The Marder infantry combat vehicle was built on a chassis which could be used for a number of basic vehicles.
The driver sits in the front left side of the hull. His hatch cover opens to the right, and in front of him are three periscopes. To his rear sits one infantryman who has a hatch cover opening to the right, and a periscope traversable through 360°.
A two-man turret on the forward part of the roof holds the commander on the right and gunner on the left. The commander's hatch cover opens to the right, and the gunner's to the rear. The commander has eight periscopes for all-around viewing, and the gunner has three.
The Marder hull protects against small-arms fire and shell splinters. The front protects against 20mm projectiles. Six infantrymen sit in the rear troop compartment, three on each side facing outward. Their seats can be adjusted so four men can sleep.
A power-operated ramp at the rear opens downwards. On either side of the roof are two circular roof hatches and three periscopes. Two spherical firing ports are on each side are used in conjunction with periscopes for four infantrymen to use their weapons in complete safety. All Marders have an NBC system.
A cooling fan sucks air through grills on top to the radiators mounted at the rear of the hull, one on each side of the ramp.
Recognition features:
- Fully tracked.
- Six road wheels with three support rollers.
- Small turret placed centrally on hull.
- Gun mounted externally on turret.
- Long hull with inward sloping sides.
- Remote-controlled machine gun facing the rear (removed on later models).
- Two firing ports on each side.
German Brenus ERA and others are available for use on the Marder 1.
However, during dismounted troop movement ERA would be a hazard.
Thus, passive armor is more likely and ERA application is doubtful.
All Milan launchers will fire all ATGMs.
However, Milan 3 countermeasures will only function with the Milan 3 launcher.
All Milan launchers can mount (and many are fitted with) the MIRA thermal night sight.
- Marder
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1971. Original production model. See data above.
- Marder 1A1
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This four-crew model carries five infantrymen. It weighs 30,000 kg.
Some 674 vehicles were upgraded to this standard.
Main improvements include:
- All German Army Marders, except command vehicles, carry MILAN ATGW systems that reduce the number of infantrymen carried from six to five.
- Better firepower from a double-belt feed for the 20mm cannon.
- Improved night capabilities with the installation of the PERI Z 59 night sight which uses image intensification technique with thermal pointer.
- Remaining active infrared searchlight and sight are retained.
- Marder 1A1A
- The previous 1A1 modifications were made to 1,112 vehicles, except that the passive vision equipment was not installed.
- Marder 1A2
- This modification includes the thermal imaging sight equipment instead of image-intensification equipment. The infrared searchlight on the left side of the turret is removed and the chassis and suspension are modified. All earlier Marders upgraded to this standard.
- Marder 1A3
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Starting in 1989, a 1,600 kg armor package was added to provide protection from the BMP-2 30mm cannon. Modifications include:
- Frontal armor on the hull.
- Add-on armor on the glacis plate.
- Conformal add-on armor on both sides of the turret.
- Three box-type armor components on both sides of the hull. These block off the hull firing ports.
- Spaced armor plates on the roof to cause premature detonation of top attack rounds.
- Add-on armor with a stowage compartment at the rear door.
- 7.62mm MG moved to left side coaxial turret mount.
- Three upper hull doors added.
- Suspension upgraded.
- Turret interior upgraded.
- Marder with Radar System
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The Radarpanzer TUR (Tiefflieger-Uberwachungs-Radar) is an extensively-modified raised hull with a large hydraulic arm that raises a rotating acquisition radar to approximately 10 meters above ground.
The RadarPz TUR hull was raised to accommodate the hydraulic, cooling, radio and data processing, power supply, display, and control equipment.
- Marder with LWT-3 Turret
- This vehicle is a Marder equipped with a new turret armed with a 20mm cannon which is fully stabilized. LWT-3 stands for Light Weapon Turret with three-axis stabilization.
- Roland Surface-to-air Missile System
- The German Army has 144 Roland systems. Two missiles are at the ready-to-launch position, and another eight are in the hull ready for automatic loading. A rotating acquisition radar is mounted above a target dish radar that sits between two arms holding the missile tubes.
- TAM Medium Tank Family
- Thyssen Henschel Tanque Argentino Mediano (TAM) family of vehicles.
- VCTP
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Argentine Army IFV. The VCTP is similar to the Marder but it has the following modifications:
- A more powerful 720 hp engine.
- A less sophisticated two-man turret with a 20mm cannon and a 7.62mm anti-aircraft machine gun.
- Three gun ports in each side of the troop compartment.
- Two rectangular roof hatches hinged on the outside.
- A remote-controlled 7.62mm machine gun at the hull rear.
- A capacity of 12 men including the crew.
- Two rear fuel tank drums for an increased range of 800 km.
