In Germany, the Gepard was phased out in late 2010 and replaced by the Wiesel 2 Ozelot Leichtes Flugabwehrsystem (LeFlaSys) with four FIM-92 Stinger or LFK NG missile launchers.

The Netherlands ordered 95 vehicles (designated Cheetah PRTL or Pantser Rups Tegen Luchtdoelen), split into three batches (CA1, CA2 and CA3), which were equipped with Philips radar systems.

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 vehicle is based on the hull of the Leopard 1 tank[1][8] with a large fully rotating turret carrying the armament—a pair of 35 mm Oerlikon KDA autocannons.

To ensure a steady supply of oil, even in difficult terrain and under extreme skew, the engine is provided with a dry sump forced lubrication.

Even the gearbox (type: 4 HP-250) from ZF Friedrichshafen and the exhaust system with fresh air admixture to reduce the infrared signature were taken from the Leopard 1 main battle tank.

Vehicles delivered to the German Bundeswehr and Belgium were equipped with a Siemens MPDR 12 S-band search radar installed on a swing arm (lowered behind the turret for transit) on the rear of the turret, which provides a 15 km hemispherical detection range and has an integrated MSR 400 Mk XII interrogator for automated target discrimination.

A laser rangefinder was provided on vehicles upgraded to the B2L standard, and installed atop the antenna housing for the tracking radar.

The Gepard utilizes two Oerlikon GDF, 90 calibres (3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)) long,[7] with a muzzle velocity of 1,440 m/s (4,700 ft/s) (FAPDS (Frangible Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot) rounds), giving an effective range of 5.5 km (3.4 miles).

The 40 armour-piercing rounds are normally fired singly with the guns alternating; they are also intended for self defence against light armoured ground targets.

[10] On 26 April 2022, the German government authorized Krauss-Maffei Wegmann to transfer around 50 refurbished Gepards to Ukraine, including in advance those vehicles that were sold to Brazil and Qatar as a security measure during mass sports events.

[13][14] On 2 December 2022, Germany recovered seven additional Gepard units from the scrapyard which they planned to refurbish and ship by spring[14] but only 4 of them arrived to Ukraine as of 11 July 2023.

[19] According to a Ukrainian defense attache in the United States the Gepard has been used to "great effect" against the "relatively crude" loitering munition believed to be Iranian-made Shahed-136.

[20] The Conflict Intelligence Team considers it likely that a Gepard destroyed a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile as it was targeting a Kyiv power plant on 18 October 2022.

[14] The London-based think tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) wrote: "In general, gun systems are preferred over missiles where possible due to the much lower cost per engagement and higher availability of ammunition compared with SAMs and MANPADS".

[28] Photos from the German tabloid Bild of the Gepard with a Ukrainian crew include high-explosive incendiary (HEI) rounds (where the projectile is yellow with a red band) made by e.g. Norwegian Nammo.