AK-176 gun

• Name — AK-176 • Origin — Soviet Union • Type — Naval gun • Is Ranged — YES • Is Artillery — YES • Service — 1979 • Used By — See Operators • Designer — TSNII BUREVESTNIK • Design Date — 1971 • Manufacturer — Gorky Machine Building Plant • Production Date — 1977 • Variants — AK-176M, AK-176MA, H/PJ-26 (China) • Part Length — (59 calibers) • Crew — 2 (4 in manual control mode) • Cartridge — 76.2×959 mm • Cartridge Weight — 12.4 kg • Caliber — 76.2 mm • Rate — 120 rds/min • Velocity — 980 m/s • Range — 10 km • Max Range — 15.5 km • Feed — 152 ready to fire rounds • Recoil — 380 to 500 mm • Elevation — -15° to +85° • Traverse — ±175°

The gun is fed by 152 ready to fire rounds and has selectable rates of fire of 30, 60 and 120 rounds per minute. The 120 r.p.m. rate is achieved by firing a burst of 75, but afterwards the gun has to cool off for 30 minutes. The AK-176 is effective against missiles, being able to shoot down AT-2 Swatter (simulating a Harpoon anti-ship missile), taking an average of 25 rounds per kill. In the late 1980s an upgraded version the AK-176M, with a new fire control system MR-123-02, television targeting and a laser rangefinder, was introduced. This gun, is still in production (AK-176M1) and is the primary medium-caliber artillery systems to all small Soviet ships and is widely exported. AK-176MA, a further upgrade of the design intended for newer ship classes, such as the Karakurt-class corvettes and project 22160-class patrol ships, completed its trials in 2017. The AK-176MA features improved accuracy, a stealthy turret design, and a significantly reduced weight of under 9 tonnes. It will replace older guns on carrier ships on the process of their modernization. The equivalent NATO system is the Otobreda 76 mm, another 120 rpm 3 inches gun.

* • Bangladesh * * * * * * * * * * * *

*

• Illustration — A Russian Karakurt-class corvette with the AK-176MA-01 variant • Illustration — The H/PJ-26 gun mount on Chinese frigate Wuhu (539) • Illustration — Vietnamese frigate Quang Trung with its AK-176MA gun mount.