• HMAS Warramunga fires her Mk 45 5 inch gun in the Northern Australian Exercise Area. C: Defence
    HMAS Warramunga fires her Mk 45 5 inch gun in the Northern Australian Exercise Area. C: Defence
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BAE Systems will deliver five Mk 45 naval gun systems to the US Navy under a recently issued $70.6 million contract to upgrade existing guns to the Mod 4 configuration, increasing their firepower and extending their range.

“The Mk 45 retains its reputation as the industry standard for large-caliber naval guns, and the Mod 4 makes it adaptable to advanced munitions,” Joseph Senftle, vice president and general manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems, said.

The Mk 45 is the lightest, most compact, and most widely deployed 5-inch fully automatic naval gun, with more than 260 deliveries to the US Navy and the navies of 10 other allied nations, including Australia. The gun has an automatic loader and can empty a 20 round magazine in just over a minute.

The Mod 4 configuration consists of a structurally strengthened gun mount that increases firing energy by 50 percent, enabling munitions to travel faster and farther. A new fully digitized control system provides significantly greater computing power and features a touch-screen user interface.

Mk 45 guns are deployed on the RAN's Hobart class DDGs, Anzac class frigates, and the US Navy’s fleet of guided-missile Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

Work on the Mk 45 Mod 4 upgrades will be performed at the BAE Systems facility in Louisville, Kentucky, with support from the company’s supplier base, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

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