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 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) 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 SPAAGs 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.