Super Fledermaus

Super Fledermaus, known in Swiss service as Feuerleitgerät 63, was developed by Contraves and partner companies to modernize anti-aircraft gun fire control. It replaced older radar-control equipment and served with the Swiss Air Force from the mid-1960s until Skyguard systems took over. The system belongs to a period when radar-directed guns were still central to point air defense, before short-range missiles and more modern digital fire-control systems dominated the role. Its name is unusual, but the function was serious: detect, track and compute firing solutions for gun batteries.

Technically, Super Fledermaus was a towed fire-control unit with radar and computation equipment. Public descriptions identify E/F-band and J-band radar functions with target detection and tracking ranges around the short-range air-defense envelope. Once a target was acquired, the system generated firing data for Oerlikon 35 mm twin guns, allowing more accurate engagement than optical-only control. It was analog-era technology, so it required trained crews and was eventually overtaken by more capable Skyguard fire-control systems with improved electronics and integration.

In service, Super Fledermaus helped Swiss gun batteries defend airfields, infrastructure and maneuver areas against low-flying aircraft. Its value came from pairing accurate radar tracking with fast-firing 35 mm guns. It did not provide wide-area air defense and had limited ability against later high-speed or standoff threats, but it was a meaningful step in making gun air defense more effective. For HiWars, it should be treated as a fire-control system, not a weapon by itself: its impact came through the guns it directed.