Germany has delivered 45 of its Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. DW correspondent Mathias Bölinger takes a look at how Ukraine forces are putting the tanks to use.
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00:00 This feline predator crouches hidden in the bushes.
00:03 When prey approaches, it quickly springs into action.
00:07 Germany's military industry like naming their vehicles after animals.
00:14 And this is the Gepard, the cheetah.
00:17 This particular animal hunts drones and missiles in Ukraine.
00:21 This tank has been in Ukraine for eight months now.
00:26 The crew have marked what they have hit, four drones and two missiles so far.
00:31 Ukraine has received 46 Gepards so far.
00:35 Here in the Kiev region, they protect the capital from cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones.
00:41 But that is not what they were originally designed for.
00:45 They were made to shoot down helicopters and planes at close distance from the front lines.
00:50 They have an effective range of about four kilometers.
00:55 The first seconds take your breath away.
00:58 When you have been waiting for targets to appear in your sector for one or two months,
01:02 and then suddenly they appear, you can't make a mistake.
01:06 And if we are talking about missiles, then you only have seconds to act.
01:11 [Gunfire]
01:13 [Speaking in Russian]
01:16 The Gepard is operated by three people, a commander, a driver and a gunner.
01:32 It has two radars and two guns that combined can fire 1,100 rounds a minute.
01:39 [Gunfire]
01:41 The turret and guns are computer guided.
01:46 The commander fires once the gunner has electronically targeted an object.
01:51 [Speaking in Russian]
01:57 You work with the joystick like in a computer game.
02:00 Once you see the target, you lock onto it with a little circle.
02:04 You follow it for two seconds, then you release the joystick,
02:08 and your turret and guns follow the target on their own.
02:11 Production of the Gepards started 50 years ago.
02:15 By 2012, the German army had phased them out.
02:20 But after Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
02:24 Berlin started refurbishing its old Gepards and passing them on to Kiev.
02:31 If you take the production date, yes, it's old equipment.
02:34 But if you look at what it does, it's not old at all.
02:37 If you can hit a cruise missile that costs millions
02:41 with a 35-millimeter shell from a tank built in 1975 or 1980,
02:46 I think that answers any questions.
02:49 As Russia increases its airstrikes on Ukraine,
02:56 the Gepards are seeing plenty of action.
03:00 There is certainly no talk here of retiring the aging cheetah soon.
03:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]