DEFENSE NEWS

lThe first lot of DART/STRALES 76mm guided ammunition, produced by OTO Melara, was successfully tested at the end of March. The firing trials were conducted on board one of the Italian Navy’s ships equipped with Strales 76mm SR and Selex NA25 fire control system.

The firing trials were conducted with quick bursts of fire against fast, manoeuvring and non-manoeuvring, radio controlled targets at low and very low altitude and at a range of more than 5000 metres.

The customers who attended the firing trials, which included the cooperation of other Navy’s air-sea craft, were fully satisfied with the trials’results which confirm the quality, reliability and effectiveness of this revolutionary defence system.

The company’s top management commented on the videos saying that they are a clear evidence of the system’s effectiveness.

The Strales 76mm system with DART guided ammunition is the only weapon system in the world which can ensure high level performance (at a lower cost than dedicated anti-missile systems) in the engagement of manouevring supersonic missiles with high lateral g force. The system is very effective also in the engagement of fast manouevring little boats.

The DART projectiles are guided by a radio beam that follows the target by means of homing system. The projectile is fitted with a proximity fuze, but there were many hits during the firing trials.

The 76mm naval gun with Strales kit has the same characteristics of ballistic ammunition when it is used to engage air, naval and surface targets; with Vulcano ammunition it will ensure high precision target engagement, with a fire range two times higher than conventional ammunition.
The Strales system can be installed on the 76mm naval guns which are already in service.

OTO Melara is planning the production of Strales kits and new ammunition lots to guarantee quick delivery to new customers who will ask for this innovative system.

At present 12 Strales 76mm systems are in service, 15 are going to be delivered, and orders for 30 systems are foreseen in the next 5 years.

Via Patrick H.

On 6 March 2014, the Italian Navy carried out a number of firing trials on board the frigate Bersagliere to test the 127/54 C gun equipped with Vulcano-Kit (V-kit). The firing trials, conducted with 127 Vulcano Ballistic Extended Range (BER) ammunition, proved to be successful, with projectiles achieving a range of over 38 km. The field of fire was limited to 40 km for security reasons.

The Vulcano BER ammunition used in the firing trials are part of a pre-production lot; the production-line qualification is underway on a first pilot lot of ammunition. It is the first time a military ship, not equipped with the naval gun systems used in the Second World War, has reached such ballistic ranges. Vulcan BER ammunition provide very accurate and high precision firing actions at ranges beyond 60 km.

Commenting on the successful test OTO Melara said it is ready to supply Vulcano BER ammunition to the Navies employing the new 127/64 LW weapon system and those employing the previous version 127/54 C naval gun with the V-kit upgrade.

In addition to the BER variant, Vulcano guided ammunition family also include the Guided Long Range (127GLR) and Semi Active Laser (GLR-SAL) guided versions, which will be available on board ships for firing trials starting from next year. The entire family of trajectory-corrected and guided projectiles will be able to conduct naval fire support at ranges from 35 km up to over 100 km, utilizing the OTO Melara naval guns systems.

Via Patrick H.