Yuriy Kobzar18:33, 05.12.24

German self-propelled guns are repaired for up to a year, or even more, Polish submachine guns lie dead because of a lack of spare parts.

Ukrainian soldiers are generally satisfied with Western weapons , but the impression is spoiled by constant delays and interruptions in its maintenance. To a large extent, they are a consequence of Western bureaucracy, writes DW .

“I rate the gun as the best, most accurate. And in terms of protection for the personnel – as the strongest”, – gunner Bohdan Nagai praises the German self-propelled howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000. 

However, there is a big problem – breakdowns due to intensive use. Among the most common problems, the military calls software failures, overheating of control units and destruction of barrels. At times, up to two-thirds of the German howitzers available in the Armed Forces are idle due to temporary inoperability, says a DW interlocutor. Moreover, even those malfunctions that Ukrainians can eliminate in the field are not repaired for a long time due to a lack of spare parts. 

“How long – depends on the spare parts. From two months to six months,” the gunner states. 

Arms donor countries are well aware of the problem. Back in September, the head of the defense committee of the Bundestag, Markus Faber, was indignant that more German vehicles were put out of action due to banal breakdowns than as a result of enemy fire.

At the beginning of October, the manufacturer of howitzers – the Franco-German defense concern KNDS – opened a subsidiary company and office in Kyiv, trying to speed up the process of repairing these howitzers. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense calls the creation of joint ventures and representative offices of Western arms manufacturers in Ukraine key measures for speeding up the repair of Western equipment. 

But in general, the war in Ukraine brought to the surface many shortcomings in the organization of the European defense industry, DW interlocutors state. In particular, the problem of rapid wear of howitzer barrels, which, according to insiders, is worsened by the insufficient level of standardization, was a surprise. It turns out that not all manufacturers, even within the EU, certify their products for all major types of weapons. 

Yes, the Ukrainians use all the 155 mm shells they find on German howitzers. But due to the lack of certification, each NATO country (and not only NATO) produces these shells in a slightly different way, so they are not always optimally suited to German howitzers. This accelerates the wear of barrels and other systems of self-propelled guns.

Another big problem that slows down the quick repair of equipment is the European bureaucracy. “In order to send, say, replacement barrels for howitzers or any other spare parts, which are waiting for in Ukraine, in Germany you need to obtain an export license for each item for military products. Instead of weeks, the process drags on for months,” complains a representative of one of defense companies in a conversation with DW. 

At the initiative of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the EU is currently trying to introduce “military Schengen”, but the process is only at its beginning. And while there is no “military Schengen”, any significant repair of Western weapons can take months, especially if the equipment needs to be brought to the EU for repair. 

“Since Ukraine is not a member of the EU, difficulties arise already at the stage of passing customs procedures at the border,” knowledgeable experts explain. For example, heavily damaged Panzerhaubitze 2000 are taken to Slovakia for repair. “When they get there, they are there for up to a year for repairs, maybe even more,” says gunner Bohdan Nagai. 

As DW writes, according to the Ukrainian military, these problems apply not only to German howitzers, but to any Western weapon in general, including small arms. “Polish assault rifles are lying around because there are no spare parts,” the soldier states.

In order to reduce the level of the problem, Ukrainians “in semi-artisan conditions” hone some simple low-tech spare parts, which are long and difficult to obtain from partners.

(C)UNIAN 2024