Shchit-2 was a Soviet-era missile created to protect the Almaz military space stations from foreign threats.
An example of the missile is currently displayed in a restricted area at NPO Mashinostroyenia, a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, Russia, alongside an earlier version - called the Shchit-1.
The Shchit-1 featured a 23mm cannon and is the only gun to ever be fired in space, reported The Drive, as far as public information suggests.
The Almaz programme was a hidden effort by the Soviets to weaponise their space station - which was just a civilian endeavour as far as the rest of the world was aware.
La Nación / A 60 años de la hazaña: Gagarin, el primer hombre en el espacio
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Why The Soviet Union Lied About Yuri Gagarin s Historic Space Flight
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It is 60 years since Russian pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to leave the embrace of planet Earth and venture into space.
To mark the occasion people, space agencies and governments around the world are celebrating the International Day of Human Space Flight in his honour.
On April 12, 1961 the 27-year-old Gagarin climbed in his Vostok 1 capsule, ready for the 108 minute flight, shouting Poyekhali! - Off we go! - as the rockets fired.
Gagarin launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome where Roscosmos Soyuz flights to the International Space Station (ISS) are still being launched.
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet paid tribute to Gagarin, saying he is a paragon for all astronauts and cosmonauts that have followed in his footsteps.