerate to manufacture and export 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles for the Ukrainian military.
Earlier, the company shipped the first batch of ammunition for the Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft system in the amount of 10,000 rounds. In total, Rheinmetall has signed a contract to supply 300,000 rounds of ammunition.