65 km/h. The Marder is propelled by a Diehl track, which can be fitted with rubber road pads. The drive mechanism consists of six rubber tyred road wheels, with a drive sprocket at the front of the hull and an idler at the rear. Three return rollers are fitted. The suspension is a torsion bar system, with hydrostatic shock absorbers fitted to the front two and last two road wheels. Armament The primary armament is the 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon. It is mounted in the small two-man turret and can fire either armour-piercing or HE rounds. Mounted coaxially to the left of the cannon is a 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun. The turret has 360 degree traverse, and can elevate from −17 degrees to +65 degrees, at a rate of 40 degrees per second while traversing at a rate of 60 degrees a second. Early Marders up to and including version 1A1 had a second MG3 mounted on the rear deck in a remote controlled pod. Typically, 1,250 rounds are carried for the 20 mm cannon, along with a further 5,000 rounds for the MG3. On models since version 1A1A, a MILAN anti-tank guided missile launcher can be attached to the turret to provide enhanced anti-armour capabilities. Typically, four missiles are carried inside the vehicle. There are four gun ports, two per side, which can be used by mounted infantry to provide additional fire against attacking infantry targets. Only Marder 1A1 and 1A2 were equipped with this. Marder 1A3 and above do not have gun ports due to the fitting of an extra layer of armour and outside storage boxes. Six 76-millimeter-diameter smoke grenade dischargers can create a visual and infrared blocking smoke screen. Combat service With the first unit delivered in summer 1971, the Marder IFV remained untested in combat for 38 years until July 2009 when they defended a German combat outpost against the Taliban in Chahar Dara district of Afghanistan's Kunduz Province, killing and wounding scores of enemies. Since then, the Marders have been involved in heavy fighting several times. The vehicles have proved to be extremely useful and have been praised as a great tactical asset by German troops. However, the crews have been subject to great physical stress as none of the vehicles are equipped with air conditioning systems. Two Marders were damaged by improvised explosive devices in the course of a