DARDO

DARDO
OTO Twin 40L70
DARDO; OTO Twin 40L70
Type	Close-in weapon system
Place of origin	Italy
Production history
Manufacturer	Oto Melara
Variants	Compact, Fast Forty
Specifications
Mass	Complete gun mount (with ammunition): 5,400–5,600 kg (11,900–12,300 lb); Complete round (HE): 4.05 kg (8.9 lb)
Height	Enclosed turret: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in); Type A mount: 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in); Type B mount: 0.92 m (3 ft 0 in)
Diameter	Mount ring: 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in); Working circle: 2.902 m (9 ft 6.3 in)
Calibre	40 mm
Barrels	2 × Breda-built Bofors-40 mm L/70
Elevation	Minimum −13°; Maximum +85°; speed: 60°/s (70°/s Fast Forty)
Traverse	Full 360° traverse, speed: 90°/s (100°/s Fast Forty)
Rate of fire	2 × 300 round/min; 2 × 450 round/min (Fast Forty)
Effective firing range	HE round: 4,000 m (4,400 yd)
Maximum firing range	12,500 m (7.8 mi) (maximum height 8,700 m (28,500 ft))
Feed system	Magazine:; 736 HE rounds (444 Type B mount); Dual feed mechanism with 736 HE and 200 APFSDS rounds (Fast Forty); 80 ready-to-fire round (Marlin)

DARDO ("Dart" in Italian), also marketed as the OTO Twin 40L70 Compact,^[1] 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 (RTN-20X and Dardo). It is the last of a long series of Italian anti-aircraft weapons derived from the Swedish Bofors 40 mm autocannons (mounted on Breda built gun mounts such as the Type 64, Type 106, Type 107, Type 564 and Type 520).

Purpose

The system's primary purpose is to defend against anti-ship missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and other precision guided weapons. It can also be employed against conventional and rotary-wing aircraft, surface ships, small water-crafts, coastal targets and floating mines.

Installation

DARDO is installed in an enclosed turret with two different mounts: the Type A with 440-round internal and 292-round under-deck magazines; and Type B with only the 440-round internal magazine (Type B requires no deck penetration). However, the most recent OTO Twin 40L70 Compact's brochure nominates 736-round magazine for Type A and 444-round magazine for Type B, both feature deck penetration.^[1]

The newest Marlin 40 variant has no deck penetration, having a sole internal magazine for 80 ready-to-fire rounds.^[2]

Other versions

Compact

The OTO Twin 40L70 Compact is the current marketing name for the DARDO. Option for a stealth cupola is available to reduce the gun mount's RCS.^[1]

Fast Forty

The Single Fast Forty is an improved version of the system with a higher rate of fire, dual magazine and dual feed mechanism to allow switching from HE to armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds when a missile gets within 1,000 meters from the vessel. However, unlike the original DARDO/OTO Twin Compact, it is only featured with a single barrel.^[3]

Marlin

The OTO Marlin 40 is the single-barrel, light-weight and no-deck-penetration derivative of the DARDO family, succeeding the Single Fast Forty variant. It is designed with high autonomy and fully-digitalized systems.^[2]

Comparison with current CIWS

**Comparison of some modern CIWS**
	AK-630^[4]	Phalanx CIWS^[5]	Goalkeeper CIWS	DARDO^[6]
Weight	9,114 kg (20,093 lb)	6,200 kg (13,700 lb)	9,902 kg (21,830 lb)	5,500 kg (12,100 lb)
Armament	30 mm (1.2 in) 6 barreled GSh-6-30 Gatling Gun	20 mm (0.79 in) 6 barreled M61 Vulcan Gatling Gun	30 mm (1.2 in) 7 barreled GAU-8 Gatling Gun	40 mm (1.6 in) 2 barreled Bofors 40 mm
Rate of Fire	5,000 rounds per minute	4,500 rounds per minute	4,200 rounds per minute	600/900 round per minute
(effective/ flat-trajectory) Range	4,000 m (13,000 ft)	2,000 m (6,600 ft)	3,600 m (11,800 ft)	4,000 m (13,000 ft)
Ammunition storage	2,000 rounds	1,550 rounds	1,190 rounds	736 rounds
Muzzle velocity	900 m (3,000 ft) per second	1,100 m (3,600 ft) per second	1,109 m (3,638 ft) per second	1,000 m (3,300 ft) per second
Elevation	−13 to +78 degrees	−75 to +55 degrees	−75 to +64 degrees	−13 to +85 degrees
Traverse	360 degrees	-150 to +150 degrees	360 degrees	360 degrees