CT40 Case Telescoped Weapon System

[The Armchair Soldier]

A thread on the army's new CT40 cannon which will arm Ajax and Warrior.

Some videos of it at work:







And some news from today:

New 40mm Cannon System Handed Over to British Army

The first production standard Cased Telescoped Cannon System has been handed over to the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) in Bourges, France by CTA International (CTAI) – a 50/50 joint venture company between BAE Systems and Nexter Systems.

It is the first delivery of 515 new 40mm cannons that have been ordered for the British Army for use in the Ajax and Warrior vehicles and incorporates unique technologies that will provide superior firepower.

Read More: http://www.baesystems.com/en/article/ne ... itish-army

This infographic was included (click for high res):

[RunningStrong]

Does the CT40 offer any performance advantage over a conventional 40mm or is it a matter of storage and handling?

[RetroSicotte]

Essentially offers comparable power to other 40mm's, but in a much smaller and more modern package, is the best way to describe it. It's a very efficient gun, is one way to put it.

[mr.fred]

It's got good marketing, is another way of putting it.

[Tony Williams]

I posted a whole bunch of photos of the gun and its ammo, including comparisons with rivals, here: http://quarryhs.co.uk/WLIP.htm

[Wrekin762]

Any word on how many rounds are held in the AHS on the Warrior and Ajax turrets?

IIRC the in-turret configurations that BAE/CTA put forward for various vehicles were 42 - 70 rounds (depending on the design). I wondered if Lockheed moving the new Meggitt-designed AHS/Magazine outside the turret ring, had afforded much extra capacity.

[arfah]

.............

[Timmymagic]

Have we just got done over by the French again?

Janes has the CTA 40mm as coming from Bourges in France. Are we manufacturing them in the UK? Because it appears we're buying at least 2x as many as the French? Did the French demand production facilities in return for buying half of what the UK is buying?

If that's the case I'm genuinely holding my head in my hands. Its the same deal with the Germans putting a requirement out for lots of kit and getting a very high workshare on a joint project then when push comes to shove they cut their order down drastically.

[mr.fred]

Have we just got done over by the French again?

Probably.

Janes has the CTA 40mm as coming from Bourges in France. Are we manufacturing them in the UK? Because it appears we're buying at least 2x as many as the French? Did the French demand production facilities in return for buying half of what the UK is buying?

I think it may be more the case that the French had production facilities and BAE didn't, but the end result is the same. On the numbers game, it's probably worse than it appears, because it looks like the French are holding off on buying any until the UK has paid for the development and qualification work.

If that's the case I'm genuinely holding my head in my hands. Its the same deal with the Germans putting a requirement out for lots of kit and getting a very high workshare on a joint project then when push comes to shove they cut their order down drastically.

The joys of international projects.
My view is that the worst thing is that we have repeated what can be considered the mistakes of RARDEN - a bespoke cannon with a weird feed system

[The Armchair Soldier]

The first live firing of CT 40 from Ajax:

[Ron5]

Must be cold, the RWS has its anorak on.

[Dahedd]

Noob question. Is it the angle of the video or is there no recoil at all.

[mr.fred]

Difficult to tell, what with all the smoke around the muzzle.
If there isn't, then the force into the turret will be large. There's definitely something at the back of the turret bouncing around like a good one.

[whitelancer]

I think its the speed of recoil that makes it appear its not happening. If you look their is something attached to the barrel near the muzzle, after firing the first round you can see this has been moved back, indicating the barrel has recoiled. besides which if it didn't recoil the gun and its mounting would soon be torn apart.
As for the bouncing on the back of the turret it looks like an access plate that has not be secured, it doesn't look very substantial though.

[Andy-M]

There also seems to be some contraption with substantial weights on it holding the vehicle in one place, obviously they didn't want the vehicle to move. Also there's a green bit of metal attached to the barrel off of the contraption, which may be stopping the recoil dead, judging by the amount of wires coming out the back they wanted to test the accuracy with no crew in place to reset the gun if it drifts.

[mr.fred]

At a rough guess, there's about four tonnes of blocks there and assuming the same on the other side, that's eight tonnes plus whatever the metal weighs.
The vehicle weighs thirty tonnes, so I don't think that the concrete blocks are going to make much difference in holding it down/still?
The green thing looks like a fabric lifting strop to me.

[whitelancer]

The strap on the barrel is very curious cant imagine what that's for! As for the metal framework and concreate blocks I can only think they are for sensors of some sort, perhaps measuring recoil forces transmitted to the hull, not really convinced by that explanation though. Then their is the tarpaulin draped over the back, protecting some equipment from the weather maybe.
I assume the testing was conducted by Cranfield Ordinance Test and Evaluation Centre as Warrior was. Is the MOD completely devoid of all its test and evaluation centres?
Its a really woeful state of affairs.

[mr.fred]

http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/fotowe ... sc&search=((08042016A))

It's definitely a strop, and a loose one at that.

[whitelancer]

© Crown copyright 2016

The Army’s new Armoured Fighting Vehicle – AJAX – has successfully completed its early live firing test programme at Radnor Ranges in Powys, Wales. This early live firing involved testing the main 40 mm stabilised cannon and machine gun while the vehicle was static, and is being used to de-risk the formal firing programme that will take place later this year. This is the first time the weapon system has been fired while fitted to the AJAX platform and is a significant event in the delivery programme.

Throughout the test, AJAX had a huge amount of instrumentation filled to record all aspects of the firing, from recoil and blast stresses to fall of shot. The next test firing is planned for later this year, and once again will involve a fully instrumented vehicle and be used to gather further evidence before progressing to manned firing in early 2017. The test was conducted by General Dynamics-UK and Lockheed Martin-UK with the MOD observing.

A bit more info and a better view of the strop on the barrel. Looks as though its their just to prevent too much recoil or more likely jump.

[whitelancer]

Sorry having trouble with the image!

[whitelancer]

Hopefully I've managed it this time