Article Posted on : - Jun 06, 2012

A Diehl photo.

UBERLINGEN, GERMANY (BNS): German arms manufacturer Diehl Defence has received a contract from France to develop modern naval ammunition for French Navy frigates.

The new weapon, which will be a refinement of the existing 76 mm naval ammunition, will be developed with insensitive explosives that will prevent detonation of the ammunition in case of enemy shelling or fire on board and protect the vessel's crew.

It is scheduled for deployment in the Oto Melara SUPER RAPIDO L-62 naval guns of the French Navy's FREMM multipurpose and Horizon-class air defence frigates from 2015, Diehl said, without disclosing the contract amount.

The 76 mm ammunition, to be jointly developed by Diehl and French manufacturer Nexter Munitions, is capable of engaging both air and sea targets as well as coastal targets.

Diehl has so far delivered approx. 300,000 cartridges of the conventional ammunition to the naval forces of Germany, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Canada, Ecuador, Columbia, Qatar, the Netherlands, Turkey and other nations.

The new order makes Diehl the first supplier worldwide of naval ammunition meeting the requirements of insensitive ammunition (IM) as per NATO standards, the company said.