The German Army is to receive the mobile GARMR drone defense system from Diehl Defence. In a video statement, the Inspector of the Army, Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, listed the system among the weapons systems that the army’s air defense branch, currently being rebuilt, is to receive in the coming weeks, months and years. He also named the Skyranger 30 anti-aircraft gun tank and the IRIS-T SLM air defense system. Together, these systems with their different capabilities are intended to create close-meshed protection for the army’s maneuver elements. Freuding did not provide figures on quantities, costs or a timetable for GARMR.
The statement was prompted by the handover of the Ozelot light air defense system from the Air Force. According to the Defense Ministry, the handover took place on October 14 during the Spartan Arrow 2026 exercise at the NATO firing range NAMFI on Crete. Symbolically, the Air Force fired its last and the Army its first shot with the system. The Ozelot, introduced in 2001, passed to the Air Force in 2012 when the army’s air defense branch was disbanded and is intended to ensure close-range protection until new systems such as IRIS-T SLS or Skyranger 30 become available.
Freuding described the handover as a first step toward rebuilding the branch. Defending against threats from the low-altitude airspace was crucial for the operations of land forces, he said. At the beginning of December, according to him, the branch’s flag ribbon is to be unfurled again and its first unit established.
Already at the parliamentary evening of the Förderkreis Deutsches Heer on October 7 in Berlin, Freuding had announced that Panzerbrigade 45 would be equipped with an initial drone defense capability before its deployment to Lithuania. This was a capable interim solution that would continue to be used even after the target systems arrive, he said. Observations from Ukraine showed that protection against threats from low-altitude airspace was a prerequisite for movement, supply and maneuver. The interim solution will be GARMR.
According to information from hartpunkt from well-informed circles, an initial small number of GARMR systems based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is to be procured to qualify them for the Bundeswehr. The order value is to remain below the 25-million-euro threshold that requires a submission to the Bundestag Budget Committee. In parallel, a larger project is reportedly being prepared – possibly in an international framework and on a larger, ballistic-protected platform.
According to observers, the G-Class variant has numerous similarities with the already introduced Wolf 2, which should reduce qualification effort. The MG 6 machine gun used in the Bundeswehr and Diehl’s Cicada interceptor drone are considered likely as initial armament. Other interceptor drones could follow later; Diehl Defence estimates the integration time for a new interceptor drone at a few months.
Diehl Defence presented GARMR in February 2026 at the Enforce Tac trade fair in Nuremberg as a further development of the Kinetic Defence Vehicle. With financing from the Federal Republic, the company had delivered 16 units of this predecessor system to Ukraine. GARMR is based on the G-Class of the 464 series with a lengthened wheelbase. Behind the driver’s cab is an enclosed cabin with an operator console for two soldiers. A high degree of automation and AI-supported detection and classification of targets are intended to allow the system to be operated by a single person when stationary if necessary. Two EchoShield radars from US manufacturer Echodyne monitor the airspace.
The stabilized R400 weapon station sits on the operator cabin and allows weapons to be used even while driving. The MG 6 in 7.62 x 51 millimeter caliber reaches a maximum engagement range of 1,000 to 1,200 meters. The cargo bed can accommodate up to 15 Cicada interceptor drones, which can engage targets at a distance of more than five kilometers with a warhead or catch them with a net. Several vehicles can be networked into a fire unit; via an interface, GARMR is also to be integrated into higher-level air defense systems. In addition to this short-range version, Diehl offers a medium-range variant.
