120/L55 gun, developed and produced entirely in the Leonardo plant in La Spezia, is a state-of-the-art gun born from the experience gained within the operational scenarios and heir to the 120/44, aboard the Ariete tank, and 120/45 aboard the Centauro II armored vehicle. Its modularity makes it compatible with both the Ariete tower updated to the C2 standard, and with the HITFACT MkII and with heavy tanks and special versions of new generation Infantry Vehicles.
The system is able to guarantee greater muzzle speed thanks to the longer barrel length and the ability to fire a greater number of rounds even with higher operating pressures than the ammunition currently under development thanks to a new self-forcing process designed and built by Leonardo.
It derives from significant investments that the company has made in recent years on the site’s infrastructure, with the aim of developing new technologies and at the same time enhancing production capacity. The use of innovative software – as in the case of the new system for which the most advanced mechanical modeling program was used for the virtual simulation of complex structures – and the use of digitized machinery allow in fact an optimization of processing times and costs, a reduction in technological risk and effective results as well as more sustainable industrial processes.
Today Leonardo is the only company in Europe capable of producing guns of different calibers in both the land and naval domains: the current production includes 20×102, 20×128, 25, 30×113, 30×173, 40, 76, 105, 120/44, 120/45, 120/55, 127/54, 127/64, 155/39 and 155/52 systems. The goal is to reach a production of over 800 units per year to meet all market needs.
Towards the new Vulcano 120 ammunition
The development of the 120/L55 system, capable of integrating any NATO ammunition, with high kinetic energy and Multi-Purpose, has paved the way for the development of a new member of the Vulcano family of guided munitions, namely the Vulcano 120mm, destined to change the role of highly mobile armored vehicles equipped with large-caliber main armament in operational scenarios because it is capable of carrying out indirect precision shots.
Unique in Europe of its kind, this family of sub-calibrated shells includes the 76mm BER and GLR and 127mm BER and GLR naval ammunition, as well as the 155mm BER and GLR land ammunition, and is characterized by a particularly wide range, efficiency, accuracy and collateral damage reduction.
The new ITAR – Free technology under development will inherit the characteristics of the family, will be difficult to countermeasure and is expected to be able to reach up to 30 km away. Also developed as part of the i-Main Battle Tank project, it will be compatible with all existing and future 120mm guns. The modular design will make it possible to reuse building blocks already developed on other calibers, allowing a reduction in risk, greater speed in development and helping to enable economies of scale. The integration architecture provides that the ammunition can also be managed with designation from a UAS system enslaved and cooperating with the tank. Operation in GNSS-denied environments and laser-based end-guided engagement capabilities are planned, with the possibility of future growth to include infrared guidance.
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