The Nexter Narwhal is a type of remotely operated
naval artillery
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...
turret made by the French company
Nexter
Nexter Systems (formerly known as GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Roanne, Loire.
Group organization
The Nexter group is ...
. It houses a
20 mm autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
based on the Nexter
M621 and
M693. The name "Narwhal" is a
backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
of "NAval Remote Weapon, Highly Accurate, Lightweight". It is designed to fit warships of all types ranging from patrol boats to frigates to aircraft carriers, notably as a close-quarters self-defence weapon.
Design
Nexter offers two versions of the Narwhal:
* Narwhal 20A, based on the Nexter
M621, firing 20×102mm ammunition;
[.]
* Narwhal 20B, based on the Nexter
M693, firing 20×139mm ammunition. This is the version operated by the French Navy.
The turret houses electro-optical cameras that offer daylight and nighttime vision, as well as a motion tracking system. It can rotate 360° in azimut, and from +75° to -20° in elevation. The gun is stabilised and can rotate quickly to attack targets at close range.
Users
France
![D653_FREMM_Languedoc_at_Montreal_1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/D653_FREMM_Languedoc_at_Montreal_1.jpg)
The French Navy uses the Narwhal on a number of ships. On large units, it is used as a secondary armament for self-defence, while it can constitute the main armament of smaller units.
As secondary armament
Although the
FREMM classe frigates were designed from inception to use the Narwhal, the first units of the series, such as ''Aquitaine'', were not initially fitted with the weapon. The first FREMM to be fitted with Narwhal immediately after construction was ''Normandie'' in 2013,
[.] before being renamed to ''Tahya Misr'' and transferred to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in 2015, without ever being commissioned in the French Navy. The following ship, ''Provence'', as well as all subsequent units, were also equipped with Narwhal at fitting out. The Narwhal on FREMMs are interfaced with the
Herakles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
radar through the combat information system, minimising reaction time when attacking targets.
''Mistral'' class helicopter carriers received the system during their refit in 2016 for
''Dixmude'' (L9015), in 2017 for
''Tonnerre'' (L9014) and in 2018 for
''Mistral'' (L9013).
[.]
Aircraft carrier
''Charles De Gaulle'' mounted three Narwhal during a refit in 2019 to counter asymmetric threats. Although she had been modified to accommodate the weapon during her mid-lift refit from 2017 to 2018, budgetary reasons had prevented installation at the time.
Air defence frigates of the
''Horizon'' class carry three Narwhal to replace the original manually operated
F2 autocannons. Replacement took place in 2018 on
''Forbin'' and in 2019 on
''Chevalier Paul''.
Narwhal is also due to equip the upcoming
frégates de défense et d’intervention.
As main armament
Narwhal constitutes the main armament of the three
''Confiance''-class patrol boats, commissioned from 2016. ''Confiance'' was the first French patrol boat to mount the system. The
fire control system
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...
of Narwhal is designed to guarantee that
warning shot
In military and police contexts, a warning shot is an intentionally harmless artillery shot or gunshot with intent to enact direct compliance and order to a hostile perpetrator or enemy forces. It is recognized as signalling intended confronta ...
s land safely off-target.
The project for
Patrouilleur Outre-mer
The Patrouilleurs Outre-mer (POM), or ''Félix Éboué'' class, are a type of six high-sea patrol vessels of the French Navy. They are to be based at Nouméa, Tahiti and La Réunion, as replacement for the s which are nearing the end of their care ...
patrol vessels, unveiled in January 2020, also comprised a Narwhal gun as main armament at the bow of the ship.
Exports
* : Two Narwhal 20B installed on the frigate ''Tahya Misr (''ex''-Normandie).''
*
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
: four 20A delivered in 2017 and 2018 to equip the four
Damen-made
STAN 4207 patrol boats, purchased in 2008, whose armament was considered to be insufficient.
[.]
* : Narwhal is the main armament of the 38 HSI 32
fast attack crafts built by
CMN, initially for the
Lebanese Navy, whose first unit was launched on 24 July 2019.
* : four Narwhal 20A ordered in 2014 for the four
Raidco RPB20 patrol boats, as well as one further gun for the
ocean-going patrol boat OPV 50 built by
Piriou.
* : three Narwhal for the three
Piriou OPV 58 S patrol boats ordered in November 2019. The first of the series was launched on 11 April 2022.
See also
*
Canon de 20 mm modèle F2
*
M621
*
Close-in weapon system
A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of ...
References
External links
* {{YouTube, id=HbtNlCW9Odc, title=Nexter Narwhal remotely operated naval gun system
Close-in weapon systems
Nexter Systems