OTO Melara

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OTO Melara S.p.A.
Company type S.p.A. (corporation)
IndustryDefence Systems
Founded1905
DefunctDecember 31, 2015(2015-12-31) (aged 110) (merged into Leonardo)
Headquarters
Rome
,
Italy
Number of locations
La Spezia
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsLand, naval and air defence systems
Parent Leonardo
Website https://www.leonardo.com/en/home

OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, [1] active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, adopted by 53 navies and installed on over 1,000 naval vessels, are among OTO Melara's best known weapons since World War II.[ citation needed ]

Contents

From 1 January 2016, the activities of OTO Melara merged into Leonardo's Defence Systems Division, [2] within the Electronics, Defence and Security Systems Sector.

History

Oto Melara 76/62 RSS Valour 76mm OTO Melara.JPEG
Oto Melara 76/62
Ariete MBT Italian Army - 4th Tank Regiment - Ariete tanks during an exercise at Capo Teulada October 2022.jpg
Ariete MBT
Puma APC Lancieri di Aosta Training.jpg
Puma APC

Pre–World War I

It was founded in 1905 as a joint venture of Vickers and Terni Steelworks, Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando and Cantieri navali Odero. Investment was also provided by Giuseppe Orlando and Attilio Odero. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the abbreviation OTO. During World War II, mostly heavy guns for battleships were produced.

Post–World War II

In 1953 the company took the name OTO Melara.

Before Italy joined NATO, OTO Melara produced civil products, like tractors and looms, but quickly returned to the production of weapons. On 1 December 2001, the naval artillery division of OTO Melara merged with that of Breda Meccanica Bresciana to form Otobreda. The combined entity produces the DARDO CIWS, Otobreda 76 mm and Otobreda 127/54 Compact naval guns. OTO Melara's land defence operations are part of the Leonardo conglomerate.

Main products

Vehicles manufactured include:

Weapons manufactured includes:

Ammunition manufactured include:

In the last decade the company has produced between 900 and 1000 GBU-31 and GBU-32 JDAMs on license. At the moment it is working on the production of 500 GBU-39s for the Aeronautica Militare.

The naval defence operations produce a wide range of automatic naval artillery, rocket and missile launchers and remote controlled small calibre defence cannons.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">French 100 mm naval gun</span> Naval gun

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FREMM multipurpose frigate Class of multi-purpose frigates

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dardo IFV</span> Italian infantry fighting vehicle

The Dardo is an infantry fighting vehicle designed for the Italian Army as a replacement for the M113 APC. It is designed and built by the Iveco Fiat Oto Melara Syndicated Company based in Rome. Iveco is responsible for the hull and propulsion systems, while Oto Melara is responsible for the weapons and fire control systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OTO Melara 76 mm</span> Naval artillery piece

The OTO Melara 76 mm gun, being marketed as the OTO 76/62 Gun Mount, is a naval autocannon built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DARDO</span> Close-in weapon system

DARDO, also marketed as the OTO Twin 40L70 Compact, is a close-in weapon system (CIWS) built by the Italian companies Breda and Oto Melara. It is composed of two Breda-built Bofors 40 mm firing high explosive (HE) shells, a fire-control radar (RTN-10X) and a fire-control system. It is the last of a long series of Italian anti-aircraft weapons derived from the Swedish Bofors 40 mm autocannons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otomatic</span> Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun

The OTO Main Anti-aircraft Tank for Intercept and Combat was an Italian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) prototype. Designed and built by OTO Melara, it was armed with a single 76 mm naval gun.

<i>Durand de la Penne</i>-class destroyer Ship class

The Durand de la Penne class are two guided-missile destroyers operated by the Italian Navy. The design is an enlarged version of the Audace class, updated with diesel and gas turbine CODOG machinery and modern sensors. Four ships were planned but the second pair were cancelled when Italy joined the Horizon project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otobreda 127/54 Compact</span> Naval gun

The Otobreda 127mm/54 Compact (127/54C) gun is a dual purpose naval artillery piece built by the Italian company Oto Melara. It uses the 127mm round which is also used in the 5 inch/ 54 gun, albeit that this gun calibre is measured in United States customary units rather than metric. The gun uses an automatic loading system where 66 127mm rounds of various kinds can be stored ready-to-fire in three loader drums. The barrel is water-cooled. Currently the gun is still in use by navies around the world but it is slowly being replaced by the Otobreda 127/64 for new vessels, such as the German Navy's F125-class frigate and Italian Navy's FREMM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OF-40</span> Italian main battle tank

The OF-40 is an Italian main battle tank developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and Fiat, and intended primarily for export sales. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by Fiat. Initial design work was started by OTO Melara in 1977, with the first prototypes ready by 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">76mm/L62 Allargato</span> Naval gun

The 76mm/L62 Allargato is a single barrel, medium caliber, dual purpose automatic naval cannon designed and produced in the 1960s by the Italian defence firm of OTO-Melara as the cannon armament for all medium and large warships built for the Italian Navy in that decade. Currently, the gun remains in service with Italy's Cassiopea-class patrol vessels but has otherwise been largely replaced by the Otobreda 76 mm series of cannons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oerlikon KBA</span> Swiss autocannon

The Oerlikon KBA is a 25 mm (25×137mm) autocannon, developed as a close range multipurpose weapon for the mechanised battlefield, originally made by Oerlikon and currently produced in Rheinmetall Italia S.p.A. facilities. It is a positively locked breech, gas and recoil operated cannon with a rotating bolt head and a dual-belt selective feed system taking a 25mm NATO cartridge. The rate of fire in burst mode is 600 rounds per minute but it can be adjusted electronically and reduced to single shot or a selectable range from 100 up to 200 rounds per minute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freccia IFV</span> Italian wheeled infantry fighting vehicle

The VBM – Freccia is a family of 8x8 armoured vehicles that was designed and manufactured for the Italian Army by IVECO for the hull, the engine and the suspension, and OTO Melara for the armament. The first variant to be developed was the IFV, the Freccia being equipped with a Hitfist turret, the same as the one installed on the Dardo IFV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitrole</span> Italian remote weapon station

The Hitrole is a remote weapons station manufactured by Italian arms company Oto Melara . The "role" portion of the name is short for "Remotely Operated, Light Electrical".

Cantieri navali Odero is a defunct Italian shipyard. Founded in 1846 by the Westerman brothers in Genoa-Sestri Ponente, the company was taken over by Nicolò Odero in 1872. Together with the Ansaldo-San Giorgio shipyard at Muggiano and the armament works of Vickers-Terni, it was amalgamated into Odero-Terni by Attilio Odero, which, in turn, absorbed the Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando of Livorno two years later. The consolidated company became the Società per la Costruzione di Navi, Macchine ed Artiglierie Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO). The shipyard was closed in 1949.

Cantiere navale del Muggiano is a defunct Italian shipbuilding company. Founded in 1883 in Muggiano, it was combined with the Cantiere navale di Ancona into the Officine e Cantieri Liguri-Anconetani in 1899 and then, together with the Cantiere navale di Palermo, amalgamated into Cantieri Navali Riuniti (CNR) on 31 January 1906. FIAT-San Giorgio, owners of the adjacent submarine shipyard, purchased the shipyard from CNR in 1913 to increase their production capacity. Gio. Ansaldo & C. bought out FIAT in 1918 and the company was renamed Ansaldo-San Giorgio. Ansaldo was forced to sell its half to Attilio Odero in 1921. Once Odero gained control of the Vickers-Terni armament works in 1927, he amalgamated the shipyard with his other facilities into Odero-Terni. He acquired the Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando in 1929 and renamed the company, Società per la Costruzione di Navi, Macchine ed Artiglierie Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO). It was merged into Fincantieri in 1984.

Cantiere della Foce was an Italian shipyard founded around 1800 in the village of Foce at the mouth of the Bisagno River. It built its first warship in 1804, but shipbuilding was very intermittent until the Kingdom of Sardinia acquired Liguria in 1815.

Hitfist OWS is a remotely operated turret, for armored vehicles, developed by the Italian Oto Melara and derived from Hitfist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitfist</span> Armoured vehicle turret

Oto Melara Hitfist is a two-man turret, for armored vehicles, developed by the Italian Oto Melara. The turrets are designed to mount a 25mm Oerlikon KBA or 30/40mm ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II autocannon. The main armament may mount a co-axial machine gun. A variant allows the operator to aim and fire anti-tank missiles.

The 60mm HVMS gun is a self-loading autocannon jointly developed by OTO Melara of Italy and the Israel Military Industries (IMI). It was designed to be mounted on light armoured vehicles to provide an anti-armour capability using high-velocity sub-calibre kinetic ammunition.

References

  1. "Finmeccanica meeting approves new name, 'Leonardo'". Ansa News.
  2. "Finmeccanica: Mauro Moretti launches 'One Company'". Finmeccanica. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  3. "DIMDEX 2018: Leonardo Unveils the OTO Marlin 40 Naval Turret". Navy Recognition. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  4. "Leonardo to unveil OTO Marlin 40 naval gun mount". Naval Technology. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  5. "OTO Marlin 40". electronics.leonardo.com. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  6. "Leonardo presenta Lionfish®, la nuova famiglia di torrette per la difesa navale". www.leonardocompany.com (in Italian). Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. "Leonardo presenta Lionfish, la nuova famiglia di torrette per la difesa navale". Difesa Online (in Italian). 23 October 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  8. "MSS 1.2". Military Today. Retrieved 8 August 2021.