Governo Italiano
"Vulcano" Ammunitions
The concept for the new Vulcano ammunition family was developed by the OTO Melara company of La Spezia and involves a subcalibre, not self-propelled munition that, in its guided version, is equipped with aerodynamic controls, inertial/GPS navigation and, in some subtypes, a terminal guidance system, and is characterised by a very long range and a high degree of accuracy (CEP < 20m).
The main distinction regarding the types of ammunition that are being developed within the Program is between unguided and guided munitions. These are designated, respectively, Extended Range (ER) and Long Range (LR). The calibres being developed are of 155mm for the land versions and 127mm for the naval ones.
The trajectory followed by the unguided munitions is a conventional ballistic one with a range of up to 70 km, while the range of the guided versions is expected to be of up to 100 km when fired by the 127/54C gun and of 120 km when fired by the new 127/64LW. The expected range for the 155mm calibre is of up to 100 km. These ranges are achieved by means of a very high muzzle velocity and very low aerodynamic coefficients, compared to in-service large calibre munitions. The projectiles are equipped with a multifunctional fuze based on microwave technology and capable of being programmed with altimetric, proximity, impact, delayed impact or time functionalities.
Below are the links to a brief description of the three naval configurations; the land versions are functionally similar to the naval configurations nr. 1 and nr. 3. The main difference in the land versions, apart from the calibre, is the propelling charge configuration which has been specifically designed for total compatibility with the PzH2000's loading system.
