Ukraine enhances German Marders for modern warfare challenges
Ukraine has already received 140 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) from Germany, with at least 20 more still coming. In response to the war's specifics, Ukrainians have modified these vehicles. Here's what they've done.
The Ukrainians highly praise the German-supplied Marder 1A3 IFVs, which offer much greater protection and firing precision compared to the Soviet-era BMP-1/2. However, even Marders can fall victim to FPV drones or Lancet-3, necessitating solutions to cause a premature detonation of shaped charges.
In the photos below, you can see the modifications made by soldiers from the 36th Marine Brigade. There is a deployable net, mesh screens on the sides of the hull, and peculiar rods on the upper front plate, which are likely designed to operate similarly to Igelpanzerung mats. Russians have done something similar on some BTRs to protect against simple shaped-charge weapons.
The Schützenpanzer Marder 1 infantry fighting vehicle (from the German "Kuna" for infantry fighting vehicle) debuted in the 1960s as a groundbreaking design alongside its Russian counterpart, the BMP-1.
Introducing a closed and heavily armed platform, which was well-armoured, was an innovation. At that time, the standard was lightly armoured personnel carriers, mainly designed for transporting soldiers to the battlefield and quick withdrawal. The novelty in designs such as the Marder 1 or BMP-1 was the ability to actively support transported infantry and, in some cases, engage enemy armoured equipment.
The Marder's crew consisted of three soldiers, and the rear part of the vehicle could accommodate seven mechanized infantry grenadiers. A characteristic feature of this vehicle was the unmanned turret, on which a Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh-202 automatic cannon was mounted. This had a 20 mm calibre and an effective range of up to 2.5 kilometres. Thanks to dual feed from the ammunition belt, it was possible to quickly switch the ammunition from explosive to armour-piercing.
The Marder's turret also featured an MG3 machine gun and an anti-tank guided missile launcher for the Milan missiles, which could penetrate up to 700 millimetres of armoured steel at a distance of up to 2 kilometres.
This design, still popular today, ensures that the crew inside the vehicle's hull has an increased chance of survival if the turret is hit. On the other hand, such a construction limits access to the weaponry, making it difficult to clear any jams. In such a case, one of the crew members must leave the armoured hull and perform repairs through inspection hatches.
Due to its technological advancement and cost, the Bundeswehr exclusively used the Marder. Only after the end of the Cold War, due to budget cuts in Germany, were some of the 2,000 manufactured units sold. Other units were stored or scrapped in places such as a warehouse in Thuringia.
Ukraine received 140 Marders in the modified 1A3 version, which underwent upgrades in the 1990s. The changes involved strengthening the armour and equipping the gunner's sight with a thermal imaging device. As a result, despite its Cold War lineage, this vehicle remains useful on modern battlefields and surpasses Soviet-era counterparts.
Ukrainian users greatly value the Marders because they provide much greater protection, especially on the sides, so that, for example, large-calibre machine guns like the DSzK or Kord are no longer a threat. Furthermore, in the event of a hit, the crew has a high chance of survival and the opportunity to continue in a new machine.
