![]() While the Gepard, armed with two 35 mm guns, had a 3.5 km effective range, the OTOMATIC could fire its 5 to 6 kg heavy shells (depending on the type) to ranges of 6 or 7 km. ![]() The OTOMATIC was designed primarily to shoot down enemy helicopters and planes before they had a chance to launch their Air-to-Ground Missiles (AGM) or Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) from a distance of more than 3 or 4 km. The biggest downside of these weapons is long-range accuracy and the massive consumption of ammunition needed to take down an aerial target. The problems with modern mobile armored anti-aircraft systems are their armament, which usually consists of multiple guns of a caliber between 20 and 35 mm. It weighed 15 tons and was armed with a prototype version of the Cannone 76/62 OTO-Breda Super Rapido (Super Fast) naval gun which, at the time, was only a project. This turret was made of welded steel 25 mm thick on all sides and 15 mm on the roof. In 1979, in order to outperform the German Flakpanzer Gepard and the British Marksman, the latter produced by Marconi, another Italian private company, the OTO technicians decided to mount the HEFAS 76 turret on the hull of the OTO-Fiat Palmaria Self Propelled Gun. In the same year, the second prototype was produced, which was tested until 1989. Between 19, the first prototype was produced and tested and was presented at the Paris Air Show in 1987. In 1981, the program was presented for the first time at the Paris Air Show. This SPG, produced by OTO-Melara in collaboration with FIAT-IVECO, did not have great international success and therefore, it was hoped that creating an entire family of armored vehicles with a common hull would increase the interest of foreign armies. The decision to mount the turret on the Palmaria Self-Propelled Gun (SPG) chassis, a modified version of the OF-40, was not a coincidence. OTO-Melara, being a private company, designed the vehicle for the international market, but also offered it to the Esercito Italiano (EI, Eng: Italian Army). The main partners of the project were IVECO Defense Vehicles (part of IVECO-FIAT), Officine Galileo, OTO-Breda and Marittimo Aero SPA. OTO-Melara was responsible for the design and construction of the prototypes. The OTOMATIC project was developed by many factories.
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