Nov 19, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
As part of
the military aid announced by US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, Ukraine is to receive up to 60 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks from
Jordan, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported on 13 November 2023.
The US Army Contracting Command commissioned Global Military Products to purchase the tanks from Jordan in May 2023 for USD 118 M (EUR 110 M). The Gepards, which originate from the Netherlands, will be delivered ready for use by May 2024.
Jordan
acquired the Gepards from the Netherlands in 2016. The Netherlands acquired 100
Gepards at the end of the 1970s and sold 60 of them to Jordan in 2016, together
with a logistics package, following a structural reform of the Dutch army.
These are now to be delivered to Ukraine in the middle of next year following
repairs and reburbishment in the United States.
There they
will meet the 50 Gepard tanks that Germany has handed over to the Ukrainian
armed forces over the past 16 months. Germany has also ensured the supply of
ammunition for the Gepards through a contract with Rheinmetall.
In Ukraine
conflict the Gepard has proven to be an effective weapon in the fight against
the countless small and large unmanned aerial vehicles used by Russia. The
Gepard turret, with its two 35 mm cannons, is designed for close/short-range
air defence and, more than 50 years after its entry into service, is still
capable of dealing with modern threats.
European Security
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