Today, Leonardo formally unveiled two new products: the 120 mm cannon with a 55 calibre barrel – 120/L55 – and the new 120 mm VULCANO ammunition.

The new gun is capable of delivering higher muzzle velocity thanks to its longer barrel and can fire more rounds even at higher operating pressures than ammunition currently under development, thanks to a new self-reinforcing process designed and developed by Leonardo.

The 120/L55 is primarily designed for the PANTHER-IT MBT – specifically, it will equip 82 of the 132 units planned (the other 50 will have Rheinmetall's L55A1 gun), but it can also be used on the ARIETE C2 and AICS-120, as well as to  export. A prototype fired for the first time in Nettuno on 24 June and today, in a special event organised by Leonardo at the Cottrau firing range (Portovenere, La Spezia), FW MAG was able to see it in action in a 6-shot sequence. Five prototypes will be used for the 12-month qualification process.

The 120 mm VULCANO is the latest projectile in the VULCANO sub-calibre/precision family, designed to equip the 120 mm guns of MBTs, but also similar calibres of wheeled and tracked vehicles for heavy reconnaissance (CENTAURO II and AICS-120). The new projectile has a maximum range of around 30 kilometres.

With the VULCANO-120, therefore, targets such as armoured vehicles, rocket launchers, air defence sites, etc. can be engaged beyond the line of sight, but also enemy MBTs, causing, in the latter case, what is known in jargon as functional damage, i.e. destroying optics, antennas and so on. Its design is based on the evolution of modern operational scenarios, in which close-quarters manoeuvring has expanded in depth and embraced other dimensions beyond the terrestrial one. In this context, the MBT is evolving into a sort of Multi-Role Combat Platform (MRCP) to support increasingly sparse and non-linear assets, which must also be capable of striking at a distance.

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