The German Flakpanzer Gepard ('Cheetah') was the most advanced Western self-propelled anti-aircraft gun fielded during the Cold War, and the only one that had capabilities approximating that of contemporary Soviet designs like the ZSU-23-4. The Gepard was based on a slightly modified chassis of the Leopard 1 tank retaining the same configuration, with a newly designed all-welded steel turret. In contrast to the existing practice of mounting the guns at the front of the turret, the Gepard introduced twin externally-mounted arms which gave it a futuristic appearance. These contained a single 35-mm Oerlikon KDA autocannon per arm which were capable of a cyclic rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute, with an engagement range of up to 2-3 km. Numerous types of ammunition could be fired including both anti-aircraft and armor-piercing rounds, in the latter case then the vehicle was used for fire support. The Gepard was notable for mounting a Ku-band tracking radar in the front of the turret while an E/F-band search radar (with IFF capability) was mounted in the rear of the turret. Both radards had a range of 15 km and information was fed to an analog computer which would calculate the guns' lead angles. The Gepard entered service in the mid-1970s with both the German as well as Dutch armies, the latter which had a slightly different radar system. They equipped the anti-aircraft regiments of all 11 German panzer and panzergrenadier divisions in the 1980s. A NATO-wide preference for missile-based air defense gradualy resulted them being phased out, although many were exported to Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Jordan, and Romania. More recently, a large number were transfered to Ukraine where they have been very succesful at shooting down Russian drones, which has suggested a new lease of life on what had previously been considered obsolete weapons.

The search for a replacement for the Bundeswehr's increasingly obsolete SPAAGs began in 1965 and resulted in the first prototypes of the FlakPz Gepard completed in 1968. Dutch versions are known as the CA 1 and feature X-band tracking and surveillance radars. An upgraded version is known as the FlakPz 1A2 (PRTL in Dutch service) which adds a digital computer, new data links, and other mechanical upgrades.