DARDO

For the infantry fighting vehicle, see Dardo IFV.

DARDO
300px
Type	Naval gun
Place of origin	Italy
Production history
Manufacturer	Oto Melara
Variants	Compact, Fast Forty
Specifications
Weight	5,500 kg (without ammunition) 4.05 kg (HE round)
Height	2.4 m (turret) 1.3 m (Type A mount) 0.92 m (Type B mount)
Diameter	1.7 m (mount) 2,902 m (working circle)
Caliber	40 mm
Barrels	2 × Bofors 40 mm L/70
Elevation	Minimum -15° Maximum +83° speed: 60°/s (70°/s Fast Forty)
Traverse	speed: 90°/s (100°/s Fast Forty)
Rate of fire	2 × 300 round/min 2 × 450 round/min (Fast Forty)
Effective range	4,000 m (HE round)
Maximum range	8,700 m (AA with HE)
Feed system	Magazine: 736 HE rounds (444 Type B mount) Dual feed mechanism with 736 HE and 200 APFSDS rounds (Fast Forty)

DARDO, built by the Italian companies Breda and Oto Melara, is a Close-in weapon system (CIWS) composed of two Breda 40 mm L/70s 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 Bofors 40 mm gun (Type 64, Type 106, Type 107, Type 564 and Type 520).

The system's primary purpose is defence against anti-ship missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and other precision guided weapons. However it can also be employed against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, ships and other small craft, coastal targets, and floating mines. It 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 (the Type B mount is fitted without 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.

Users

Here are some platforms using the Breda DARDO:

Argentina

• Almirante Brown class destroyer
• Espora class frigate ^video

Bangladesh

• Ulsan class frigate

Ecuador

• Esmeraldas class corvette
• Quito class missile boat

Iraq

• Assad class corvette

Italy

• Vittorio Veneto class cruiser
• Aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi
• Lupo class frigate
• Maestrale class frigate

South Korea

• Ulsan class frigate
• Pohang class corvette

Malaysia

• Laksamana class corvette

Peru

• Almirante Grau class cruiser
• Lupo class frigate
• Carvajal class frigate
• PR-72P class corvette
• Palacios and Ferré destroyers

Venezuela

• Lupo class frigate

External links

• Twin 40/70 factsheet
• Twin FASTFORTY factsheet
• Data and Spec of OtoBreda DARDO
• Images of DARDO and other Breda 40 mm CIWS