Ukraine's anti-aircraft weaponry was boosted by German supply of advanced Gepard system ammunition

Initially, Germany was faced with significant challenges in providing the Gepard sets with ammunition, as their supplier was the Swiss division of the Rheinmetall Air Defense conglomerate. A Swiss embargo on ammunition exported to Ukraine drove the Germans to locate an alternative supply source in Norway. Concurrently, they initiated the construction of a new factory, commencing production in the second half of 2023.

The recently inaugurated factory is dedicated to producing a different kind of ammunition than that manufactured by the Norwegian firm, Nammo. Nammo produces SAPHEI-T (armour-piercing with explosive charge, trailing, and incendiary) and HEI-T (shrapnel-incendiary with trailing) ammunition.

In contrast, the factory in Germany initiated the production of sub-calibre APDS-T (armour-piercing with sub-calibre, gyroscopic stabilisation and tracer) ammunition. This third variety of ammunition particularly delighted the Ukrainians, as it enables attacking both aerial targets and armoured vehicles. Ukrainians especially value its superior muzzle speed, enabling easier target attack manoeuvres, and its advanced anti-armour capability compared to ammunition from earlier deliveries.

The construction of APDS-T cartridges differ markedly from SAPHEI-T and HEI-T types as they lack a conventional bullet with a penetrator and/or exploding-incendiary charge. Instead, there's a tungsten penetrator shaped like an arrow with a smaller diameter than the barrel calibre. The penetrator sits in a sabot - a shell made from aluminium or polymer that accommodates the barrel diameter and sheds after the shot.

Until they exit the barrel, both the conventional and the sub-calibre bullet behave similarly. However, upon leaving the barrel, with less air resistance, the lighter, sub-calibre bullet reaches considerably higher speeds. For the Gepard system, SAPHEI-T and HEI-T ammunition have a muzzle speed of approximately 3871ft/s (1180m/s), while the sub-calibre ammunition clock in around 4724 ft/s (1440m/s).

Targets are destroyed purely through the kinetic energy of a tungsten arrow on direct impact. However, market-available ammunition variants exist that fracture into smaller fragments after penetrating an initial barrier. The FAPDS-T ammunition manufactured by Polish company Mesko, containing a rotating sub-calibre bullet with a core that fragments and a tracer, falls into this category.

One of the chief advantages of sub-calibre ammunition utilised in Gepard systems, apart from enabling faster target engagement due to higher bullet muzzle speeds, is the increased range of just over 3.1 miles (5km), compared to traditional solutions with a range of up to 2.5 miles (4km). This is a significant enhancement of the capabilities of the Gepard system, delivering the high precision required for the effective use of this type of ammunition.

The Gepard sets delivered to Ukraine have emerged as one of the most cost-effective means of combating targets, with costs per downed unit being in the range of several thousand dollars or euros. In contrast, with anti-aircraft systems like RBS-70, Polish Piorun, or FIM-92 Stinger, the cost per downed unit is in the tens of thousands of dollars, while for the Patriot systems, it exceeds $1 million for each shot.

While higher costs may be justified when combating advanced targets such as aeroplanes or helicopters, the situation seems less acceptable when shooting simpler drones such as the Iranian Shahed, where the lower cost per downed unit provided by the Gepard systems becomes a distinct advantage.