Air Defense: December 21, 1999

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Krauss-Maffei Wemann has developed an upgrade for the Gepard anti-aircraft tank used by the German Army (and several others). The original Gepard is armed with two 35mm auto-cannons; the new refit will supplement these with four Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The Stingers are mounted, two on each side, to the gun mounts so they elevate with the guns. The gunner will use the existing radar and optical scanners to detect targets and fire the missiles; the missiles provide an increase in range from 3500m (the limit for the guns) to 5-6km.--Stephen V Cole