The Royal Netherlands Navy has selected Leonardo’s Lionfish “Top” naval gun variant to equip several classes of vessels already in service or still in construction.
As one of three 12.7mm variants in the new family of Leonardo’s remotely-controlled naval turrets, the solution will equip Holland-class patrol vessels, the two Rotterdam-class landing platform dock ships, the Karel Doorman-class joint support ship, as well as the Den Helder-class supply ship currently under construction.
The turret variant selected by the Dutch Navy weighs less than 300 kg and is effective against close threats and in asymmetric scenarios (asymmetric warfare). The system features a cooled infrared sensor that integrates Leonardo’s Mini Colibrì optics. This is common across the whole turret family, which can also integrate an uncooled sensor. Depending on the technology used, the detection range can be up to 12 km.
Thanks to its modularity, Lionfish can be installed and operated on board secondary platforms, both as a primary and secondary defense system, with no deck penetration. All systems in the family can self-calculate firing solutions and engage fast-moving threats, even when installed on high-speed platforms, the company says.
This is the second naval system contract Leonardo has secured with the Royal Netherlands Navy. In April 2020, the service chose Leonardo’s OTO 127/64 LW Vulcano systems for its four De Zeven Provinciën class multi-role units.
