Проблема на 5 миллионов долларов: как списанный немецкий Gepard уничтожает дешевые дроны «Шахед»

In 2010 Germany retired the Flakpanzer Gepard as obsolete. In 2026 it guards Kyiv against Shahed and Geran-2 drones, and Berlin is paying for its ammunition again. The Bundeswehr took the Gepard out of use in 2010 and dissolved its Army air defence branch in March 2012. The vehicles were not scrapped, they were shelved in industrial storage, which is the only reason Germany could send them to Ukraine when the transfer was approved on 26 April 2022. Then the ammunition ran out. Germany's stockpile had fallen to zero, and the rounds were Swiss. Switzerland refused the re-export request, telling Berlin in November 2022 that Swiss war materiel could not go to a country involved in an international armed conflict. Rheinmetall rebuilt a 35mm line at Unterluss from scratch and shipped the first German-made rounds on 5 September 2023. This video explains why a 1970s radar and fire-control solution still beats a drone built this decade. The comparison runs the Gepard against the Patriot PAC-3 MSE, IRIS-T SLM, NASAMS, mobile fire groups, electronic warfare and interceptor drones, with the elimination logic for each. The engine is cost per kill. One PAC-3 MSE interceptor is priced at roughly 5.3 million dollars in the US Army's FY2027 budget request. A Shahed is estimated at 20,000 to 193,000 dollars, and the Gerbera decoy beside it at around 10,000 dollars with no warhead at all. One honest note, because this subject attracts invented statistics. No German or Ukrainian authority has published a cumulative Gepard kill count. Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat put gun turrets of all types at up to around 10 percent of jet-powered Shahed shootdowns in October 2026. The Gepard is the cheapest layer in a layered defence, not a miracle weapon. KEY FACTS 2010, Bundeswehr retires the Gepard. Air defence branch dissolved 12 March 2012. 26 April 2022, Germany approves the transfer. First three delivered 25 July 2022. November 2022, Switzerland refuses re-export of 12,400 Swiss-made 35mm rounds. 5 September 2023, first German-made Gepard ammunition ships from Unterluss. December 2024, Ukraine orders 180,000 HEI-T rounds, funded by Germany, announced 6 January 2025. 6 May 2025, Germany's final support list records 60 Gepards and 330,000 rounds delivered. 27 February 2024, Bundeswehr orders the Skyranger 30 successor. Sources include Rheinmetall, the German federal government's support list, the Bundeswehr and Ukraine's Air Force. #Gepard #Shahed #Ukraine