The Schützenpanzer Marder 1 (; ''"
Schützen" carrying
"Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "
Marten 1"'') is a tracked German
infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
designed for use with the West German
Panzergrenadiere units,
mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps).
As defined by the United States Army, me ...
specialized for
IFV combat. It has been operated by the
German Army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
as the main
Panzergrenadiere IFV since the 1970s through to the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
's
armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...
industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid
infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
design.
While it used to include a few unique features, such as a fully remote machine gun on the rear deck and gun ports on the sides for infantry to fire through, these features have been deleted or streamlined in later upgrade packages to bring it more in line with modern IFV design. The MG has been moved to be a coaxial, the gun ports entirely welded shut and uparmored. It is overall a simple and conventional machine with one large rear exit hatch and three top hatches for mounted infantry to fire from.
Around 2,100 were taken into service by the West German army in the early 1970s, but the vehicle in its original form was not sold to any foreign militaries. As the West German army began to retire older vehicles, the Chilean government agreed to acquire 200 Marders; the government of Greece has considered the purchase of 450 retired vehicles in the past. Argentina uses a simplified and locally produced variant, the
VCTP, and has a number of vehicles based on that platform constructed by Henschel and built by TAMSE.
The intended successor to the Marder 1 was initially the
Marder 2 project in the 1990s, but after its cancellation the successor became the
Puma in the 2010s. The Marder is currently being replaced by the Puma.
Development
Development of the Marder ran from January 1960, when the first development contracts were issued, to May 1971, when the first production vehicles were given to the West 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. 10 pre-production vehicles were built and completed troop trials with the West German army between October 1968 and March 1969. In May 1969, the vehicle was named the "Marder" after the
European pine marten, an agile, short-legged, bushy-tailed, medium-sized carnivorous mammal in the weasel family. In October Rheinstahl was chosen as the prime contractor.

The first production Marder was handed to the West German army in May 1971. Production of the vehicle continued until 1975, with 2,136 vehicles being completed.
In 1975, the
MILAN
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
anti-tank guided missile was adapted to be fired by the commander from his open hatch. Between 1977 and 1979 MILAN missiles were fitted to the Marders.
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. The new vehicle was supposed to be the partner of the
Leopard 2, just like Marder was the companion to the Standardpanzer/
Leopard 1, it was named Marder 2 and the older vehicles re-designated.
The A3 upgrade program began in 1988. Thyssen-Henschel was awarded a contract 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 West German army in 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 provided additional protection against cluster bomblets.
* The hatches over the infantry compartment were rearranged.
* The suspension was reinforced, a new braking system was installed, and the gearbox adjusted. The heating system was replaced with a water based heating system.
* The turret was reconfigured.
* The new total weight was 35,000 kg.
Description
The hull of the Marder 1 is all welded steel, giving protection from small-arms fire and shell fragments. The front of the hull provided protection from up to 20 mm
armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) rounds. Later variants 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 the driver's 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 infantryman. In early versions of the Marder, this infantryman 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 centre 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 three. The primary sighting system is the PERI-Z11 sight, which has either 2× or 6× optical magnification. From version 1A2 on, there is an additional thermal sight with 2x and 8x magnification. 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 capable of fording in up to 1.5 meters of water unprepared. It can be fitted with a kit allowing it to ford water up to 2.5 meters deep.
The vehicle is powered by an
MTU MB 833 Ea-500 six-cylinder liquid-cooled
sequentially turbocharged diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
which delivers approximately at 2,200 rpm. The cooling radiators are mounted at the rear of the hull, either side of the exit ramp. The engine is coupled to a
Renk four speed HSWL 194 planetary gear box, with four forward and four reverse gears. The transmission also provides steering and braking via a stepless hydrostatic unit, which transmits power to two drive units mounted at the front of the hull. The vehicle carries 652 liters of fuel, giving it a road range of around 500 kilometres. Early Marders could achieve a road speed of 75 km/h in 4th gear, but the extra armour of later vehicles reduced this to 65 km/h.
The Marder is propelled by a Diehl track, which can be fitted with rubber road pads or metallic grousers for improved mobility in snow. The drive mechanism consists of six rubber tyred road wheels, with a drive sprocket at the front of the hull and an idler at the rear. Three return rollers are fitted. The suspension is a
torsion bar system, with hydrostatic shock absorbers fitted to the front two and last two road wheels.
Armament
The primary armament is the 20 mm
Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
. It is mounted in the small two-man
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
and can fire either armour-piercing or
HE rounds. Mounted
coaxially to the left of the cannon is a 7.62 mm
MG 3 machine gun. The turret has 360 degree traverse, and can elevate from −17 degrees to +65 degrees, at a rate of 40 degrees per second while traversing at a rate of 60 degrees a second.
Early production Marders, up to and including version 1A1 had a second, rear-facing MG 3 mounted on the rear deck in a remote controlled pod and operated by one of the mounted infantry using a co-axial PERI-Z12 periscope sight (with a 180° horizontal traverse arc and a vertical arc of -15° to +55°). Typically, 1,250 rounds are carried for the 20 mm cannon, along with a further 5,000 rounds for the MG3.
On models since version 1A1A, a
MILAN
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
anti-tank guided missile launcher can be attached to the turret to provide enhanced
anti-armour capabilities. Typically, four missiles are carried inside the vehicle.
There are four gun ports, two per side, which can be used by mounted infantry to provide additional fire against attacking infantry targets. Only Marder 1A1 and 1A2 were equipped with this. Marder 1A3 and above do not have gun ports due to the fitting of an extra layer of armour and outside storage boxes.
Six 76-millimeter-diameter smoke grenade dischargers can create a visual and
infrared
Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...
blocking
smoke screen
A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships.
Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...
.
Combat service
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
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
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* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
in Chahar Dara district of
Afghanistan's Kunduz Province
Kunduz () is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethnically ...
, killing and wounding scores of enemies. 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. However, the crews have been subject to great physical stress as none of the vehicles are equipped with
air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
systems.
Two Marders were damaged by improvised explosive devices in the course of a German-led offensive on Taliban fighters in Quatliam, on 31 October 2010. Later in the battle, code-named by the Coalition "
Operation Halmazag", a single Marder beat off a Taliban attempt to outflank positions held by German paratroopers. On 2 June 2011, a German Marder was destroyed near Kunduz by a 200 kg (440.91 lbs.) IED, killing one soldier and injuring five others.
The Marder was deployed during the
Kosovo War as part of the German peacekeeping forces sent as part of NATO's Kosovo Force (
KFOR).

On 29 March 2023,
Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov announced that Marders donated from Germany during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
had arrived in the country. They were first used by the
82nd Air Assault Brigade in August as part of the
2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a Counter-offensive, counteroffensive against Russian forces Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupying its territory with a goal of breaching the front lines ...
; 100 vehicles had been delivered by that time.
According to the Oryx blog as of 9 May 2025, at least 42 Ukrainian Marders 1A3 had been visually recorded lost by photos or videos; 26 destroyed, 12 damaged or abandoned and 4 captured.
Variants
The Marder 1A3 is currently the most common version of this system, and is in service with the German
Bundeswehr
The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
. The Marder 1A4 differs from the 1A3 only by the use of a
cryptography
Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logy, -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of Adversary (cryptography), ...
-capable radio-set. The newest version of the Marder is the Marder 1A5 with advanced mine protection. Only a small number of this variant is in service.
Main-IFV models
* Marder 1 (1971–)
** Marder 1 with MILAN: A MILAN launcher was fitted to all Marders between 1977 and 1979 which reduced Infantry capacity to six.
** Marder 1 A1(+) (1979–1982): Dual feed for 20 mm cannon enabling choice of ammunition, night vision equipment including image intensifiers and a thermal imager. Applied to 674 vehicles between 1979 and 1982.
** Marder 1 A1(−) (1979–1982): As A1(+) but without thermal imager. 350 vehicles upgraded to this standard.
*** Marder 1 A1A3: A Marder A1 with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
** Marder 1 A1A: As 1 A1 but without any passive night vision equipment. 1,112 vehicles upgraded to this standard.
*** Marder 1 A1A4: A Marder A1A with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
** Marder 1 A1A2: A converted Marder 1 with A1 turret and A2 chassis
*** Marder 1 A1A5: A Marder A1A2 with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
** Marder 1 A2 (1984–1991): Between 1984 and 1991, all West German Marder 1s were upgraded to A2 standard. This included substantial modification of the suspension, fuel tanks, cooling system and water-jet cleaning system. A new sighting system was installed. The infrared search light equipment was removed. All vehicles were fitted with thermal imagers except for the 674 A1(+) vehicles, which already had them.
*** Marder 1 A2A1: A Marder 1 A2 with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
** Marder 1 A3 (1988–1998): A Marder with upgraded armor (involved extra frontal armor), suspension changes and other modifications.
** Marder 1 A4: A Marder 1 A3 with SEM 93 cryptographic radio.
** Marder 1 A5 (2003–2004): Additional anti-mine armor and a completely remodeled interior in order to avoid blast and shock injuries to the crew when hit by a mine. Applied to 74 Marder 1 A3s only.
*** Marder 1 A5A1 (2010–2011): Equipped with an air conditioning system, a jammer for IED-protection and multi-spectral camouflage. In December 2010 ten vehicles were brought to this standard, with a further 25 to be upgraded by August 2011.
File:Marder1A3.5.jpg, A Marder 1A3 fires a MILAN missile during an exercise.
File:BundeswehrMarderA5.jpg, A Marder 1A5
File:Marder1A3.6.jpg, A Marder 1A3 of Panzergrenadier Battalion 391 in 2006.
Derivative models

The Marder served as the basis for
Thyssen-Henschel's medium tank design which became the
TAM for
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. A simplified version of the Marder is also employed as an infantry fighting vehicle, mortar carrier and command vehicle by the
Argentine Army, realising most of the versions originally planned for the Bundeswehr and later abandoned due to costs and/or the availability of cheap alternatives like the
M106 mortar carrier.
The Marder is used as a carrier for the
Roland
Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...
air defence system. The
Kanonenjagdpanzer and
Raketenjagdpanzer 2 started development as part of the Marder family but were realised based on the second batch of prototypes using different engines etc. The Kanonenjagdpanzer built for Belgium are a hybrid between the original Bundeswehr version and Marder parts. Some 4–6 test models of a 120 mm mortar on a Marder chassis were built, and at least one is in use as a firefighting vehicle at the WTS Meppen. Tests with an AAA tank were performed but the high weight of the system resulted in a switch to the heavier Standardpanzer chassis, resulting in the Gepard AAA system. At least one first or second generation prototype was equipped with the 110 mm artillery rocket system that later became the truck-mounted LARS system.
During the
Eurosatory Show 2012,
Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH offered two further upgrades as part of the Marder Evolution family. The first upgrade was the Marder APC which features a new
M151 Protector remotely controlled weapon, replacing the original
Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh 202 automatic cannon, ballistic protection comparable to STANAG Level 4+, and mine protection comparable to Level 3a/3b+. The top deck has been lifted to enable improved ergonomics and uses a MTU MB883 diesel. The other upgrade was the Marder Medium Tank which features a rifled, stabilized 105 mm OTO-Melara gun in a new turret.
At
Indo Defence 2016, Rheinmetall exhibited the Marder Medium Tank RI ("RI" stands for "Republic of Indonesia"), which was offered to the Indonesian Army, at the time already operating the Marder 1A3. The tank used the Marder 1A3 hull, with the three-crew
Leonardo HITFACT turret armed with an OTO-Melara 105 mm gun and two 7.62 mm machine guns used in coaxial and roof-mounted positions. The HITFACT turret was equipped with an advanced fire control system, linked with the commander and gunner sights, a laser rangefinder, and day/thermal sights for both the commander and gunner. Improvements included upgraded suspension, a new MTU diesel engine with , and the availability to mount a modular armour package.
Marder 2
Schützenpanzer Marder 2 was a 1991 prototype German
infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
intended as a replacement design to the Schützenpanzer Marder 1. The project started in 1984 and was cancelled in 1992.
A prototype is preserved at the
Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology.
Operators
Current operators
Former operators
* had purchased 4
Roland 2 systems on the German Marder chassis along with 50 missiles in the late 1970s. All 4 were retired from service in 2001.
See also
*
List of modern armoured fighting vehicles
*
Mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps).
As defined by the United States Army, me ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
Citations
General and cited references
* ''Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005–2006''
External links
Data facts about Marder
Marder 2 Infantry Fighting Vehicleat Fighting-vehicles.com
{{ModernGermanAFVsNav, style=wide
Armoured fighting vehicles of Germany
Infantry fighting vehicles of the Cold War
Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s
Tracked infantry fighting vehicles