The wars and local armed conflicts in the past decades have forced weapons designers to continue to perfect the structure of infantry fighting vehicles
The period from the 60s to the 80s of the last century
the world's leading countries have researched and developed infantry fighting vehicles, and they have proven their worth
Prominent among the most famous vehicles in the world is the German Marder
A total of about 2,136 units were produced between 1969–1975
For the design of the Marder, the Germans emphasized crew protection and maneuverability
This vehicle was designed to operate alongside Leopard 1 main battle tanks and follow them in combat
It had similar protection level and mobility as the Leopard 1 tank
The vehicle weighs between 28.5 and 33.5 tons, depending on the version and configuration
It has a length of 6.79 m, a width of 3.24 m, and a height of 2.98 m
A crew of 3 including driver, gunner, and commander
The hull of the Marder 1 is all welded steel, giving protection from small-arms fire and shell fragments
with the front of the hull providing protection from up to 20 mm APDS rounds
Later variants had increased protection up to 30mm APDS
in response to the 30 mm autocannon armed BMP-2 and the development of top attack cluster bomblets
The Marder is a relatively conventional design, with the driver sitting at the front left side of the hull with the engine to his right
The driver has three day periscopes mounted in a hatch that opens to the right
The center periscope can be replaced by a passive night vision device
Behind the driver is a seat for a single infantry man
In early versions of the Marder, this man had a hatch that opened to the right and a periscope that could be rotated through 360 degrees
this hatch was removed in the 1A3 variant onwards
In the center of the hull is the two-man turret, which holds the commander on the right and the gunner on the left
Only the commander is provided with a hatch. The commander has eight day periscopes for all round observation and the gunner has an additional three
To the rear of the turret is the troop compartment
which can hold six infantry men, sitting back to back facing outwards along the center of the hull
The Marder is a formidable vehicle almost resembling a light tank
but armed with an externally mounted 20 mm cannon and coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun over a two-man turret
This IFV was powered by an MTU MB 833 Ea-500 diesel engine, developing 600 hp
It can reach a maximum speed of 75 km/h, a range of 520 km
The Marder is capable of fording in up to 1.5 meters of water unprepared, and can be fitted with a kit allowing it to ford water up to 2.5 meters deep
Currently Germany operates only 390 of these IFVs
A large number of Marders are kept in storage
This IFV has been exported to Chile (280 units), Indonesia (50) and Jordan (50)
With the first unit delivered in summer 1971
the Marder IFV remained untested in combat for 38 years until July 2009
when they defended a German combat outpost against the Taliban in Chahar Dara district of Afghanistan's Kunduz Province
killing and wounding scores of insurgents
Since then, the Marders have been involved in heavy fighting several times.
The vehicles have proved to be extremely useful and have been praised as a great tactical asset by German troops