Marder (IFV) - Development

Development

Development of the Marder ran from January 1960, when the first development contracts were issued, to 7 May 1971, when the first production vehicles were given to the German army.

The vehicle was intended to be an improvement over the Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30. The main requirements were:

• A capacity of 12 infantrymen.
• A more reliable 20 mm cannon.
• The infantry must be able to fight from within the vehicle or dismounted.
• Protection from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

Initially development contracts were awarded to two groups of companies the Rheinstahl group (Rheinstahl-Hanomag, Ruhrstahl, Witten-Annen, Büro Warnecke) and the second group comprising Henschel Werke and the Swiss MOWAG company. This resulted in the production of seven prototype vehicles. A second set of eight prototype vehicles were built between 1961 and 1963. Development priority was then switched for a while to the development of the Jagdpanzer 90 mm Kanone.

In 1967, after military requirements were finalized, a third and final set of ten prototypes were built. Final development work was completed by the Rheinstahl group, and 10 pre-production vehicles were built and completed troop trials with the German army between October 1968 and March 1969. In May 1969, the vehicle was officially named the "Marder" and in October Rheinstahl was chosen as the prime contractor.

The first production Marder 1 was handed to the German army on 7 May 1971. Production of the vehicle continued until 1975, with 2,136 vehicles being completed.

In 1975 the Milan missile was first adapted to be fired by commander from his open hatch, and between 1977 and 1979 Milan missiles were fitted to army vehicles.

A number of upgrade programs were carried out, that included fitting night vision equipment and a thermal imager, as well as an upgraded ammunition feed to the 20 mm cannon.

Around 1985 the designation was changed to Marder-1 (until then it was simply Marder) since a follow-up IFV was under construction. Since the new vehicle should be the partner of the Leopard-II just like Marder was the companion to the Standardpanzer/Leopard I, it was named Marder-2 and the older vehicles re-designated.

The A3 upgrade program began in 1988, with Thyssen-Henschel being awarded a contact to upgrade 2,100 Marder 1 A1/A2 series vehicles to A3 standard at a rate of 220 a year. The first upgraded vehicles reached the German army on 17 November 1989. The modification package included:

• Improved armour weighing 1,600 kg intended to protect against the 30 mm 2A42 cannon on the Russian BMP-2. The armour also provided additional protection against cluster bomblets.
• The hatches over the infantry compartment were re-arranged.
• Suspension was reinforced, a new braking system was installed, the gearbox adjusted. The heating system was replaced with a water based heating system.
• Turret was reconfigured.
• Total weight is now 35,000 kg.