German Navy Fields Vulcano 127 Guided Ammunition for F125 Frigate

The German Navy will start fielding Vulcano 127mm guided munitions for their F125 frigates.

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 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.

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.

The powerful multi-role, Insensitive High-Explosive (IHE) warhead with pre-fragmented tungsten splinters is most effective against soft targets, vehicles, semi-armored vehicles, infrastructures and all typical infantry command posts.