Gepard 35 mm Anti-Aircraft Gun, How Powerful Is This Weapon?

The Gepard is fitted with a two-man electric power operated turret armed with twin Oerlikon KDA 35mm guns. The guns have automatic belt feed. Barrel length is 90 calibers (3,150mm). The rate of fire provided by the two barrels is 1,100 rounds a minute. Each 35mm gun has 320 rounds of ready-to-fire, anti-air ammunition and 20 rounds of anti-ground target ammunition. The guns are capable of firing a range of standardised 35mm ammunition, including the new FAPDS rounds. The FAPDS rounds have a muzzle velocity greater than 1,400 m/s. The Gepard is equipped with eight smoke dischargers installed on either side of the turret. KMW developed a missile system for the Gepard, using the Stinger surface-to-air missile system. The twin Stinger launching system was fitted on the side of the 35mm twin gun on a single unit. The system was tested but was not deployed due to financial constraints. The Gepard also nicknamed Cheetah, is a self-propelled anti-aircraft cannon that was developed by the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) between 1976 and 1980. The development of the vehicle started in the 1960s and it was fielded in the 1970s.