Stand still, the chancellor is coming! At the Putlos military training area on the Baltic Sea, soldiers from the Ukraine are being trained on the Gepard anti-aircraft gun tank. The measure is part of a support package for Ukraine in line with the turning point proclaimed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Scholz took the opportunity to review the training program and was not above checking the cheetah’s suitability for combat personally.
Olaf Scholz affirms solidarity with Ukraine
The Chancellor then reiterated Germany’s determination to defend Ukraine against the aggressor from Russia over a long period of time. “The men who are here will defend their country. They will defend it against the terrible threat posed to Ukraine by Russia’s brutal war of aggression,” said Scholz. “And we will continue to support them with our financial resources, but also with the weapons that we can provide from Germany,” he said.
The training of the Ukrainian soldiers lasted six weeks and will end this weekend. It is organized by tank builder Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. An exact number of soldiers trained is not given, but the training is part of the German-financed delivery of 30 Gepard tanks to Ukraine.
Ukraine announced on July 25 that it had received the first three of these tanks and also tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition from Germany. More than three of the weapon systems have now been brought to Ukraine. The German side denies that Russia – as claimed – has already destroyed one or even several cheetahs with attacks.
Soon a “hub” for repairs is to be opened in a neighboring country of Ukraine
According to earlier information from the industry, KMW had 50 of the decommissioned tanks in the yard, of which 30 are now going to the Ukraine. The company also makes the Panzerhaubitze 2000. The next necessary step for support is now to support the repair of handed over weapon systems. One plan is to open a “hub” – a hub for repairs – in one of Ukraine’s neighboring countries.
According to earlier information from the industry, KMW had 50 of the decommissioned tanks in the yard, of which 30 are now going to the Ukraine. The company also makes the Panzerhaubitze 2000. The next necessary step for support is now to support the repair of handed over weapon systems. One plan is to open a “hub” – a hub for repairs – in one of Ukraine’s neighboring countries.
The cheetah is no longer used by the German armed forces. According to the Bundeswehr, it was primarily developed to protect the Panzer and Panzergrenadier troops from attacking aircraft and helicopters at low altitudes. The cheetah is also suitable for stationary protection against attacks from the air, for example from bridges or buildings.
The Bundeswehr only makes the military training area available for industry and closes the adjacent Baltic Sea bay for shooting operations. The Ukrainians were easily recognizable by their blue work clothes on Thursday. They were out and about with the KMW instructors in shooting operations. A Learjet was circling in the air above the military training area. The machine pulled an airbag behind it on a line three to four kilometers long. This represents the target. The bag has a built-in sensor that electromagnetically measures how close hits are to the target. The result is immediately radioed to the ground.
Short bursts of fire echoed from afar across the military training area. A “short burst of fire” that is fired in fractions of a second counts for six shots. The long burst of fire lasts two seconds. The tank has 680 rounds of ammunition on board. “Motivation is not an issue here. There is no one trying to avoid it,” says KMW expert Thomas Fritzsch.
After the training, the soldiers go to war. After six weeks, however, experience with the weapon system is still missing. “They’ll be forced to learn that quickly,” he says. Further support for maintenance and repairs is not discussed. When asked, Fritzsch says: “We won’t leave the Ukrainians alone.”
Source: Stern
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