In 2010, this Schützenpanzer Marder 1 A3 of Panzerlehrbrigade 9 was seen during Exercise Iron Taurus at the Altengrabow Training Area. (Carl Schulze)
Real Life Reference
The first series production Schützenpanzer Marder 1 Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV) was officially handed over to the German Armed Forces fifty years ago on 7 May 1971. Being the main weapon system of the German Panzergrenadier armoured infantry units of the Bundeswehr ever since, the vehicle, the name of which means marten in English, was the first real AIFV fielded by a western nation, allowing the Panzergrenadier soldiers to quickly change between fighting mounted and dismounted. Currently the vehicle is about to be replaced by the new Schützenpanzer Puma, but technical issues with the extremely modern vehicle resulted in the launch of several projects to further extend the service life of the Marder 1. The Panzergrenadiertruppe is the armoured infantry arm of the ground forces of the Bundeswehr. Together with the Panzertruppe tank arm, the Panzergrenadiertruppe forms the Panzertruppen armoured combat forces of Germany. The Panzertruppen provide the core for armoured all-arms battle groups of the German Armed Forces that usually also include additional combat support and combat service support assets, such as engineers and artillery.