The company OTO Melara showed a new artillery installation Forty Light
The IDEX-2015 exhibition in Abu Dhabi became the site for the first show of a wide range of various weapons and equipment that were not previously shown to the general public. In particular, the Italian company OTO Melara, part of the Finmeccanica group, presented its new development at this exhibition. Arms developers showed potential buyers their new naval gun mount Forty Light.
The name of the Forty Light project (“Forty-light”) reveals some of its features. New ship installation was created with two basic requirements. The first concerned raising the firepower of naval artillery systems. Existing 30-mm automatic guns have a fairly high firepower, but in certain situations it may be insufficient. 40 mm caliber guns, in turn, are able to effectively carry out a number of combat missions associated with firing air and surface targets. Thus, based on considerations of increasing the firepower of boats and small ships, OTO Melara decided to create a new artillery unit based on 40 mm caliber guns.
The second important feature of the Forty Light system is its size and weight. Boats and small ships impose certain restrictions on the design of the weapons installed on them, due to the available volumes of holds and structural strength. In order to expand the list of possible carriers, the new OTO Melara Forty Light artillery installation received a turret with a gun, but does not have any underdeck units. As a result, the installation can be mounted directly on the deck of a suitable vessel without the need to modify its design.
The main element of the artillery installation Forty Light is a tower of a characteristic many-sided form. In developing this tower, some of the developments on the subject of stealth technology were used, which affected its shape. The body of the tower is formed by several rectilinear carbon fiber panels, placed at an angle to each other. Inside the casing are all the necessary units, including an automatic gun and ammunition systems. On the existing photos it is clear that the side panels of the tower provide hatches for maintenance.
Artillery installation OTO Melara Forty Light should be mounted directly on the deck of the base ship or boat. To do this, in the lower part of the tower there is a swivel base, with which the installation is attached to the deck. The base provides circular guidance. weapons (except for some sector in which the superstructure of the vessel is located). The proposed artillery system does not require any modifications to the ship’s design, with the exception of the power and control cables.
The Forty Light installation consists of three main units: the supporting platform, the lower part of the tower with a set of units and the swinging block with a tool. Due to the use of lightweight materials, the installation fully justifies its name: the total weight of the system (without ammunition) does not exceed 1900 kg. This feature of the installation should further expand the list of boats and ships that can carry it.
In the upper swinging OTO Melara Forty Light installation module, an automatic gun of the caliber 40 mm is mounted. The Italian gunsmiths did not begin to develop a new weapon, but decided to use the existing and widely used one. On the new artillery installation gun used Breda Bofors 40 / L70, created a few decades ago. This gun has a rate of fire at the level of 300 shots per minute and accelerates the projectile to a speed of more than 1000 m / s. The characteristics of the gun used were completely satisfied by the developers, as a result of which it was decided to improve the artillery installation only at the expense of additional equipment, control systems, etc.
Inside the turret there is a magazine on 72 projectile 40х364 mm R. There are two types of projectiles in the magazine. Such an opportunity has arisen due to the used double ammunition supply system. Depending on the type of target attacked, the installation operator may select the most appropriate type of projectile. Changing the type of ammunition should be made "on the fly", without any complicated and lengthy procedures. For the release of spent cartridges in the front wall of the casing there is a small rectangular window.
The used ammunition system has some drawbacks associated with the general layout of the artillery. Thus, due to the lack of under deck units, the installation operators will have to go on deck to recharge the store. In some situations, such a replacement of ammunition can be associated with certain risks. However, such disadvantages should be fully compensated by the main advantage in the form of the possibility of installing an artillery system on light ships and boats.
It is proposed to include a new high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a programmable fuse 4A40 OM in the OTO Melara Forty Light artillery installation. Such a fuse can operate in four modes, thereby further increasing the power of the projectiles. Depending on the need, the system operator can choose to undermine at a given distance or after a certain period of time after the shot; installed non-contact blasting; controlled non-contact blasting; contact blasting. In addition, the possibility of self-destruction of the projectile in the event of a miss. It is expected that the programmable fuse will be able to increase the effectiveness of shooting due to the detonation at the optimal point in time when the projectile is in close proximity to the target.
For aiming the gun in the installation of the OTO Melara Forty Light are used electric actuators with digital control. To search for targets and guidance tools can be used various radio-electronic means. Thus, an artillery installation can be used in conjunction with a naval combat information and control system. In addition, it is possible to create a special separate control panel. There is information about the development of an optical-electronic system for searching for targets and aiming weapons. This equipment can be either made as a separate module or mounted in a tower.
By combining different systems, three versions of the OTO Melara Forty Light installation were developed, with minimal differences in the design of the units. In the future, customers will be offered the following systems:
- Forty LightType A. A modification designed to be integrated into a ship / boat weapon system. It is controlled by the existing CICS;
- Forty LightType B. Type A version with built-in optical-electronic system, providing the possibility of autonomous operation. Communication is maintained with the ship's BIOS;
- Forty LightType C. Fully autonomous version with its own means of observation and without communication with the ship electronics.
At the moment there is only a demo model of a new artillery installation, which in the near future will carry on various exhibitions. The development of project documentation is now being completed. The assembly of the first prototype, which will be put to the test in the summer, should begin soon. Other deadlines for the implementation of various phases of the project have not yet been named. Probably, the new OTO Melara Forty Light shipborne artillery installation will be offered to customers no earlier than next year.
Judging by the published data, the Forty Light project is of great interest from a technical point of view. The new artillery installation of the Italian design differs from other systems of similar purpose by the relative ease of mounting on a ship or boat. Installation is made in the form of a relatively light tower, which does not require seriously modifying the design of the ship carrier. At the same time, the installation has a sufficiently high firepower and effective firing range, and is also capable of using projectiles with a programmable fuse. Thus, the OTO Melara Forty Light system may indeed be of interest to foreign customers. Nevertheless, it will be possible to talk about the real prospects of this installation only after the end of the tests, which will reveal all its real pros and cons.
On the materials of the sites:
http://navyrecognition.com/
http://shephardmedia.com/
http://janes.com/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
The name of the Forty Light project (“Forty-light”) reveals some of its features. New ship installation was created with two basic requirements. The first concerned raising the firepower of naval artillery systems. Existing 30-mm automatic guns have a fairly high firepower, but in certain situations it may be insufficient. 40 mm caliber guns, in turn, are able to effectively carry out a number of combat missions associated with firing air and surface targets. Thus, based on considerations of increasing the firepower of boats and small ships, OTO Melara decided to create a new artillery unit based on 40 mm caliber guns.
The second important feature of the Forty Light system is its size and weight. Boats and small ships impose certain restrictions on the design of the weapons installed on them, due to the available volumes of holds and structural strength. In order to expand the list of possible carriers, the new OTO Melara Forty Light artillery installation received a turret with a gun, but does not have any underdeck units. As a result, the installation can be mounted directly on the deck of a suitable vessel without the need to modify its design.
The main element of the artillery installation Forty Light is a tower of a characteristic many-sided form. In developing this tower, some of the developments on the subject of stealth technology were used, which affected its shape. The body of the tower is formed by several rectilinear carbon fiber panels, placed at an angle to each other. Inside the casing are all the necessary units, including an automatic gun and ammunition systems. On the existing photos it is clear that the side panels of the tower provide hatches for maintenance.
Artillery installation OTO Melara Forty Light should be mounted directly on the deck of the base ship or boat. To do this, in the lower part of the tower there is a swivel base, with which the installation is attached to the deck. The base provides circular guidance. weapons (except for some sector in which the superstructure of the vessel is located). The proposed artillery system does not require any modifications to the ship’s design, with the exception of the power and control cables.
The Forty Light installation consists of three main units: the supporting platform, the lower part of the tower with a set of units and the swinging block with a tool. Due to the use of lightweight materials, the installation fully justifies its name: the total weight of the system (without ammunition) does not exceed 1900 kg. This feature of the installation should further expand the list of boats and ships that can carry it.
In the upper swinging OTO Melara Forty Light installation module, an automatic gun of the caliber 40 mm is mounted. The Italian gunsmiths did not begin to develop a new weapon, but decided to use the existing and widely used one. On the new artillery installation gun used Breda Bofors 40 / L70, created a few decades ago. This gun has a rate of fire at the level of 300 shots per minute and accelerates the projectile to a speed of more than 1000 m / s. The characteristics of the gun used were completely satisfied by the developers, as a result of which it was decided to improve the artillery installation only at the expense of additional equipment, control systems, etc.
Inside the turret there is a magazine on 72 projectile 40х364 mm R. There are two types of projectiles in the magazine. Such an opportunity has arisen due to the used double ammunition supply system. Depending on the type of target attacked, the installation operator may select the most appropriate type of projectile. Changing the type of ammunition should be made "on the fly", without any complicated and lengthy procedures. For the release of spent cartridges in the front wall of the casing there is a small rectangular window.
The used ammunition system has some drawbacks associated with the general layout of the artillery. Thus, due to the lack of under deck units, the installation operators will have to go on deck to recharge the store. In some situations, such a replacement of ammunition can be associated with certain risks. However, such disadvantages should be fully compensated by the main advantage in the form of the possibility of installing an artillery system on light ships and boats.
It is proposed to include a new high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a programmable fuse 4A40 OM in the OTO Melara Forty Light artillery installation. Such a fuse can operate in four modes, thereby further increasing the power of the projectiles. Depending on the need, the system operator can choose to undermine at a given distance or after a certain period of time after the shot; installed non-contact blasting; controlled non-contact blasting; contact blasting. In addition, the possibility of self-destruction of the projectile in the event of a miss. It is expected that the programmable fuse will be able to increase the effectiveness of shooting due to the detonation at the optimal point in time when the projectile is in close proximity to the target.
For aiming the gun in the installation of the OTO Melara Forty Light are used electric actuators with digital control. To search for targets and guidance tools can be used various radio-electronic means. Thus, an artillery installation can be used in conjunction with a naval combat information and control system. In addition, it is possible to create a special separate control panel. There is information about the development of an optical-electronic system for searching for targets and aiming weapons. This equipment can be either made as a separate module or mounted in a tower.
By combining different systems, three versions of the OTO Melara Forty Light installation were developed, with minimal differences in the design of the units. In the future, customers will be offered the following systems:
- Forty LightType A. A modification designed to be integrated into a ship / boat weapon system. It is controlled by the existing CICS;
- Forty LightType B. Type A version with built-in optical-electronic system, providing the possibility of autonomous operation. Communication is maintained with the ship's BIOS;
- Forty LightType C. Fully autonomous version with its own means of observation and without communication with the ship electronics.
At the moment there is only a demo model of a new artillery installation, which in the near future will carry on various exhibitions. The development of project documentation is now being completed. The assembly of the first prototype, which will be put to the test in the summer, should begin soon. Other deadlines for the implementation of various phases of the project have not yet been named. Probably, the new OTO Melara Forty Light shipborne artillery installation will be offered to customers no earlier than next year.
Judging by the published data, the Forty Light project is of great interest from a technical point of view. The new artillery installation of the Italian design differs from other systems of similar purpose by the relative ease of mounting on a ship or boat. Installation is made in the form of a relatively light tower, which does not require seriously modifying the design of the ship carrier. At the same time, the installation has a sufficiently high firepower and effective firing range, and is also capable of using projectiles with a programmable fuse. Thus, the OTO Melara Forty Light system may indeed be of interest to foreign customers. Nevertheless, it will be possible to talk about the real prospects of this installation only after the end of the tests, which will reveal all its real pros and cons.
On the materials of the sites:
http://navyrecognition.com/
http://shephardmedia.com/
http://janes.com/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
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