CRN 91 Naval Gun
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The CRN-91 Naval gun is a naval version of the Medak 30mm automatic gun installed on Sarath (Infantry fighting vehicle)-Indian license produced variant of BMP-2, built by the Ordnance Factory Medak. The Medak gun itself is based on Russian Shipunov 2A42 30 mm automatic cannon.
The CRN-91 Naval gun is controlled by an electro-optic fire control system developed and jointly produced by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
The CRN-91 Naval gun is not a sophisticated weapon but its operational cost is very low. The gun is suited for vessels primarily designed for peace time patrolling and policing. It is most suited for anti-insurgency, anti-smuggling, anti-pirate and maritime survillance of exclusive econimic zones (EEZ).
It has been installed on many small warships such as:
- Car Nicobar class fast attack craft
- Kumbhir class landing ship
- Shardul class landing ship
- Trinkat class patrol vessel
- Bangaram class patrol vessel
Combat use
An Indian fishing trawler was hijacked by ltte. It was spotted by fishermen in Maldivian waters on the night of May 17, 2007, and they tried to chase it away. But there was firing from the trawler and the Maldives Coastguard was alerted. Immediately, Maldives moved the Huravee that engaged the boat for over 10 hours before sinking it at 8.30 am on May 18.
The renamed Huravee is a former Indian Coast Guard ship given to the Maldives - its former name was INS Tillanchang. It is a Trinkat class patrol vessel equipped with a CRN-91 30 mm Automatic gun.
