The Marder 1A3, illustrative image. Photo via Wikimedia.

Rheinmetall to supply Ukraine with twenty more Marder infantry fighting vehicles

December 17, 2024

By Ukraine

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In December 2024, the Düsseldorf-based technology group Rheinmetall received an order to supply Ukraine with a further 20 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles.

Coming after previous deliveries totaling 140 vehicles, and coupled with Rheinmetall’s establishment of in-country maintenance facilities, this development represents a deepening of German-Ukrainian defense cooperation at a time when steady military support remains crucial for Ukraine’s combat effectiveness against Russian forces.

As can be evidenced from the press release on the website of Rheinmetall, delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2025. The order is worth a mid-range double-digit million euro amount. The delivery will be financed by Germany. All in all, Rheinmetall has already supplied the Ukrainian Armed Forces with hundreds of Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

In the 1A3 version, the Marder is equipped with an additional laser rangefinder for efficient and precise target engagement. The first 20 combat vehicles of this type were delivered by the Rheinmetall Group on behalf of the German government in March 2023. Further Marder deliveries followed, each time in double figures.

Rheinmetall began overhauling Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles from its company stocks at its own expense in spring 2022. Since then, the combat vehicles have been continuously repaired and delivered for their immediate deployment. The work is being carried out at the Group’s sites in Unterlüß and Kassel.

The company also set up the repair and maintenance of Marder IFVs in Ukraine, which are in service with the Ukrainian army.

Marder 1A3

Militarnyi reports that as of December 2024, the Ukrainian Defense Forces received 140 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles. They are in service with various units, including the Marines.

A Marder 1A3 from the rear, with the ramp lowered. Photo via Wikimedia.

The Marder was developed in the 1960s by the German company Rheinmetall AG on the order of the German Armed Forces. It is armed with a 20-mm RH 202 automatic cannon and a paired 7.62-mm MG3 machine gun mounted on a carriage on top of the two-seat turret.

The Rh 202 cannon is loaded with 20×139 mm ammunition. In addition, it can be equipped with a MILAN anti-tank missile system, but no evidence of anti-tank missiles being used by Ukrainian Marder IFVs has been observed.

The vehicle can carry 10 people, three of whom are crew members. The commander and gunner are in the turret, and the driver is in front of the hull on the left (as it moves). The combat compartment is located in the middle part of the IFV hull.

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