The Palmaria was a SPG based on the OF-40 chassis and that’s what OTO Melara decided to use for the Otomatic in the end. At that time, OTO Melara had been producing three major armored vehicles – a licensed version of the Leopard 1A1 MBT (which preceded the OF-40), followed by an OF-40 and Palmaria production run. While both systems offered high modularity (especially the Marksman could be mounted on pretty much anything, from a Leopard 2 chassis to the T-55), the Otomatic went a bit different route. The vehicle was intended to compete in the 1980s on the international (western) marked with the German Flakpanzer Gepard and the British Marksman system (which was very similar to the Gepard). However, it wasn’t built for a state contract – it was a private venture of the OTO Melara company (famous at the time for its OF-40 MBT) and OTO-Breda in conjunction with IVECO Defence, Officine Gallileo, and Marittimo Aero SPA. Like the Shilka, it was designed as an armored short-range AAA vehicle that would accompany tanks in heavy armored divisions. The full name is so incredibly awkward that it’s almost certain someone invented it after everyone decided the vehicle should be named Otomatic as a wordplay that included the word “automatic” (from its autoloader-fed rapid-fire cannon) and OTO Melara, the system’s developer and producer.Īs its appearance suggests, Otomatic is (or rather was) a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. We’ve discussed the EBRC Jaguar already and today, we’d like to tell you more about another one – Otomatic.įirst and foremost, Otomatic should probably be written in capital letters because it is, in fact, an acronym – it stands for “OTO Main Anti-aircraft Tank for Intercept and Combat”. The upcoming Eclipse Battle Path will feature several vehicles that have one thing in common – the topic of fire support.
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