The Flakpanzer Gepard - The Shahed bane in Ukraine 

Yes, that's what i was thinking, it would have been a pretty dum design to leave the ammo switch outside of the tank.

Vielen Dank für die Richtigstellung! Many thanks for the correction. Greetings to our Australian friends from Germany!

Thanks for the information. I couldn't believe what i was hearing in the video.

I was a commander on Gepard B2L and 1A2 in the 90s and 2000s. The 1A2 was upgraded from an analog to a digital computer, 2x 22MHz. Worked like a charm.🙂 B2L was already a great tool with additional laser distance measurements on the front tracking radar from the shown variant. And the 1A2 topped that easily.

i can confirm this (a former Gepard weapons mechanic from the late 1990's)

35 mm is a bit excessive for drones. 0.50 should do the job.

@@kaipirinha8871 With 12.7mm rounds you need to hit the target. With bigger rounds you have proximity fuses.

The 35 mm burst/shrapnel Ammunition is pretty perfect for suicide drones and low flying cruises missles!

Not to mention that this tank can still clean a building of enemy infantry, destroy IFVs or even disable a MBT.

@@kaipirinha8871 The Gepard was also build against aircrafts. But the bigger ammo give you a large range advantage and the gepard is very accurate. I saw a documentation of the usage in ukraine. They used mostly 6 bullets for a shahid to be on the safe side. But the drones were sometimes so high that you were not able to see them with your eyes only from the ground. I don't think 0.50 ammunition would be as advantageous.

I had a small model of a Gepard as a child and I've always wondered about those. I'd deduced they measured projectile speed for computing lead and elevation, but I still don't understand why it's so critical to measure EACH projectile's speed - couldn't the aiming computer be pre-programmed with the load data for each standard type of shell? Click a switch? That's how a tank gunner switches aiming points from AP to HE, for example, and they don't need a muzzle device that measures each round's velocity.

@@harveywallbanger3123 remember… the analog computer is from the 60’s. And each round has a deviation. So it takes an avarage. 1% off on 3,5km is stil a big miss when it comes to a fast flying aircraft.

​​@@baukemiedema2420 1985: the majority of the Bundeswehr B2 versions were retrofitted with a laser range finder. 1996 - 2000: Installation of improved digital computers for the fire control system and connection to the army air defense reconnaissance and combat management system (HFlaAFüSys) with the installation of improved data radios of the type SEM 93.

@@herosstratos yes. In the Netherlands we changed that also and called the PRTL cheeta from then on.

Apparently the guy in the video is wrong. It was possible to switch ammo type while inside of the vehicle. There is a comment here, written by a Gepard commander, a German guy.

Volkswagen Golf or Toccata and fugue in d minor by J.S. Bach is a german marvel, not a killing machine like this.

@@markod7662 Good luck stopping an enemy invasion with some organ jingling then mate.

@@markod7662 didnt get the Point eh

Helicopter have 10km range

yes they are burning just as well as the leopard tanks are in Ukraine.

Mate, sounds like you had the best childhood ever! I'm jealous.

I bet he never thought it would be used on a battlefield in 2023!

Heeresflugabwehrschule Rendsburg 1989/90 Schönen Gruß! 😁👍

It’s a great design and the creators who envisioned it should be proud of their achievement. The video of one shooting down a drone using just 8 or 9 rounds of ammunition was stunning.

@@edwardhewer8530 thank you and yes indeed. And I think it is healthy and important to detach this from any mythical 'german engineering'. In case of the gepard there seem to have been some inspired engineers back then and this can happen every now and then everywhere around the world and its a nice thing when it happens and it stands out and gets noticed, later, with some time and distance, that something exceptional has been designed.

As an American we are very attached to these weapon's symbolism such as the B-52, aircraft carriers, or the Abrams. Even the B-17, Sherman Tank, and P-51. The M-16 and Huey for Vietnam. We are (good or bad) pretty good at it.

@@badlt5897 yes thank you for this. Indeed. The gepard now seems to be becoming something similar for Ukraine and Germany to what the US has already experienced with those pieces of equipment you mention. I guess its just a new experience for Germany, or Germans, since no piece of equipment has had such a symbolic value since WWII.

@@Th3SilentObserver Well Germany has the PzH 2000 and the iconic MG42. And we love your cars!!!

Mijn maat was daar altijd super trots op hij zat in Seedorf in rond 1980

Er waren er in 85 veel in Ede west, machtige dingen , die prtls.

Are you saying this can engage armour? How much damage could this do?really appreciate an answer from someone with real experience

There where if I'm not mistaken 95 PRTL 9×9 batteries 14 reserve and training deliverd for 9 brigades of the Dutch 1st Corps. As a conscript after two months training in Amersfoort I went for two months to Ede Wageningen the AA training. During my ten month operational with 43 Brigade Havelte because there was one man short I could do on the job training as an AA gunner. The PRTL / GEPARD is absolutely not suited to take on any armour other than shoot and scoot. The 35mm Heat could maybe kill a BMP but not a T72. Just hitting them would hopefully get them off balance to get away behind a smoke screen. The armour of the high turret is much too thin. As is I know now or can't remember of the hull. Ergo light armoured vehicles are a threat.

@@gerhardris thanks for reply and fair play for being willing to sit in one in combat 👌

Would not leave much to eat.

Some of it is incorrect though.

Is there a concealed carry option?

@@ReezeGoingSenseless Yes I carry a Wiesel armed with stingers.

​@@frostedbutts4340 Do you have to keep it on a leash? Can you take it hunting?

@@MostlyPennyCat no. Unfortunately, if either your Gepard or Wiesel has demonstrated aggressive behaviour against a local resident, like an unicorn or a bigfoot, you need to put yours down.

@@frostedbutts4340 ah, Ozelot!

You won't be disappointed!

Looks brilliant doesn't it. Putting that on my next trip list.

Including the Soviet 2S7 self propelled gun in the background…

Am Happy to say that the wife and I are coming up for armorfest 23 in August, and to umm sample the local gin produce. I believe its a native species up there?

But brazil refuses to help Ukraine

We support Russia !!

Lemmy from Motorhead collected German WW2 memorabilia and he even had a Stug III - when asked why he collected "Nazi" militaria he said "I can't help it that the bad guys had the coolest stuff."

That's what happens when the dictator is an artist. I'm not even kidding, there are documented instances where the Austrian painter guy rejected good weapons and vehicles because they were "ugly", and liked some less performing equipment because they "looked cool". When they built the highways, the moustache guy insisted that they follow the flow of the landscape, to look nicer, and every single tree they had to remove was numbered, and had to be replaced. Aesthetics were very important in the Third Reich also for propaganda reasons.

There is a good talk about design from "Tiger" here on YT. It starts from minute 7:50. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iE22h16Bxnc.html

The Empire is using them alongside the MG3/42 the Stormtroopers are using^^

Because the Empire in Star Wars was heavily based on Nazi Germany, and many of the infantry weapons are literally WW2 guns with random bits and pieces attached.

Maybe because one of the initial ideas of star wars was "WWII in Space"?

Little known fun fact: George Lucas designed the Stormtroopers after the Sturmtruppen, a special unit in the German army during the first world war

Yes remember Seedorf

My mate was in 103 dutch cav

My accomodation block overlooked the Cloggie tank park.

But it would be senseless to use Oerlikon guns in future. Germany had problems to deliver the ammunition because Oerlikon is a Swiss concern. To deliver ammunition Germany had to buy it from all over the world. Switzerland gave Oerlikon no clearance to deliver ammunition to Germany to deliver it to Ukraine. Rheinmetall produces the ammunition now in Germany.

Cairns is actually a great spot. Absolutely beautiful vibe of tropics, beaches and mountains, great restaurants and cheap but quality resorts and hotels, you'll love it!

Gepards are technologically outdated, the replacement will be MANTIS - bolted on top of a boxer chassis. Much cheaper and much more effective due to programmable ammunition. That alongside the wiesel offers a much more versatile anti air protection

@@hiya2793 no, they are not outdated. They are still fine against helicopters, drones amd cruise missiles. And also it is a self propelled platform that is mobile and can switch positions in no time (a Mantis is stationary)

@@Tobias042 ..Hence on a Boxer IFV chassis. Already being prototyped as Skyranger.

@@frostedbutts4340 yes! THAT will be MUCH better than a Gepard. What I wonder is, if it would be possible to mount a Mantis on a flying platform. Just imagine how much more area you could protect with one of these things if you just have a prewarning time of like 5 minutes. You would only need one unit per city instead of one unit per object

​@@Tobias042 mantis also comes In a deployable container you can drop off in a camp or something up to 6 of them combined with a radar container and a control container.

As time goes by, no doubt the Flak Panzer Gepard will become a legend just like a Ford T is regarded today in the car industry.

Funny thing is Commodore 64 is still the best PC. Old is gold.

@@MXB2001 nostalgia is helluva drug

Bovington sometimes does resto videos I think? Isn't there a series on the Matilda II?

I'd say it was a victim of German politics in slashing military spending too far. Some form of drone defense is a must have now. A better option would be something like upgrades for the Puma IFV.. it already has airburst shells and with tracking improvements can attack low flying helicopters / drones.

Missiles ended its natural use. Any antiradar missile can out range it by far. Without its radar its not going to hit anything fast or low.

Simple because its all propaganda

Because they had to cut costs. And in their wisdom they decided that Taliban, pirates and random insurgents don't use SU-25 or Mi-24. Heck, even some NATO forces came up with the great idea to abandon all their MBT-forces since you "only need light infantry"

The Bundeswehr retired the Gepard for BUDGET reasons in 2012 ...Back in those happy days Russia had not invaded yet Crimea, let alone all of Ukraine. Since 2022 the German Ministry of Defense has DOUBLED its budget...!

"Jeez !" LOL.

Definitely not a game changer.

total bull......

Experience has shown that you cannot stall the Leopard 1's engine, so there is an emergency shutdown. The Leopard 1 doesn't swim like an M113, but it can, among other things, drive under water.

As a former bucket driver, at least you would've had a chance of deploying somewhere in your actual ECN. Unlike the koala's in their tanks...

Hello Edmund, I was 1980 -1982 with the 7 battery at that time Captain Wolfgang Stonis. Basic training together with Boris Pistorius in the 3 battery

Would just think we left the Americans and Brits whit some of our world war stocks. While i guess those cold war vehicles we give to anybody who asks as we don´t use them anymore so should probably be not to rare.

Hello Billy yes I know the coat of arms. I was there in the north with the Bundeswehr in 1982-83. Some of our soldiers were allowed to shoot in the US military. Many were exchange students in the United States when they were young and spoke English. It was really exciting to see the US military shooting. In the unit I was in we had 20mm guns and in the barracks was The Cheetah Regiment. The place where the shooting took place on the Baltic Sea was Putlos and Todendorf. Maybe we met then ;-)

Hi Billy, the crest you are talking about is the crest of the Anti-Aircraft-School of the German Army where all officers and sergeants of the Gepard crews where trained. The School was located in Rendburg and I guess you trained firing at Todendorf. Greetings from Germany.

@@frago63 yes, was at Todendorf I got the Crest. Think was for sell or traded at the small shop at the Kaserne.

@@Toddel1234567 Was in Germany in 84-86 as a medic at Landstuhl. Then but in 88-92 with Vulcan and gunnery at Todendorf.

@@billywalters6060 that was after my army time. It's been a long time. I was young then, now I'm an old man ;-)

and helicopters

Just watch a video about the Gepard, it will leave you in awe...

Skyranger 35 is just the next stage of the MANTIS anti air support weapon system that has been tested for the last 10 years.

@@hiya2793 Yes, and thats why we need it as a mobile version. idc if its the truck mounted or the one on the Boxer Platform. We need mobile Airdefense with ahead ammo and low cost which this is.

@@Thor_Asgard_ The Gepard was ridiculously expensive because it was a 1-fits-all solution that incorporated everything in 1 vehicle. From recon over lock over crew protection over firing, both anti air and anti ground- It's completely overbuilt and half the features it has are not needed because it won't be standing all by itself on a random field. Right now there's the wiesel with anti air rockets which works fine - the Skyranger will be world class again.

@@hiya2793 It was, but it was still cheaper then all that different shinannigans we now need. Just think about how expensive drone defense will be with rockets. Lasers and Ammo is the way to go in short range defense. And i hope we are going for world class again, as we can see, that we Germans are unable to make cheap shit in numbers.

Germany will use MANTIS instead of Gepard

Please don't get into politics here especially when you don't seem to understand who is on the right side of history. Suggest educating yourself and go back as far as 1991 (Ukraine Independence) when Nazis re-surfaced and started making themselves known once again.

@@Slaktrax Maybe you should take your own advice and keep your opinions to yourself. Mkay?

@@Slaktrax 🤡🤡🤡

@@Slaktrax Been supporting putin long?

​@@Slaktrax yeah there are neonazis in Ukraine. Same as with the UK. You realise that your (the british) Neo-Nazi Culture of the 1970´s and 80´s was the style template for basicly all western neo-nazi cultures till the early 2000´s? (Skinheads). You realise that the largest and most dangerous neo-nazi terror network of the western world originated in the UK? (Combat 18) The UK has one of the largest established right wing extremist/neo-nazi political representations in western europe. In comparison, during the last elections in Ukraine, the right wing extremist party, to wich Azov is associated, got a single seat and that only due to something called "overhang mandate", wich means, the party got a local sucess (for example winning 60% in a constituency). Ukraines Parliament has an entry threshhold, so that micro partys wont enter. This party did not make it over the threshhold and only got representation due to the overhang mandate. How does the UK compare to that? you got right wing extremists in your fricking parliaments for decades and not in small numbers. If my county was such an influential cornerstone of western right wing extremism, down to hosting the largest and most relevant neo nazi terror organisation of the western world (and still not prohibiting them) i would be very quiet.

Depends how you look at it.. 35mm ain’t sheep… $50k worth of ammo to destroy a $1000 drone…

@@BERZERKERSV4 im sure the Ukrainian would like to pay the $500.000 repair cost for whatever that drone hits.

@@BERZERKERSV4 Better than Ukrainian lives.

​@@BERZERKERSV4 what the hell are you talking? it takes max. 10 standard rounds each 50$ to down an at least 10k$ drone is far more realistic then your estimation

@@BERZERKERSV4 really …. Is this your answer ??? 😂