The Danish Defense Acquisition and Logistics Agency (DALO) is in the process of awarding a contract for 76mm ammunition to Italian contractor Leonardo SpA, according to a so-called "ex-ante voluntary transparency notice" on the Tenders Electronic website Daily of the European Union.
The ammunition is intended for the 76 mm Oto Melara gun, manufactured by Leonardo. The ammunition will initially be used for testing and certification on the Danish Navy's Knud Rasmussen-class offshore patrol vessels, Thetis-class ocean patrol vessels and Iver-Huitfeldt-class anti-aircraft frigates, after the weapons systems of these vessels are in the middle of their life cycle were modernized. The modernization included a total of 19 guns. According to the contract, ammunition will then also be delivered to the Danish Navy's standby stocks.
Specifically, the contract concerns the “4AP” ammunition. 4AP refers to the type of fuze used in the ammunition and is short for “4 Actions Plus”. The 4AP is a multi-mode electronic fuze that can be programmed into the weapon via both an integrated fuze setter and a separate, portable fuze setter. The ammunition can be fired in one of several modes:
– Explosion when approaching the target
– Height of explosion
- Time
– Impact detonation
– delayed impact detonation
The 4AP fuze complies with the STANAG 4187 safety standard and features an interrupted detonation train that requires two independent firing pulses (acceleration kickback and spin).
The use of this type of multi-purpose ammunition on a patrol vessel makes sense because the limited storage space for ammunition on board makes it impossible to carry large quantities of different types of ammunition. Multi-purpose ammunition, such as the one commissioned by Denmark, enables the effective use of a projectile for a wide range of tasks, e.g. B. to defend against anti-ship missiles, for air defense, for naval fire support and in surface battles.
The notice does not mention the amount of ammunition to be procured, but the total value is stated to be approximately EUR 7.1 million. Unless there are complaints against the notice, the contract is expected to be awarded 10 days after publication of the notice.
Thomas Nielsen
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