Elbit contracted for UT30 MK 2 turret

The UT30 Mk 2 turret from Elbit Systems will be making its way to a NATO customer after the company received a contract valued at $100 million (£77.7 mln/€90.2 mln) from General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS), according to a 9th April Elbit press release.

Delivery will be completed by the end of 2027 and the turrets are to equip ASCOD infantry fighting vehicles, making Latvia the likely customer. Latvia entered negotiations with GDELS in November 2023 having selected the vehicle in 2023. The contract was eventually placed in January 2025 for 42 vehicles valued at approximately €373 million (£318 million).

At the time that the contract was announced, the delivery schedule was stated to start in 2026 for the first vehicle with the remainder delivered in 2027 with various tendered options that were yet to be decided. The vehicle hulls are to be produced at the GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas facilities in Spain and the turrets will likely leverage Elbit’s existing infrastructure in Europe, including the Romanian facility that is producing Piranha 5s with the same turret for the Romanian armed forces. 

This is a common practice for Elbit Systems, its UK entity produces reconnaissance radars for the British Army using a radar face from Hungary, for example. Leveraging existing supply chains in this way can facilitate delivery and production speeds. There is also a requirement for at least 30% of the contract to be sourced from Latvia’s local industry. 

The ASCOD armed with the UT30 Mk 2 will be used to replace some of the CVR(T) vehicles in Latvian service. The Cold War era vehicles were delivered from the UK to help equip the Latvian armed forces as they lagged behind the other Baltic States. As a vehicle, the Scimitar reconnaissance vehicle and Spartan APC are able to provide effective reconnaissance and screening, but are too lightly armoured and inadequately armed for a war with Russia. 

The 30 mm RARDEN cannon would be able to penetrate the armour on vehicles like BMP-2s, BTR-82s, and MT-LBs, but would be poorly matched against BMP-3s. Even then, its antiquated firing mechanism – which is fed with clips of three rounds – makes it far less suitable than the dual feed Mk 44 Bushmaster II 30 mm cannon that will likely arm Latvia’s ASCOD vehicles. 

Tech profile: UT30 Mk 2

 

The UT30 Mk 2 is described as an unmanned turret, but it is better thought of as a remotely operated turret with the commander and gunner located inside the vehicle rather than inside the turret. It can be armed with a variety of weapons, but Latvia is expected to receive the Mk 44 Bushmaster II 30 mm cannon from Northrop Grumman. The Mk 44 is a dual feed chain gun, which means that it can be fed one of two ammunition natures – typically high explosive and armour piercing, with the nature changed at the press of a button. A chain gun refers to how the ammunition is cycled through the weapon. In a conventional cannon, the gases produced by the fired round are used to drive the bolt that expels the fired cartridge and loads a new one. 

A chain gun has an electric motor that powers a chain, which completes the same process, allowing most gases to be expelled forwards with the fired round and the rate of fire to be easily varied. The Mk 44, for example, can fire in single round mode, burst mode, or automatically with a rate of 200 rounds per minute. A range of 30×173 mm ammunition natures are available for the Mk 44 including the NG1170W armour piercing round that can penetrate around 105 mm of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) at 1,000 metres, according to Northrop Grumman. 

In addition, the Latvian UT30 Mk 2 will likely carry the Spike anti-tank guided missile which Latvia already employs with its infantry. The Spike LR variant Latvia has in service has a range of 4 – 5 km and can penetrate at least 700 mm of RHA, making it suitable for more heavily armoured threats. However, it may struggle with some of the better protected armoured vehicles in Russian service like the T-90M, which may drive the decision to procure one of the enhanced lethality Spike variants, which can penetrate up to 1,000 mm of RHA. The turrets will be protected up to NATO STANAG 4569 level 4 and may be fitted with the Iron Fist active protection system from Elbit. The turret also carries sights for both the commander and gunner, and its cannon can be reloaded from within the armoured vehicle hull. 

Calibre comment

Medium calibre cannons have long been proven to be an effective weapon system. They offer a blend of suppressive and lethal fire that makes them well-suited to a variety of scenarios. In Ukraine, it is common to see BMPs, BTRs, and western IFVs providing fire support in close coordination with infantry, especially in urban settings where the greater elevation that cannons typically have compared to a tank gun makes them the weapon of choice for engaging targets in high buildings. Ammunition selection is key, however, to extracting the most combat value from a medium calibre weapon. The Mk 44 is capable of firing airbursting munitions, point detonating munitions, and others that are designed to offer enhanced lethality against infantry and vehicles. This suite offers a range of capabilities that would enable the user to engage targets with a high probability of success. However, if a programme does not build this into its budget, then the vehicle may become less lethal or capable than it could be. An IFV is, after all, designed to deliver infantry onto an objective and provide lethal suppressive fire support to fight through or defend that objective. It is important that it is provided with the right ammunition to do that. 

 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 9th April, 2025.