bursts against air targets, 24 rounds per gun for a total of 48 in limited mode and 48 rounds per gun for a total of 96 in normal mode. The 40 armour-piercing rounds are normally fired singly with the guns alternating; they are intended for self defence against light armoured ground targets. Developmental history The Gepard was developed from 1963 onward. In 1969, construction began of four A prototypes testing both 30 and 35 mm guns. In June 1970, it was decided to use the 35 mm type. In 1971, twelve second phase B prototypes were ordered. In 1971 the Dutch army ordered a CA preseries of five vehicles based on a parallel development that had used a West German 0-series Leopard 1 vehicle made available by the West German government in March 1970 as the C-prototype. The Germans made a small preseries of both the B1 and B2R. In February 1973, the political decision was made to produce the type. In September 1973 the contract was signed with Krauss-Maffei for 432 B2 turrets and 420 hulls with a total value of DM 1,200,000,000. Each vehicle would be about three times the price of a normal Leopard 1. The first was delivered in December 1976. Belgium ordered 55 vehicles, which were identical to the German version. The Netherlands ordered 95 vehicles, split into three batches (CA1, CA2 and CA3), which were equipped with Philips radar systems. Since the 1980s, Redeye and later Stinger MANPADS teams have been accompanying the Gepard units to take advantage of their long-range scanning capacity. To combine this capacity in a single unit, a missile system upgrade that mounts the Stingers in twin packs to the autocannons was developed. The system was tested by the German Bundeswehr but not bought due to budget restrictions. Instead, the Ozelot Light Air Defence System (LeFlaSys) was fielded for the three Airborne Brigades. Variants There are two variants of Gepard in service; the Dutch variant has a different radar installation. Search radar: S band, 15 km range Tracking radar: Ku band, 15 km range Laser rangefinder Search radar: X band, 15 km range Tracking radar: X/Ka band, 13 km range Operational history Invasion of Ukraine The Gepard has been deployed by Ukraine in its defense against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The first three Gepards arrived in Ukraine on 25 July 2022. A test showed that a supply of