The German Navy successfully completes the operational suitability test with frigate F125 – fielding starts now. According to Italian and German governments’ requirements, the companies Diehl Defence and Leonardo developed and qualified the precision-guided ammunition family Vulcano 127 and 155 mm. Compatibility with all 127 mm and 155 mm weapon systems is ensured. During the fielding, the German Navy successfully completed the operational suitability test of the Vulcano 127mm guided ammunition, fired from frigate F125 with Leonardo’s 127/64 Lightweight naval gun. This comprises the whole ammunition flow in the weapon, including programming and firing with proof of range and precision under operating conditions.
The Vulcano ammunition is designed to achieve extended ranges of 70 km for Vulcano 155 and 80 km for Vulcano 127 in conjunction with unique accuracy against stationary and moving targets. Besides the basic configuration with a Height of Burst (HoB) sensor, other configurations were qualified, with terminal homing sensors SAL (Semi-Active Laser) and FarIR (Far Infrared), which are deployed against stationary and moving single targets with highest accuracy. This makes the Vulcano family the most accurate artillery ammunition for land and naval applications worldwide. Thereby, not only the Italian Navy will be equipped with Vulcano 127 guided ammunition as these successful tests pave the way for the German Navy to adopt the system as well.
The shell is filled with IM explosive and it is made up of specific patented pre formed tungsten rings, enabling
an extremely high effectiveness against soft and lightly protected targets; the detonation trigger is generated
by a Radio Frequency programmable fuse capable of various functionalities, such as: altimetric, instantaneous
and delayed impact. When the RF fuse is replaced with the dedicated Semi Active Laser (SAL) sensor, the
ammunition can also effectively engage laser designated targets, stationary and moving, with further improved precision with respect to pure GPS guidance. Moreover, the possibility of programming the final attack angle of the projectile to up to 90° against the target enables the maximization of both warhead effectiveness and guidance accuracy, as well as minimizing the likelihood of detection of projectile in flight by the enemy’s defence systems.
Leonardo, a global high-technology company, is among the top world players in Aerospace, Defense and Security and Italy’s main industrial company. Organized into five business divisions, Leonardo has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and the USA, where it also operates through subsidiaries that include Leonardo DRS, and joint ventures and partnerships: ATR, MBDA, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and Avio.
Diehl Defence is a leading supplier of high-tech guided missiles, innovative ammunition solutions and special reconnaissance and protection systems. Its modern system solutions for ground-based air defence set new international standards. Diehl Defence is part of the globally operating Diehl Group, a financially and legally independent family-owned company with over 16,000 employees worldwide and a turnover of more than 3 billion euros.
