ammunition manufactured in Norway could not be fired by the Gepard, with a subsequent test of improved ammunition scheduled for August 2022. By 20 September 2022 thirty Gepards and 6,000 rounds had been delivered. According to Ukraine's Armed Forces about 50,000 Norwegian made rounds for the Gepard had been received by 26 September 2022. Photos from the German tabloid of the Gepard with a Ukrainian crew include high-explosive incendiary (HEI) rounds (where the projectile is yellow with a red band) made by e.g. Norwegian Nammo. According to a Ukrainian defense attache in the United States the Gepard has been used to "great effect" against the "relatively crude" loitering munition believed to be Iranian-made Shahed-136. The Conflict Intelligence Team considers it likely that a Gepard destroyed a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile as it was targeting a Kyiv power plant on 18 October 2022. One unit is credited with destroying more than ten Shahed-136 drones and two cruise missiles. Such systems are more effective and hence more cost-effective than more advanced and expensive air defence systems such NASAMS or IRIS-T missiles, while being less politically sensitive as they only have a limited effective range. The London-based think tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) wrote: "In general, gun systems are preferred over missiles where possible due to the much lower cost per engagement and higher availability of ammunition compared with SAMs and MANPADS". On 2 December, Germany recovered seven additional Gepard tanks from the "scrap pile" to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine, bringing the total units sent to Ukraine at 37. They will arrive in spring 2023. Obtaining ammunition is difficult as Switzerland claims that owing to its neutrality it should forbid Germany to transfer its stock, and refuse to supply its surplus, forcing Germany to rely on other sources for ammunition. However, on 15 December Rheinmetall committed to a new factory in Germany to sidestep the Swiss re-export ban. A deal to start production was signed in February 2023. The Gepards in Ukraine turned out to be very effective against Shahed-136 drones; the radar can detect them away and it takes as few as six rounds to shoot them down with a similar number needed to destroy a cruise missile. One of the Gepards downed 10 Shaheds in a single engagement. RUSI noted that the Gepards were particularly effective against the drones. Operators Current operators : 36 surplus from Bundeswehr.