MONARC Mounted on F124 Frigate

Released on Monday, January 20, 2003

A German consortium consisting of HDW, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall achieved a new milestone in naval artillery mounting MONARC 155mm howitzer on F124 frigate.

The MONARC solution promises to increase the range and effectiveness of ship-mounted artillery and ammunition several times over.

MONARC solution is based on German Army self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000 turret and main gun. It must be admitted, PzH 2000 currently is the best howitzer in service.

For demonstration purposes, one complete PzH 2000 turret was temporarily mounted to the foredeck of the Hamburg frigate, F124-class.

Once demonstrated the feasibility of mounting the MONARC solution on an existing ship, maintaining the full range of essential fire support characteristics of the PzH 2000. The German consortium and especially Rheinmetall seek to develop a new generation of ammunition to extend the range of PzH 2000 main gun from 40 km to over 80 km.

An increased range will give F124 frigates the capability to strike ashore targets or engage longer naval ones with great accuracy using its new 155mm main gun.

From the standpoint of naval architecture, the problem of mounting a large gun on a vessel lies in the effects of recoil on the structure of the ship. The reduction of recoil force has been achieved by means of an elastic mounting. It is expected improved ammunition storage and handling systems over PzH 2000 basic design. In order to compensate for the movement of the ship, the gun-laying system is going to be stabilized.