Flakpanzer Gepard to Arrive in Ukraine in July

Germany will send Flakpanzer Gepard AA guns to Ukraine in July.

A little video update here. So, a while back we heard that Germany was considering sending some of it its Ge-pard vehicles to Ukraine. Well, we now have a number—15 and a date, July. They will also be sent with 59,000 rounds of ammunition. There are also more to be sent at a later date when ready. A number I have seen is a total of 50.

The Flakpanzer Gepard is one of the coolest looking vehicles. I really like the overall appearance of these tracks AA guns like the Gepard and the ZSU-23-4 or the Tunguska. They just look awesome machines, and the Gepard may be the coolest looking of the lot.

The Gepard is an almost-50 ton, tracked vehicle based on the hull of a Leopard 1. It is basically someone whacked an AA cannon on a tank. with a crew of three—a driver, gunner and commander. It is armed with a pair of 35mm autocannons.

Each gun is capable of laying down an impressive 550 rounds per minute---a continuous firing time of 37 seconds before running out of ammo. The autocannons have an effective range of 5.5 kilometers—so pretty far. The radar can detect aircraft from further out—as far as 15km.

Germany had 377 originally, but retired them in 2010. 94 were put into storage, and it is these being sent to Ukraine. The fact they have been in storage for so long is why it is taking a while to get them ready.

Now, while designed as an AA gun, the Gepard can also be used against vehicles. It typically carries 20 rounds of anti-armor ammo for self-defence.

Looking at this little chart here, Gepard is the top line and depending on the range, it can bite through from close to 50mm of armor to around 75mm of armor. For point of reference, the MP 1 has armor of just 33mm. The Gepard would shred it.