MKE Will Qualify and Deliver the 20mm Close-In Weapon System to the Turkish Navy in 2022
The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation aims to complete the qualification process of the indigenous 20mm Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) Final Prototype in 2022 and deliver the first system to the Turkish Naval Forces before the end of the year.
MKE exhibited the 20mm CIWS Technology Demonstrator Prototype with a real 20x102mm six-barrel Gatling-type rotary cannon and a 1,500 round magazine drum (similar to 20mm Mk-15 Phalanx), for the first time at the IDEF '21 Fair held in Istanbul in August, and then at the 3rd International Military Radar and Border Security Summit held in Ankara in October 2021.
An MKE official, whom I had the opportunity to meet with during the SAHA EXPO 2021 Fair held in Istanbul between November 10-13, 2021, pointed out that the qualification process of the 20x102mm six-barrel Gatling gun used in the 20mm Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) was completed, and the work on the turret stabilization system was started. In the near future, the firing tests will be carried out firstly on land with the 20mm Close-In Weapon System Final Prototype, and then the GENESIS/ADVENT Combat Management System (CMS) Integration phase will be started to check the interoperability of the 20mm CIWS with the CMS on the ship. Following the integration process, firing tests will be carried out at sea. Thanks to the CMS integration, the 20mm Close-In Weapon System will be able to receive target information from the surveillance and fire control radars on the ship and engage the identified hostile targets from an appropriate distance using its EO/IR (Electro-Optical/Infrared) sensors. After the completion of CMS integration activities, the first system-level (SLT) firing test is planned to be performed in early 2022.
Another MKE official that I spoke with during the IDEF '21 Fair stated that the six-barrel, air-cooled 20x102mm Gatling gun with an effective range of 2 km has a firing rate of at least 3,000 rounds per minute, and they have seen 4,000 rounds per minute during the tests. He also said the rate of fire could be increased to 6,000 in the future. The entire 20mm Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), including the 20mm shells (standard NATO ammunition), has been manufactured under the roof of MKE with the support of sub-contractors.
The electrically driven, servo-controlled CIWS mount has 360° horizontal and -15/+85° elevation angles with 100°/sec traverse speed. The 20mm 6-barrel Gatling weighs 135kg and uses only one type of ammunition (20mm, with or without tracer). The magazine drum with a capacity of 1,500 rounds is located under the 20mm Gatling gun, which is mounted on a swiveling base. According to the information I received, the magazine drum can be reloaded automatically in 5-10 minutes when the ammunition runs out. When reloading, the linked ammunition is fed manually to the ammunition feed system, which separates the rounds from the linked belt and loads them into the drum. During firing, the ammunition feed system removes rounds from the front of the magazine drum and feeds them through a chute-conveyor system to the gun receiver. After each round is fired, the empty case (or misfired round) is not thrown out but extracted from the breach and conveyed back to the rear of the magazine, as they may harm the military personnel around. When new rounds are reloaded, the drum ejects the empty cases later.
Designed to operate autonomously on board a ship at the first stage, the MKE 20mm Close-In Weapon System is equipped with only an Electro-Optical (EO) Sensor, without a surveillance and fire control radar, unlike the Mk-15 Phalanx CIWS, which features both. According to MKE officials, radar capability has not been added to the system since the radar requirement has not been defined yet, and studies on this issue continue. The 20mm Close-In Weapon System, which will be integrated into the on-board Combat Management System (CMS), features Automatic Target Tracking capability and can be operated both autonomously and via the Operator Console located on the CIC (Combat Information Center) via the CMS. Supplied by MKE through sub-contractors, the Electro-Optical Targeting System on the CIWS includes Thermal (IR), Night Vision (NIR), Target Detection/Identification, and IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe) sensors. The 20mm MKE CIWS will feature two-axis stabilization capability, enabling it to adjust the azimuth/elevation angles according to the ship's position at sea through its sensors. The 20mm Close-In Weapon System will use the ship's power in the ship-based configuration, while the land-based version (mobile or fixed configuration) will use generators.
At the 3rd International Military Radar and Border Security Summit (MRBS) held at Hacettepe Beytepe Congress Center in Ankara on October 5, 2021, MKE officials stated that the remote-controlled land-based version of the 20mm Close-In Weapon System will be mounted on a low-bed trailer. The low-bed trailer will contain the 20mm CIWS, a surveillance & fire control radar capable of detecting targets from different distances (short/medium/long), and the necessary generators. As of October 5, 2021, sub-system production was continuing for the 20mm Close-In Weapon System Final Prototype
