(Reuters) - Germany and the US have announced the delivery of armored personnel carriers and air defense systems to Ukraine.

Here is a brief description of the heavy weapons that Germany has delivered to Ukraine so far and which could still come:

MARDER ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER

The Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which weighs around 40 tons, dates back to the 1960s and is still used by the Bundeswehr and a handful of other countries. In the Bundeswehr, it is currently being gradually replaced by the modern Puma infantry fighting vehicle from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall. The Marder is equipped with a 20-millimeter cannon and a machine gun and can transport six armoured infantrymen with a crew of three soldiers, who can also fight dismounted.

Ukraine is to receive around 40 Marder by the end of March. A government spokesperson left open whether they come from Bundeswehr or industrial stocks. At the beginning of the war, Rheinmetall had 100 decommissioned Marder vehicles from Bundeswehr stocks in storage, 40 of which will go to Greece as part of a ring exchange.

The decision to supply Marder tanks to the Ukraine has fueled the debate about heavy battle tanks. Green politician Anton Hofreiter reiterated his call for the Leopard 2 to be made available to the Eastern European country - which the German government rejects. The Leopard 2 is the Bundeswehr's current main battle tank. Weighing around 60 tons, the tank is armed with a 120-millimetre cannon, can engage targets at a distance of up to five kilometers and can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour. According to KMW, more than 3,500 of the tank have been built and it is in service in almost 20 countries.

Its predecessor is the Leopard 1, which dates back to the 1960s. According to KMW, more than 4700 units were manufactured. The tank is armed with a 105-millimeter cannon.

2000 SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER

According to the Bundeswehr, the Panzerhaubitze 2000 can fire at targets up to 40 kilometers away with its 155-millimeter cannon; the Bundeswehr has deployed it in Afghanistan, among other places. Together with the Netherlands, Germany has supplied 14 self-propelled howitzers to the Ukrainian military. The crews are being trained in Germany.

As part of a joint project with Denmark and Norway, 16 Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers are also to be financed. The vehicles will be produced in Slovakia and also have a 155 millimeter cannon.

GEPARD

The Gepard anti-aircraft tank can engage air targets such as aircraft, helicopters, drones or missiles up to six kilometers away with its two 35-millimeter automatic cannons. The Bundeswehr decommissioned the vehicle years ago. 30 Cheetahs have already been delivered to Ukraine. Seven more, which were supposed to be scrapped, are currently being repaired and will follow in the coming months.

ARMORED RECOVERY VEHICLES AND ARMORED BRIDGELAYERS

To date, Germany has delivered 15 armored recovery vehicles and three Biber armored vehicle launched bridges - both armored vehicles based on the Leopard 1, which are used in logistics units in particular and have hardly any weapons of their own.

PATRIOT AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM

For the first time, Ukraine is also receiving a Patriot air defense battery from Germany, with the USA also providing the system. The "Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target" is used to combat aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The system can keep an eye on up to 50 targets and engage five targets simultaneously. Its range is around 68 kilometers. The system was developed during the Cold War in the 1980s and has been in use in Germany since 1989. According to media reports, the Ukrainian soldiers are being trained on the system at the military training area in Grafenwoehr in the Upper Palatinate.

IRIS T-SLM

The air defense system was developed by Diehl Defence. It consists of a radar, launchers and missiles and is used to protect buildings from attacks from the air. Germany has delivered one Iris-T system to Ukraine so far, with three more to follow.

MARS II MISSILE LAUNCHER

Mars II is an artillery system. The system is a further development of a missile launcher that has been in service with the US armed forces since 1983. According to the manufacturer, it can fire twelve missiles within one minute and has a range of up to 84 kilometers, according to the Bundeswehr. Ukraine has received five of these missile launchers from Germany to date.

Sources: Information from the German government on military support for Ukraine, own research

(Compiled by Christina Amann, edited by Hans Seidenstücker. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at Berlin.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or Frankfurt.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)