Ankara-based Urban Savunma has delivered the first upgraded barrel of Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/70 anti-aircraft guns to the Turkish Navy. Urban Savunma General Manager Fazıl Hızal announced on his Linkedin account that the company had completed the delivery process of the first qualification test barrel to the Navy.
Turkish Navy has been using Bofors 40 mm L/70 anti-aircraft guns for decades. Systems are used as land-based units for air defence with radar tracking equipment and point defence for asymmetrical threats, such as landing crafts or infiltrating boats. Guns are used as shipboard weapons as well. Especially onboard weapons have to be marinised against corrosion. Urban Savunma has applied its own formula of refractor materials as a ceramics (composite) layer as an anti-corrosion layer.
The sample pieces are kept directly in the seawater and naval usage conditions for two years to test whether the oxidation starts and harms the samples. The anti-corrosion treatment is expected to increase the life cycle of cannons both in mechanical parts and the barrel. Live fire trials are planned for the delivered components. Turkish Navy has many shipboard barrelled weapons for close-in weapon and point defence purposes, from light calibre machine guns to heavier weapons such as 12.7 mm M2 machine guns and OTO Melara and Mk 75 76 mm naval guns. Urban aims to apply a similar ceramic alloy coating procedure to all weapon systems of Turkish naval vessels.
Marine conditions are a very challenging environment mechanically and chemically, especially for metal components. The lifespan of weapons and parts expires much faster than their use on land due to corrosion when used or deployed without special protection processes. For this reason, special treatment of all kinds of bare metal to be used, especially on the seashore or in naval vessels, is vital in terms of service life and operational safety.
