VULCANO: Italian Army discusses precision ammunitions at Future Artillery conference

Jan. 6, 2011 - PRLog -- VULCANO, the latest in an expanding choice of precision ammunition systems being developed for international militaries, will be examined by Lieutenant Colonel Enrico Marinelli, Head of Operational Requirements for the Italian Army, during a session at the upcoming Future Artillery conference, taking place 23rd-25th March 2011 at the Olympia Conference Centre, London.

Oto Melara is the company overseeing the VULCANO programme in Italy. According to the company's website, the projectiles have "been designed to meet the present and future requirements of Artillery Regiments and Rapid Reaction Forces to fire [155mm ammunition] with high precision and at long ranges". Boasting a range of over 100km and a Circular Error Probability of less than 20, VULCANO has been tested and developed by the Italian Army since 2003, and is expected to come into full service in 2014.

What lessons can be learned from the Italian experience of VULCANO? How does this approach compare to the precision development plans and the artillery modernisation of other countries, particularly within Europe? And how does this new munition compare with an expanding number of competitive precision ammunition solutions?

The event will bring together the key developers of precision weapons - Nexter, ATK, BAE Systems & Junghans - and showcase the latest news from the Excalibur Project, with a session led by Lieutenant Colonel Mike Milner, Excalibur Product Manager, US Army.

Lieutenant Colonel Marinelli and Milner will be part of an expert speaker panel of international artillery specialists leading discussions on the most recent operational feedback emerging from Afghanistan, as well as identifying future capabilities and requirements of different countries including the UK, Brazil, Malaysia, Canada, Denmark, Germany and the US. Other speakers and sessions include:

•   Brigadier Richard Haldenby, Commander Royal Artillery 1st Armoured Division, British Army, who will report on the key lessons learnt conducting Exercise Flying Rhino ensuring effective training for Joint Fire, Multi-National operations

•   Brigadier General Dato' Razali Bin Mohd Regen, Commander, Artillery Division, Malaysian Army, on the priorities of the 10th Malaysian Plan for 2011-2015 and the procurement plans for a 155mm self-propelled howitzer.

•   Colonel Brian McPherson, Director of Artillery, Canadian Forces, discussing the performance of current equipment in theatre, including the M777, and future priorities for the Canadian Artillery post-Afghanistan.

Defence IQ is offering all serving Flag Officers 1* and above a free pass to attend the conference.  Passes can be requested from Kim Vigilia at kim.vigilia@iqpc.co.uk.  
Additional information is available at www.future-artillery.com. The Defence IQ - Military Community LinkedIn group is open for membership, and related content can be found at www.defenceiq.com.

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