The Russian newspaper Izvestia is bragging that a new high precision 76 mm automatic gun will give it an advantage over NATO warships armed with a similar weapon, the Melara, made by the Italian firm Oto Melara.
The АК-176МА model has an all-weather electro-optical system which has some of the characteristics of a sniper rifle, according to a Russian navy source, a NATO source.
The Russian Navy will equip many of its small missile ships and boats with their new weapon, the Russian source was quoted as saying, according to the newspaper.
It reported that the new gun’s mixture of great ballistic capability, coupled with an electronic management control system adds to the AK-176MA’s complete dominance over its main rival.
Military expert Vladimir Shcherbakov was quoted by Izvestia as saying that the 76-mm automatic multi-purpose naval guns are a sophisticated weapon, which can actually destroy different types of targets, Sputnik News reported.
They are capable of destroying not only the adversary’s ships but also airborne targets such as drones. Also, the guns can be employed to fire on a coast, including targets a considerable distance inland from the shoreline, he said.
Presently, the AK-176MA is being field-tested aboard the guard and flagship ship Polyarnaya Zvezda (Polar Star) of Ocean project 22100.