According to information published by the International Press Agency Reuters on June 1, 2022, Germany has agreed on a similar tank swap deal with Greece to send BMP-1 IFVs to Ukraine as the one Germany reached with the Czech Republic to send Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine: Greece will receive modern German tanks and/or infantry fighting vehicles as a replacement for its BMP-1s given to Ukraine, German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on May 31.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters that he had spoken to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to enable such a swap, also known as a Ringtausch in German, Hans von der Burchard reports in Politico: “This will now be discussed in very concrete terms between the defense ministries (of both countries) and can then also be implemented quickly,” the chancellor said.
The Marder 1A3 is an upgraded version of the Marder family of tracked armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV). The A3 upgrade program began in 1988, with Thyssen-Henschel being awarded a contract to upgrade 2,100 Marder 1 A1/A2 vehicles to the A3 standard at a rate of 220 vehicles a year. The first upgraded vehicles were delivered to the German army on 17 November 1989. In 2000, Thyssen-Henschel became Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH to continue the maintenance and upgrades of the Marder IFV family. The Marder 1A3 is the current standard IFV used by the German armed forces but it will be replaced by the new Puma IFV in the next few years.