In the 1960s, the German Ministry of Defense announced requirements for a self-propelled anti-aircraft system to protect troops. Two consortia bringing together several arms companies competed to implement the program – they proposed vehicles based on the hulls of the new German Leopard 1 main battle tanks, respectively: MATADOR 30 ZLA and 5 PFZ-A. After building prototypes and conducting tests in the early 1970s, the latter was chosen, armed with two 35 mm Oerlikon KDA automatic cannons placed in an electrically powered rotating turret. The tank’s hull has undergone significant modifications: the shape of the front armor of the vehicle has been changed. Next to the driver there is a 40 kW generator driven by a four-cylinder multi-fuel Mercedes-Benz OM 314 combustion engine with a capacity of 3.8 liters with an exhaust outlet on the left side of the hull. The placement of these devices was caused by the significant demand for electricity for the mechanisms for rotating the tower, raising the guns and moving the radar station. The production of the vehicle officially named FlakPanzer Gepard took place at the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann plant in 1976-80. A total of 420 Gepard vehicles were delivered to the Bundeswehr. Additionally, 55 identical vehicles were purchased by Belgium. The third recipient was the Netherlands (95 units), but its sets, called PRTL (and later Cheetah / CA.1), differed in their fire control system and radar. The Gepard has great firepower. The guns have a rate of fire of 550 shots/min, and the bullets, depending on the type, have a muzzle velocity of 1,175-1,440 m/s. All three original users of the FlakPanzers have now retired them. Redundant vehicles found new buyers. The German ones went to Romania (43) and Brazil (36), the Dutch sold 61 PRTL to Jordan.
Technical specifications:
Crew: 3 people (commander, gunner, driver)
Combat weight: 47.5 tons
Hull length / total length with guns: 6.85 / 7.73 m
Total width: 3.37 m
Height in transport / combat position with radar: 3.29 / 4.03 m
Armor: up to 70 mm
Armament: 2 Oerlikon KDA 35 mm automatic cannons (with a supply of 700 rounds)
Drive: ten-cylinder multi-fuel diesel engine MTU MB 838 Ca M500
Displacement:
Power: 830 HP
Maximum speed: 65 km/h
Range: 550 km on road (up to 400 km off-road)
