DARDO | |
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Type | Naval gun |
Place of origin | Italy |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Oto Melara |
Variants | Compact, Fast Forty |
Specifications | |
Weight | Complete gun mount (less ammo): 5,500 kg (12,100 lb) Complete round (HE): 4.05 kg (8.9 lb) |
Height | Enclosed turret: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) Type A mount: 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) Type B mount: 0.92 m (3 ft 0 in) |
Diameter | Mount ring: 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) Working circle: 2.902 m (9 ft 6.3 in) |
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Caliber | 40 mm |
Barrels | 2 × Breda-built Bofors-40 mm L/70 |
Elevation | Minimum −13° Maximum +85° speed: 60°/s (70°/s Fast Forty) |
Traverse | Full 360° traverse, speed: 90°/s (100°/s Fast Forty) |
Rate of fire | 2 × 300 round/min 2 × 450 round/min (Fast Forty) |
Effective firing range | HE round: 4,000 m (4,400 yd) |
Maximum firing range | AA with HE: 8,700 m (9,500 yd) |
Feed system |
Magazine: 736 HE rounds (444 Type B mount) Dual feed mechanism with 736 HE and 200 APFSDS rounds (Fast Forty) |
DARDO ("Dart" in Italian) is a close-in weapon system (CIWS) built by the Italian companies Breda and Oto Melara. It is composed of two Breda-built Bofors 40 mm firing high explosive (HE) shells, a fire-control radar (RTN-10X) and a fire-control system (RTN-20X and Dardo). It is the last of a long series of Italian anti-aircraft weapons derived from the Swedish Bofors 40 mm (mounted on Breda built gun mounts such as the Type 64, Type 106, Type 107, Type 564 and Type 520).
The system's primary purpose is to defend against anti-ship missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and other precision guided weapons. It can also be employed against conventional and rotary-wing aircraft, surface ships, small water-crafts, coastal targets and floating mines.
DARDO is installed in an enclosed turret with two different mounts: the Type A with 440-round internal and 292-round under-deck magazines; and Type B with only the 440-round internal magazine (Type B requires no deck penetration).
The Fast Forty is an improved version of the system with a higher rate of fire, dual magazine and dual feed mechanism to allow switching from HE to armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds when a missile gets within 1,000 meters from the vessel.