While the Gepard has proven exceptionally effective, problems loom on the horizon.
Many of the rounds for the vehicles’ two guns were manufactured in Switzerland, and the government there has refused to allow Germany to re-export those rounds to Ukraine, citing its neutral status.
A few hours after Germany confirmed the transfer of Gepard vehicles to Ukraine, Switzerland said it would veto the re-export of ammunition for the AA tanks.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) confirmed the veto saying it would not be allowing the re-export of 35mm ammunition for the AA tank. It would also not be able to honor another German request that concerned 12.7mm ammunition.
ON FRONTPAGE: Much of it is thanks to the German-made Gepard system, a vehicle that can send dual streams of 35mm rounds ripping into the sky to hit the drones. Berlin has sent 30 Gepard vehicles to Ukraine over the past year, with seven more on it's way.
Many of the rounds for the vehicles’ two guns were manufactured in Switzerland, and the government there has refused to allow Germany to re-export those rounds to Ukraine, citing its neutral status.
What assholes. Are they hoping Russia should win? One can think.
It's a war in Europe, why can't they sell ammunition?
The day I can only do one important thing, PER DAY, that day everything Switzerland have to wait.
Assholes.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht wrote to the Swiss government in October asking to send 12,400 rounds of Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, a request that was rejected. In December, German manufacturer Rheinmetall said it would open a new production line to start making 35mm ammunition, and the first rounds will be available later this year.
The weapon, essentially an anti-aircraft gun that sits atop a tracked vehicle, provides Ukraine with a mobile air defense system that has played a key role in destroying Russian drones and missiles as the Kremlin continues to send waves of both at power stations and electrical generating plants. The aerial assaults have plunged Kyiv and other cities into darkness and shut off the heat for tens of thousands of civilians forced to shiver through the winter.
Since September, Ukrainian air defenses have destroyed 540 Iranian kamikaze drones, according to Yurii Ihnat, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force. The Gepard “is effective against these UAVs, as well as against cruise missiles,” he added, “but this weaponry, which is intended for air defense of the Ground Forces, is not enough.”
Given the volume of drone and missile threats, Ukrainian forces still have to use a wide range of expensive anti-aircraft missile systems, both older Soviet-era weapons as well as newer radar systems and missile launchers sent by Western allies.
