German weapons are helping Ukraine in the fight against Russia – but they also need to be maintained. A repair center has so far failed because of Poland, but according to SPIEGEL, an alternative is now being discussed.
The self-propelled howitzer 2000 has proven to be a very effective weapon in the advance of Ukrainian troops. 22 of them supplied by Germany and the Netherlands are in constant use. They can be deployed quickly, and their range is up to 40 kilometers. Moreover, the systems hit with extreme precision, including where Russian troops are massing to attack.
However, the constant use does not leave no traces on the war materiel, which originates from the Munich-based armaments manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). That’s why the question of how to quickly restore the armored guns is becoming increasingly urgent.
A repair center in a neighboring state of Ukraine is supposed to ensure that. But plans to build the facility in Poland are in danger of falling through. The German government had been working with KMW for several months to set up such a center for the self-propelled howitzer 2000 in Poland near the Ukrainian border.
A good one in three of these weapons is already in need of repair. Up to now, the howitzers have been repaired by the German armed forces and industry in Lithuania, and transporting them there is costly. But Poland, a NATO country with a border with Ukraine, is now demanding that its own state armaments company PGZ should be in charge of the repairs. It is demanding that sensitive design information be handed over to the company.
This, according to industry circles, is not conceivable for KMW for competitive reasons. KMW and the German Defense Ministry are now negotiating with Slovakia. The Munich-based company is hoping for better conditions there. Slovakia could then later also service weapons systems from other manufacturers such as Diehl, FFG or the French defense company Nexter, which is also supplying a self-propelled howitzer to Ukraine. The center is scheduled to begin operations by the end of the year.
The investment in such a maintenance center is also of great importance in the longer term. In the Ukrainian army, the importance of Western weapon systems is growing as the old Soviet-era stocks wear out or are destroyed. Ukraine is very interested in more KMW self-propelled howitzers. That’s why the German government authorized KMW to produce 100 of them this summer. Some of them are to be financed by Germany or other NATO countries and delivered to Ukraine. There is still no final agreement on this support for Ukraine. The armored vehicles would also only be ready in the coming years.
There are various reasons for the wear and tear on the howitzers delivered so far. The Bundeswehr assumes that the problems are related to the high rate of fire at which the Ukrainian armed forces use the guns in the fight against the Russian invaders; this puts enormous strain on the howitzer’s loading mechanism.
Among the troops, even 100 rounds per day is considered high-intensity use, but the Ukrainians apparently fired far more shells. In addition, the soldiers at the front are said to have initially tried to fire special ammunition at too great a range. This so-called smart ammunition is designed for particularly precise effective hits.
>But Poland, a NATO country with a border with Ukraine, is now demanding that its own state armaments company PGZ should be in charge of the repairs. It is demanding that sensitive design information be handed over to the company.
lmao they’ve lost their mind completely now
That moment when you are too drunk on your stupid election
Typical move of the PiS against the evil Niemiec, but the PiS will tell a story why this is actually good for Poland.
Offtopic
If you consider how little training time the Ukrainians had for the PzH2000 and how much time you actually need to get used to working well as a team for maximum efficiency, then the results so far speak a pretty clear language. The cadence with which the Ukrainians are firing the ammunition in various videos is quite impressive and obviously they are hitting well.
> But Poland, a NATO country with a border with Ukraine, is now demanding that its own state armaments company PGZ should be in charge of the repairs. It is demanding that sensitive design information be handed over to the company.
For some context, Poland is currently refurbishing Leopard 2A4 tanks bought from German Rheinmetall in 2018. So far it managed to painstakingly get 20 units done (that’s 5 tanks a year on average) and the slowness of the process is causing a stir. One of the cited reasons is alleged insane bureaucracy – someone close to the process said once the Polish side needs to get an ok on every screw.
If Polish side is to be responsible for the repairs, I can’t imagine them not having the know-how to do so. It’d be insanely ineffective or nigh impossible task. So contrary to other commenters in the thread, I think demanding access to design information is a very sensible request. I mean if you don’t trust your allies, transport the machines back to Germany and service them there.
For additional context, South Korean companies have absolutely no problem sharing everything needed with their allies/customers. I think that’s a huge factor in Poland and other CEE countries going to SK to shop for weapons these days.
Waiting on the highly upvoted article
>Scholz refuses to repair PzH 2000 it sent to Ukraine
7 comments
Translation:
German weapons are helping Ukraine in the fight against Russia – but they also need to be maintained. A repair center has so far failed because of Poland, but according to SPIEGEL, an alternative is now being discussed.
The self-propelled howitzer 2000 has proven to be a very effective weapon in the advance of Ukrainian troops. 22 of them supplied by Germany and the Netherlands are in constant use. They can be deployed quickly, and their range is up to 40 kilometers. Moreover, the systems hit with extreme precision, including where Russian troops are massing to attack.
However, the constant use does not leave no traces on the war materiel, which originates from the Munich-based armaments manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). That’s why the question of how to quickly restore the armored guns is becoming increasingly urgent.
A repair center in a neighboring state of Ukraine is supposed to ensure that. But plans to build the facility in Poland are in danger of falling through. The German government had been working with KMW for several months to set up such a center for the self-propelled howitzer 2000 in Poland near the Ukrainian border.
A good one in three of these weapons is already in need of repair. Up to now, the howitzers have been repaired by the German armed forces and industry in Lithuania, and transporting them there is costly. But Poland, a NATO country with a border with Ukraine, is now demanding that its own state armaments company PGZ should be in charge of the repairs. It is demanding that sensitive design information be handed over to the company.
This, according to industry circles, is not conceivable for KMW for competitive reasons. KMW and the German Defense Ministry are now negotiating with Slovakia. The Munich-based company is hoping for better conditions there. Slovakia could then later also service weapons systems from other manufacturers such as Diehl, FFG or the French defense company Nexter, which is also supplying a self-propelled howitzer to Ukraine. The center is scheduled to begin operations by the end of the year.
The investment in such a maintenance center is also of great importance in the longer term. In the Ukrainian army, the importance of Western weapon systems is growing as the old Soviet-era stocks wear out or are destroyed. Ukraine is very interested in more KMW self-propelled howitzers. That’s why the German government authorized KMW to produce 100 of them this summer. Some of them are to be financed by Germany or other NATO countries and delivered to Ukraine. There is still no final agreement on this support for Ukraine. The armored vehicles would also only be ready in the coming years.
There are various reasons for the wear and tear on the howitzers delivered so far. The Bundeswehr assumes that the problems are related to the high rate of fire at which the Ukrainian armed forces use the guns in the fight against the Russian invaders; this puts enormous strain on the howitzer’s loading mechanism.
Among the troops, even 100 rounds per day is considered high-intensity use, but the Ukrainians apparently fired far more shells. In addition, the soldiers at the front are said to have initially tried to fire special ammunition at too great a range. This so-called smart ammunition is designed for particularly precise effective hits.
>But Poland, a NATO country with a border with Ukraine, is now demanding that its own state armaments company PGZ should be in charge of the repairs. It is demanding that sensitive design information be handed over to the company.
lmao they’ve lost their mind completely now
That moment when you are too drunk on your stupid election
Typical move of the PiS against the evil Niemiec, but the PiS will tell a story why this is actually good for Poland.
Offtopic
If you consider how little training time the Ukrainians had for the PzH2000 and how much time you actually need to get used to working well as a team for maximum efficiency, then the results so far speak a pretty clear language. The cadence with which the Ukrainians are firing the ammunition in various videos is quite impressive and obviously they are hitting well.
> But Poland, a NATO country with a border with Ukraine, is now demanding that its own state armaments company PGZ should be in charge of the repairs. It is demanding that sensitive design information be handed over to the company.
For some context, Poland is currently refurbishing Leopard 2A4 tanks bought from German Rheinmetall in 2018. So far it managed to painstakingly get 20 units done (that’s 5 tanks a year on average) and the slowness of the process is causing a stir. One of the cited reasons is alleged insane bureaucracy – someone close to the process said once the Polish side needs to get an ok on every screw.
If Polish side is to be responsible for the repairs, I can’t imagine them not having the know-how to do so. It’d be insanely ineffective or nigh impossible task. So contrary to other commenters in the thread, I think demanding access to design information is a very sensible request. I mean if you don’t trust your allies, transport the machines back to Germany and service them there.
For additional context, South Korean companies have absolutely no problem sharing everything needed with their allies/customers. I think that’s a huge factor in Poland and other CEE countries going to SK to shop for weapons these days.
Waiting on the highly upvoted article
>Scholz refuses to repair PzH 2000 it sent to Ukraine
coming in 3-2-1..
Jinkies!