Rheinmetall has handed over 20 additional Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to the Ukrainian armed forces for their defence against the Russian aggressor. The delivery was completed at the end of the third quarter of 2024. This brings the total number of combat vehicles delivered directly to Ukraine or in the context of so-called ring exchanges (Ringtausch) to around 200. A three-digit number of these systems are Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles. In addition, Rheinmetall has provided Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard main battle tanks in double digits through a ring exchange process. The latest order for the delivery of 20 Marder, financed by the German government, is worth a mid double-digit million euro amount. The order intake has already been booked in March 2024.
The Marder 1A3 version being delivered by Rheinmetall to the Ukraine features additional laser rangefinders for efficient and precise target engagement. The first delivery of 20 combat vehicles of this type was arranged by Rheinmetall on behalf of the German government in March 2023; further deliveries followed, each in the double digits. As early as in the spring of 2022, Rheinmetall began taking over and refurbishing Marder 1A3 IFVs from Bundeswehr stocks – initially at its own expense. Since then, the combat vehicles have been repaired for their immediate deployment. The work is carried out at the corporation’s sites in Unterlüß and Kassel. According to the Oryx blog as of 3 September 2024, at least 26 Ukrainian Marders had been confirmed to have been lost by photos or videos; 13 destroyed, 3 damaged, 8 abandoned and 2 captured.
The Schützenpanzer Marder 1 is a tracked German infantry fighting vehicle designed for use with the West German Panzergrenadiere units, mechanized infantry specialized for IFV combat. It has been operated by the German Army as the main Panzergrenadiere IFV since the 1970s through to the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of West Germany’s armoured fighting vehicle industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid infantry fighting vehicle design. While it used to include a few unique features, such as a fully remote machine gun on the rear deck and gun ports on the sides for infantry to fire through, these features have been deleted or streamlined in later upgrade packages to bring it more in line with modern IFV design.
The Marder 1A3 is currently the most common version of this system, and is in service with the German Bundeswehr. The Marder 1A4 differs from the 1A3 only by the use of a cryptography-capable radio-set. The newest version of the Marder is the Marder 1A5 with advanced mine protection. Only a small number of this variant is in service. The intended successor to the Marder 1 was initially the Marder 2 project in the 1990s, but after its cancellation the successor became the Puma in the 2010s. The Marder is currently being replaced by the Puma. On 29 March 2023, Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov announced that Marders donated from Germany during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine had arrived in the country.
