The German defense ministry has placed an order with Rheinmetall to supply 300,000 rounds of 35mm ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks operated by Ukraine.
The company said the order value is in the “low three-digit million euro” range.
The munition would be employed by the Gepard tanks supplied to Ukraine by Germany shortly after Russia lunched its invasion in February last year.
Germany recently sent two more Gepards to Ukraine, alongside some 6.000 rounds of ammunition, bringing the total number of the guns sent to Ukraine to 32.
According to earlier reports, Germany has up to 50 Gepards that could be transferred to Ukraine. Based on the Leopard 1 tank, the Gepard carries a pair of 35 mm Oerlikon cannons and two radar dishes for target acquisition. Developed in the 1970s, the vehicle has an intercept range of around 15 kilometers.
Rheinmetall will be supplying 150,000 rounds each of Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot – Tracer (APDS-T) and High Explosive Incendiary – Tracer (HEI-T) ammunition.
This will enable effective engagement of a multitude of targets. The first APDS-T rounds will be delivered in summer 2023. A shift in production from APDS-T to HEI-T is scheduled to take place in mid-2024.
At its plant in Unterlüß, Rheinmetall is currently creating additional medium-caliber ammunition production capacity, which is due to go into operation in summer 2023. In building this new production line, the company said it is responding to sharply increased global demand.
