OTO Melara was a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of the Italian company

Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest ...

, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

. From 1 January 2016, the activities of OTO Melara merged into Leonardo's Defence Systems Division, within the Electronics, Defence and Security Systems Sector.

History

Italian Army - 4th Tank Regiment - Ariete tanks during an exercise at Capo Teulada October 2022

Pre–World War I

It was founded in 1905 as a joint venture of

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

and Terni Steelworks,

Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando (Orlando Brothers Shipyard) is a historical Italian shipyard in Livorno. History It was founded by Luigi Orlando and his brothers Giuseppe, Paolo and Salvatore who moved to Livorno from Genoa where in 1858 they h ...

and

Cantieri navali Odero ''Cantieri navali Odero'' ("Odero Shipyard") is a defunct Italian shipyard. Founded in 1846 by the Westerman brothers in Genoa-Sestri Ponente, the company was taken over by Nicolò Odero in 1872. Together with the Ansaldo-San Giorgio shipyard at ...

. Investment was also provided by Giuseppe Orlando and Attilio Odero. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the abbreviation OTO. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, mostly heavy guns for battleships were produced.

Post–World War II

In 1953 the company took the name OTO Melara. Before Italy joined

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, OTO Melara produced civil products, like tractors and looms, but quickly returned to the production of weapons. On 1 December 2001, the naval artillery division of OTO Melara merged with that of

Breda Meccanica Bresciana Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

to form Otobreda. The combined entity produces the DARDO CIWS, Otobreda 76 mm and Otobreda 127/54 Compact naval guns. OTO Melara's land defence operations are part of the Leonardo conglomerate.

Main products

Vehicles manufactured

Ariete The C1 Ariete () is a 3rd generation main battle tank of the Italian Army, developed by Consorzio Iveco Oto Melara (CIO), a consortium formed by Iveco and OTO Melara. The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco, while the turret and fire-con ...

Main Battle Tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

OF-40 The OF-40 is an Italian main battle tank developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and Fiat, and intended primarily for export sales. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by Fiat (the ...

B1 Centauro The Centauro is a family of Italian military vehicles originating from a wheeled tank destroyer for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Iveco ...

Wheeled

Tank Destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire anti-tank gun, artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-ta ...

Dardo DARDO ("Dart" in Italian) originally known as Breda Type-70, also marketed as the OTO Twin 40L70 Compact, is a close-in weapon system (CIWS) built by the Italian companies Breda and Oto Melara. It is composed of two Breda-built Bofors 40 mm firi ...

Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

* VBM Freccia 8×8 Wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle * Puma 6×6 and Puma 4×4 Wheeled

Armoured Personnel Carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

* Palmaria self-propelled artillery *

Otomatic The OTO main anti-aircraft tank for intercept and combat (dubbed Otomatic, a play on ''automatic'') was an Italian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) prototype. Designed and built by OTO Melara, it was armed with a single 76 mm naval gun. ...

anti-aircraft tank (

SPAAG An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability. Specific weapon systems used include machine guns, ...

)

Weapons manufactured

OTO Melara Mod 56 The OTO-Melara Mod 56 is an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer built and developed by OTO Melara. It fires the standard US type M1 ammunition. History The OTO Melara 105 mm Mod 56 began life in the 1950s to meet the requirement for a moder ...

105mm/L14 Pack Howitzer *

OTO Marlin 40 DARDO ("Dart" in Italian) originally known as Breda Type-70, also marketed as the OTO Twin 40L70 Compact, is a close-in weapon system (CIWS) built by the Italian companies Breda Meccanica Bresciana, Breda and Oto Melara. It is composed of two Bre ...

*OTO Breda 120/44 (for the

tank) *Hitfact turret (3-operators turret) **Hitfact mk1 ***OTO Breda 105/52 **Hitfact mk2 ***OTO Breda 105/52 ***OTO Breda 120/45 *

Hitfist Oto Melara Hitfist is a two-man turret for armored vehicles developed by the Italian Oto Melara company. The turrets are designed to mount a 25mm Oerlikon KBA or 30/40mm ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II autocannon. The main armament may mount a co-axia ...

two-man turret armed with a 25mm or 30mm automatic cannon and 7.62mm coaxial machine gun (plus two TOW launchers as option) *

Hitfist OWS Hitfist OWS is a remotely operated turret, for armored vehicles, developed by the Italian Oto Melara and derived from Hitfist. The turrets are designed to mount a main armament of an autocannon of 25 or 30 mm caliber. The main armament may m ...

Remotely operated turret armed with a 25mm or 30mm automatic cannon and 7.62mm coaxial machine gun (plus two TOW launchers as option) *

Hitrole The Hitrole is a remote weapons station manufactured by Italian arms company Oto Melara (merged into Leonardo S.p.A., previously Finmeccanica since 2016). The "role" portion of the name is short for "''R''emotely ''O''perated, ''L''ight '' ...

Remote Weapon Station for 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun or 40mm automatic grenade launcher *Small calibre naval turrets 12.7mm LIONFISH *

Otobreda 127/54 Compact The Otobreda 127mm/54 Compact (''127/54C'') gun is a dual purpose naval artillery piece built by the Italian company Oto Melara. It uses the 127mm round which is also used in the 5 inch/ 54 gun, albeit that this gun calibre is measured in United ...

naval gun *

Otobreda 127/64 The OTO 127/64 LW (light-weight) Gun assembly is a rapid-fire gun mount suitable for installation on large and medium size ships. It also has a version for coastal defense, intended for surface fire and naval gunfire support as main role and a ...

Lightweight naval gun * 76/62mm Allargato *

Otobreda 76 mm The OTO Melara 76 mm gun, marketed as the OTO 76/62 Gun Mount, is a naval autocannon built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales. The s ...

naval gun *

Otomat The Otomat is an anti-ship missile, anti-ship and Surface-to-surface missile, coastal defence missile developed by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of ...

Anti-ship missile * Skyguard "Aspide" Anti-Air missile system *

SIDAM 25 The SIDAM 25 is a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed in Italy from the chassis of the American M113 armoured personnel carrier. Due to the choice of basic chassis for the SIDAM 25, components and spare parts were both cheap, and readily ...

anti-aircraft gun *

DARDO DARDO ("Dart" in Italian) originally known as Breda Type-70, also marketed as the OTO Twin 40L70 Compact, is a close-in weapon system (CIWS) built by the Italian companies Breda and Oto Melara. It is composed of two Breda-built Bofors 40 mm firi ...

CIWS A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of ...

a twin 40mm naval gun mounting *

MSS-1.2 The MAX 1.2 AC, —previously known as MSS 1.2 AC— is a Brazilian anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). Operated by infantry or vehicles, the system consists of a reloadable launch tube, laser-guided missile and firing unit, as well as a simulator a ...

Anti tank guided missile *

GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to allow aircraft to carry a greater number of smaller, more accurate bombs. Most US Air Force aircraft will be able to carry (using the BRU-61/A rack) a ...

under license from Boeing

Ammunition manufactured

* - 76/127/155mm In the last decade the company has produced between 900 and 1000 GBU-31 and GBU-32

JDAM The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions (PGMs). JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Gl ...

s on license. At the moment it is working on the production of 500

GBU-39 The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to allow aircraft to carry a greater number of smaller, more accurate bombs. Most US Air Force aircraft will be able to carry (using the BRU-61/A rack) a ...

s for the

Aeronautica Militare The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force"). After World War II, when Italy b ...

. The naval defence operations produce a wide range of automatic naval artillery, rocket and missile launchers and remote controlled small calibre defence cannons.

References

External links

Leonardo official website
* * http://bp1.blogger.com/_Ov8q5T5kYx8/RzS3XXESUiI/AAAAAAAAABA/CcB0TEuLu7Y/s1600-h/otomelara12.7mm.jpg {{Leonardo-Finmeccanica Defence companies of Italy Firearm manufacturers of Italy Brescia La Spezia Manufacturing companies established in 1905 Italian companies established in 1905 Italian brands Leonardo S.p.A.