Ukraine conflict: Rheinmetall begins Gepard ammunition deliveries

Rheinmetall delivered the first batch of 35 mm ammunition in August for the Gepard SPAAGs Germany has supplied to Ukraine. (Rheinmetall)

Rheinmetall has begun delivering 35 mm ammunition for the Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) Germany supplied to Ukraine, the company and the German Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced. Rheinmetall said in a press release on 6 September that it had delivered the first batch of 30,000 rounds of Gepard ammunition it is supplying to Ukraine in 2023.

During the 14 February Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Rheinmetall would produce 300,000 rounds of Gepard ammunition for Ukraine. The contract signed with Rheinmetall that month is worth EUR168 million (nearly USD180 million).

Rheinmetall announced on 15 February that it would supply 150,000 rounds each of armour-piercing discarding sabot-tracer (APDS-T) for use against hardened targets and high-explosive incendiary-tracer (HEI-T) air defence ammunition, starting with APDS-T rounds and shifting production to HEI-T in mid-2024.