CTA International is an equal-shares

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

company between defence companies Nexter and BAE Systems. CTAI is based in

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, and has been established to develop and manufacture case telescoped weapons and

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...

. The company name is an acronym for Case Telescoped Ammunition. Its main product is a 40mm cannon for light armoured vehicles.

Timeline

* 1994 - CTAI was created by (at that time) GIAT and Royal Ordnance, with initial activities around a 45mm solution * 1997 - the 40mm calibre solution is selected * 1999 - The UK MoD Operational Analysis (OA) study output is shared with US DoD; the solution is integrated into

Bradley Fighting Vehicle The Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle platform of the United States developed by FMC Corporation and manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, formerly United Defense. It is named after U.S. General Omar ...

and the US-UK Tracer prototype vehicle * 2002 - Further UK MoD & DGA OA studies; risk reduction contract awarded * 2004 - UK MoD & DGA contract to integrate 40CT into the ''MTIP'' and unmanned ''Toutatis'' turrets * March 2008 - UK MoD select CT40 as a mandated item for Warrior IFV and FRES-Scout (now

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

) programmes * April 2017: France orders the first tranche of the EBRC Jaguar * 26th November 2021 : British MoD receives the 515 and last 40CT cannon ordered.

CTAS40 cannon

The Case Telescoped Armament System (CTAS40)

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bulle ...

is designed to fire 40mm

telescoped ammunition Telescoped ammunition is an ammunition design in which the projectile is partially or completely enveloped by the propellant. Examples include ammunition for both hand weapons and artillery. Caseless ammunition is often telescoped. Telescoped ...

. This format provides significant benefit within vehicles in the space envelope required for the gun and the ammunition storage. However, the selection of the unfielded new design for major programmes has been controversial. The CT40 40mm cannon has been ordered by the French Army for use on its future armoured reconnaissance vehicle EBRC Jaguar. It has also been mandated for the UK

(formerly FRES SV) and Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) programmes. In February 2010 CTAI signed a £11m contract with the French and British defence ministries to qualify the CTWS, including environmental testing and the firing of 15,000 rounds. The company has confirmed that the ammunition for the British weapons will be assembled at BAE Systems' ROF Glascoed facility.

Nexter/Thales RAPIDfire

This is a naval variant of the CTAS gun also 40mm, it can fire the A3B rounds and will be fitted on the

Bâtiment ravitailleur de forces The bâtiments ravitailleurs de forces, or BRF, are a class of future fleet tankers that are to replace the units in French Navy service. Until January 2019, the programme was known as ''Flotte logistique'' (abbreviated FLOTLOG in military parl ...

for the French Navy

Ammunition

The CTAS40's proprietary 40mm telescoped ammunition is manufactured for various applications, including anti-infantry and anti-materiel. The variants differ in weight, effective range, and

payload Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...

depending on the intended target.

Users

* : EBRC Jaguar * :

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have ...

* : EBRC Jaguar

References

External links

"CTAi web site" - CTA International
{{BAE Systems BAE Systems joint ventures Nexter Systems Defence companies of France 40 mm artillery Companies based in Centre-Val de Loire