First six German Marder tanks arrive in Greece in swap deal
Germany delivered the first six Marder armored combat vehicles to Greece on Monday, the Greek Armed Forces announced on Tuesday, as part of a swap deal between the two countries to assist Ukraine.
“The arrival of Marder 1A3 will continue in the next period according to schedule aiming at the upgrading of the army’s strength in battle and the strengthening of the army’s interoperability,” the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) said in a press release.
Based on the agreement, announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on May 31, Germany will hand over 40 Marder IFVs to Greece while Greece, in turn, would pass on 40 of its Soviet-built BMP-1 IFVs to Ukraine.
Euractiv reported on Tuesday that another 14 tanks are due to arrive in Greece by October 21. BMP-1s are Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicles.
