CAMM should be going into the T23’s before they end their lives shouldn’t they? They’ll go across too.
I wasn’t aware that the 4.5’s were going across, I thought they’d be wanting to get the 155’s in there. They should have finished development in time, trial firings were supposed to start this year.
Out of interest where are the torpedo tubes on the T23’s? Someone mentioned they were oddly placed on the model of the C1 above.
On the subject of the 155mm, they are using th e4.5 mounts, but funding appears to have been cut:
BAE is warning the Ministry of Defence that it may lose jobs and skills if the next phase of the project is delayed for long.
Two phases of the scheme to replace the Royal Navy’s 8.5-inch calibre guns on warships with a 6-inch calibre gun have successfully taken place and been funded by the MoD. But the MoD has so far stalled on the third phase, which includes trials on the ammunition handling systems.
The gun would save the MoD cash by standardising ammunition for both army and navy guns. Currently naval guns use different-sized ammunition which has to be specially ordered.
At the Furness Enterprise annual open meeting, one of the BAE Global Combat Systems managers in Barrow, Ralph Chetcuti, asked former Defence Secretary and Furness MP John Hutton if he could help the yard find out what has happened to the follow-on contract.
“It has all gone quiet,” said Mr Chetcuti.
“If we don’t get the contract, we are going to lose the design skills to produce very high performance artillery systems.”
Mr Hutton said he would find out what had happened and report back to BAE Global Combat Systems.
Mr Hutton said: “I will make it my job to find out (about the contract).
“The navy needs that weapons technology.
“We will need that investment in that gun.”
Mr Chetcuti told the Mail: “We have built a production prototype and tested it at the firing range at Eskmeals. We have had some very successful trials.
“There is some way to go but we have shown that it is a very low-risk development which is going to work.
“We have proven the new technologies in the gun which could be used in land forces as well.”
The new technologies include laser ignition of the shells. Mr Chetcuti said: “The MoD is involved in it. “They like it very much but the funding seems to have dried up.
“We were hoping to get a follow-on contract straight away but it is not even on the horizon yet.”
He said some of the Barrow armaments factory’s engineers who work on high performance artillery could be lost if they did not get the follow-on order. About 20 people at Barrow have been working on the new naval gun project which is based around the 6-inch calibre gun used by the army’s Barrow-built AS90 mobile howitzer.
Local sub contractor firms in the town helped build the prototype gun.
At the meeting at Abbey House in Barrow Mr Chetcuti said the 8.5-inch gun which is still being fitted to naval warships like the Type 45 was based on 1960s technology and, by the end of the new warships’ service in 30 years, the design would be approaching 100 years old.
He said: “The new gun is a more effective weapon. It has more firepower and costs much less.”
The Global Combat Systems armaments factory in Barrow employs more than 400 people, many of whom are working on the locally-designed, big-selling M777 howitzer.
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/mod_told_gun_delays_may_lead_to_loss_of_jobs_and_skills_in_town_1_650449?referrerPath=news/barrow
Hopefully someone finds some loose change for this project.
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