Düsseldorf, June 23, (dpa/GNA) – German defence contractor Rheinmetall, will deliver 20 more Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine this summer, the company said on Friday.
The German government will pay a sum in the lower two-digit million-euro range to fulfil the order, which was placed at the beginning of June, according to a spokesman.
Once it is completed, Ukraine will have received a total of 60 Marders – 40 from Rheinmetall and 20 from German army stocks – as it fights to repel the full-scale Russian invasion that began on February 24 last year.
Rheinmetall is offering 60 more units, and production of these has already started at two of its plants in Germany. Up to 10 units could be completed per month, the company said.
Resembling a light tank, the Marder is fitted with sloped armour for enhanced crew protection and carries an externally mounted 20-millimetre cannon and a 7.62-mm machine-gun over a two-man turret.
Separately from the Ukraine orders, Greece will also receive 40 Marders from Rheinmetall this summer. This is part of a so-called circular swap scheme, in which NATO countries transfer to Ukraine Soviet-produced military equipment in their inventories to be replaced by more modern equipment from Germany.
GNA