The 35 mm GA 35 cannon was originally designed by LIW, then part of the ARMSCOR Group and now part of the Denel Group, for the ZA-35twin 35 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun system. Development of the ZA-35 has now been stopped as there is no longer an operational requirement for this in the South African National Army.

It has also been fitted to the LIW eGLaS 35 single 35 mm towed anti-aircraft gun system, the first prototype of which was completed in 1992. The first production application will be for the LIW 35DPG dual-purpose twin barrel naval gun system for which the prime contractor is LIW.

It is expected that a total of five LIW 35DPG systems will be procured for the new South African ships.

The 35 mm GA 35 cannon utilises gas operation for both feed and bolt mechanisms and can be supplied with single or dual feed. It has a heavy barrel fitted with a perforated muzzle brake and fires standard NATO 35x228 mm ammunition including HEI, HEI-T, SAPHEI, API-T, PRAC and PRAC-T types.

In collaboration with Oerlikon Contraves AG of Switzerland, the AHEAD system is available for this weapon as an upgrade option. With AHEAD the target is destroyed by multiple impacts of heavy metal cylindrical projectiles.

Firing one burst of 25 AHEAD rounds, cruise missiles are destroyed at ranges of at least 2.5 km and high speed missiles at 1.5 km.

The GA 35 utilises a locked breech mechanism with the receiver being of solid construction. The open breech mechanism serves as an important safety feature as it eliminates the danger of the self-ignition (cook-off) of ammunition between bursts.

When integrated with a gun controller, the cannon can be selected to fire single-shot or preprogrammed bursts which makes the cannon well suited for aerial as well as ground applications.

The linked ammunition is fed by either a single or double feeder system via flexible or fixed ammunition chutes with the latter being customised for the various applications of the weapon.

Compared to existing cannons of this type the GA 35 is claimed to be very reliable and have a low life cycle cost due to minimal maintenance requirements. No special tools are required for maintenance and the complete 35 mm GA 35 cannon only has some 200 parts.

Development complete. Ready for production. Expected to enter production for the naval 35DPG system in the future.