At the Nexter Munitions plant isostatic pressing is carried out exploiting the breech of a large calibre gun from an old French Navy battleship. (Nexter Munitions)
kg of tungsten cube, is filled with around 750 grams of a company-developed IM explosive, known as ECF-1, which ensures equal or best performances compared to other compositions. It is to note that all the 76L62 IM ammunition family exceeded STANAG 4439 IM objectives especially in the sympathetic reaction and the bullet attack tests. Fitted with the company dual-fuse mode, it can be employed for air defence, using the proximity or super-quick modes, with self-destruction, as well as in the shore bombardment mode, using the ground proximity function. The 76L62 HE PFF is compatible with all 76/62 mm guns, from the MK75 to the new Super Rapido. Keeping with the same calibre, Simmel Difesa has also increased the performances of its HE-SAP (High Explosive-Semi Armour Piercing), enhancing effectiveness at high angles of impact thanks to an anti-ricochet system, and adopting a blast enhanced explosive filling. The IM, low vulnerability, low environmental impact technology is also being extended to the 127 family of ammunition, Simmel Difesa is planning to start testing of the 127 mm HE PFF IM round in 2016 in order to have it on the market the following year. In the land domain the Colleferro company recently developed a new 40x46 mm low velocity high- explosive dual purpose IM round with self-destruction. It penetrates over 70 mm
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RHA and has a lethal radius in excess of 10 metres, and the distribution of pressure in the firing phase allows an increased barrel life of the gun. Now in the final qualification phase by the Italian Army, it has been also tested by the UK MoD. The latter has been a strong customer for the company 81 mm illuminating mortar round, Simmel Difesa is now completing its 81 and 120 mm mortar bomb range with the HE version of the 81 and 120 mm rounds. As already noted, Simmel Difesa owns a demilitarisation facility at Anagni, less than 20 km east of Colleferro. The plant is able to process a large amount of ammunition and explosives material, from small arms calibre to 203 mm artillery projectile, hand grenades, air-drop and mortar bombs, land- and under-water mines, rockets and missiles, and to dispose the resulting by-products. Its machinery allows to carry out all the process phases, unpacking, disassembling, removing and inertising primers, defusing ammunition, disassembling charges, cutting and unloading ammunition, inertising ammunition and explosives by rotating ovens or tunnel ovens, and destroying wastes. As for explosive, part of it can be re-used in for civilian purposes, while metal scrap, once cleared in the flash oven, can also go back into the cycle, according to the three-R motto, “Recovery, Re-use, Recycle�. A link between the demilitarisation experts and the group ammunition engineers has been established, to account of demil problems from the ammunition design phase. Coming to Nexter Munitions, the latest products that are to be seen in its show room at La Chapelle St-Urin, near Bourges, are the 40 mm cased telescoped ammunition being produced for CTA International, and in the artillery field the Spacido course correction system, which qualification should be finalised by Q1 2016. The latter system has already been demonstrated to some potential customers, at least one of them being in the Middle East. Although the Spacido is proposed both for 155 and 105 mm artillery grenades, EDR had the feeling that the development in the smaller calibre might be on hold. Questions about new programmes currently in EDR - March / April 2016