Wednesday, June 12, 2013

BRP Ramon Alcaraz successfully fires 76mm Oto Melara main gun

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 12): BRP Ramon Alcaraz successfully fires 76mm Oto Melara main gun

The BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), the country's second Hamilton-class cutter in service, has successfully fired her 76mm main gun off the coast of Florida Tuesday afternoon (American times), a belated report from the Philippine Embassy in Washington said Wednesday.

"BRP Ramon Alcaraz successfully fires its main weapon system - the 76-mm Oto Melara cannon - off (the) coast of Florida (Tuesday, US time) afternoon," it said.

The test firing involved shooting at targets "two to three miles away.

The crew fired at "killer tomato" balloon targets "drifting two to three miles away."

Fifteen 76-mm rounds were fired between 2 and 4:30 p.m. US time in the Atlantic Ocean, almost four hours after Alcaraz left Mayport, Florida.

The ship's commander, Navy Capt. Ernesto Baldovino, was satisfied with the weapon's performance, the Philippine Embassy added.

The Oto Melara 76mm gun is a very good weapon system and is currently being used by 53 naval forces worldwide.

And contrary to claims that the gun is too light to deter would-be-intruders and poachers encroaching Philippine waters, the 76mm cannon can fire 60 to 80 rounds a minute against naval, air, or even ground targets.

The gun's high rate of fire makes it suitable for short-range anti-missile point defense.

Specialized ammunition is available for armor piercing, incendiary and directed fragmentation effects and there is also a new guided round that is supposed to be able to destroy maneuvering anti-ship missiles.

Another advantage of this weapon is that it is light and compact enough to be installed in warship weighing 750 gross tons or even less, the configuration of most naval vessels in the Philippine Navy.

The 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian defense conglomerate Otobreda.It is based on the Oto Melara 76mm/L62 Allargato, which was bigger and heavier.

On Tuesday morning (American time), the BRP Ramon Alcaraz made a stop at Mayport in Florida and on Monday morning (US time), the BRP Ramon Alcaraz started its journey to the Philippines from the United States.

The ship had been refurbished and refitted at a cost of USD15.15 million there since it was acquired by the Philippines in May 2012.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=533544

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