The XM246, regarded as “The American Gepard” thanks to its twin 35mm Oerlikon KDA autocannons, boasts a rather unconventional turret design on top of the M48 Patton III hull, similar to other U.S. vehicles like the M4/T26, M60A2, and the 120S. For players looking for a switch from the M163 and the rather unreliable tracking radar, the XM246 presents a fresh introduction to anti-air radar combat, introducing the search radar along with the tracking radar. While the XM246 lacks armor for the turret and has important components that can be disabled by enemy fire, it shouldn’t be underestimated easily, thanks to its lethal fire rate against both air and ground targets.
On 13 January 1978, General Dynamics and Ford were given development contracts for one prototype each, the XM246 and XM247, respectively, to be delivered to Fort Bliss in June 1980. On schedule, both companies delivered their prototypes to the North McGregor Test Facility, and head-to-head testing began. After a 29-month Phase One trial, the XM247 (now the M247) was selected as the winner of the trial, though it was a rather controversial decision due to the XM246 scoring more points (19 points) over the XM247 (9 points).
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Decent mobility, with decent reverse speed | Large profile |
| Access to search and tracking radars | Search radar can be disabled if the electronic equipment is damaged |
| Fast fire-rate of 550 RPM | Depletes ammo at an alarming rate |
| Zoom magnification of 12.0x | Vulnerable to overpressure |
| Fast turret traversal |
Mobility
The XM246 boasts the hull of the M48 Patton II, and moves in the same forward and reverse speeds as the M48 itself. The forward speed of the XM246 is decent enough, enabling players of this vehicle to reach target points for effective attacks against aircraft or ground vehicles. The reverse speed is rather decent, being able to retreat out of most, if not all, conflicts in the open that the XM246 is vulnerable to, particularly open-range combat. The few issues of said mobility depends on the terrain of the map played in, as the XM246 performs considerably well on-road, but slightly less off-road and more poorly driving up hills.
| Forward: | Reverse: | |
| Speed: | 48km/h | -11km/h |
Armor and Survivability:
The XM246 boasts the M48 Patton III hull, which won’t save the vehicle from the ammunition types that are present in the BR the SPAA is, particularly APDS, APFSDS, and various chemical rounds like HEAT-FS and ATGMs.
The turret is no different in terms of protection against the munitions faced against it, being thinner than cardboard and vulnerable to overpressure from various chemical rounds. Some armor-piercing rounds may overpenetrate it due to such thin armor, but can either cause damage to the electronics, which can disable the search radar, or hit and detonate the ammunition on the sides of the turret.
| Armor: | Front: | Side: | Rear: |
| Hull: | 110mm | 76mm | 25mm |
| Turret: | 25mm | 6mm | 6mm |
Firepower:
The XM246 possesses twin 35mm Oerlikon KDA autocannons, boasting a powerful fire-rate of 550 RPM to tear down jets and helicopters in the skies. On top of their anti-air capabilities, the AP-I ammo belts they wield have enough penetration to penetrate the sides of some medium tank, particularly the Leopard 1 Family and even more resilient MBTs like the Chieftain Mk. 5. One must be careful not to let all hell loose, as the powerful fire-rate can drain the ammo belts pretty quickly, so to combat the issue, it’s advised to use periodic bursts for air targets, and proper aim at the weak-points of ground targets.
| Ammo Name: | Ammo Type: | Penetration Value | Info: |
| Default | API-T/HEI-T | 68mm | The stock ammo belt. It’s a mix of both AP Incendiary rounds and HE Incendiary rounds, and also equipped with tracers to track and adjust fire to accurately hit air targets. |
| DM11A1 | HEI-T/HEI-T/HEI-T/API-T | 68mm (Due to single API-T round) | Ammo belt primarily used against air targets, allowing to knock out the pilot or set the aircraft on fire. Not recommended against ground targets. |
| DM13 | API-T/API-T/API-T/HEI-T | 68mm | Ammo belt primarily used against ground targets. Has HE filler, allowing to clean out the interior of certain medium vehicles through weakspots such as the hull and turret sides or the cupola. Can shred lightly armored vehicles and SPAA. |
The XM246 is equipped with an AN/APG-66 Tracking radar director, which actively tracks air targets (both aircraft and helicopters), providing a director in the form of a green circle to accurately lead and fire without missing much, along with a tracking range of 15km. It is also equipped with an M247 TA Search Radar with a range of 45km, actively scanning the air for air targets and allowing radar users to track aircraft without having to access the gunner sight directly, in comparison to the M163.
To lock on, you must be looking through your sight, position the crosshair over a target (within 15 km), and press the lock-on keybind that is set. Thanks to the search radar, players can lock and track aircraft outside the gunner sight. When it is in range, a circle will show where to aim for an increased chance of shooting down a plane.
The tracking tends to disengage when the aircraft flies into or through cover. It also becomes difficult to fire an already-tracking aircraft that’s 0.5 km or closer to you through the gunner sight, so exit the gunner sight and fire at the aircraft from the outside of the vehicle for maximum efficiency with the tracker still on.
One last thing to note is that if the electronics equipment at the rear of the turret is damaged by enemy fire, it will disable the search radar, forcing players to use the tracking radar the same way as the M163: through the gunner sight; likewise, if the tracking radar is knocked out, it hinders the ability to shoot down enemy aircraft effectively.
Enemies worth noting:
The BR that the XM246 is at boasts all types of vehicles that can destroy the SPAA without an issue, whether it be on the ground or in the air.
Air Targets: Even with the twin 35mm autocannons the XM246 possesses, strike aircraft such as the Israeli A-4H and the German F-84F can outmaneuver the attack of the 35mm onslaught of the SPAA and unload their payload onto the SPAA with accuracy. To counter these types, make sure to pay attention to the skies, using the radar to its advantage to detect and attack them ahead of time.
Ground Targets: Even though the XM246 can defeat ground targets just as well as air targets, it still has the same weakness that every SPAA possesses: lack of armor. Because of this, strong chemical rounds fired from the likes of SPGs like the PzH 2000 will overpressure and instantly wipe this vehicle out of the game. Aside from chemical rounds, various armored vehicles (light, medium, heavy, SPAA) possess AP rounds of their own that can penetrate the XM246, whether it be autocannon fire from either the Marder 1A3 or BMP-2, modern AP rounds fired from the likes of vehicles such as the ZTZ59D1 or Leopard 1, or high-penetration conventional AP rounds fired by heavy tanks such as the Conqueror and the infamous Maus.
- To combat lightly armored vehicles and SPAA, simply fire the twin autocannons at them to shred them down.
- For medium vehicles, fire at the sides to destroy them, or cripple them by shooting their tracks and barrels for allies to finish the job.
- For heavier targets,
simply destroy their tracks and barrels and let the allies finish them
off, since the twin 35mm autocannons can’t penetrate heavy targets.
