John Cockerill aims to help states protect their citizens from threats and to maintain the global balance within the alliances. Our Group also wants to help the operators of sensitive sites secure their facilities. To this end, in 2019, our teams have:
– Delivered the first Combat Boat, our solution for protecting shores and coasts from acts of piracy (Indonesia)
– Produced and delivered turret-cannon systems to be integrated on the light armored vehicles of an army corps (Belgium)
Protecting the maritime coast from acts of piracy
Combat Boat
A South-East Asian country is facing piracy along its coast. To combat this threat, it has equipped its navy with a fleet of light and fast catamarans fitted with a cannon turret: a medium-caliber John Cockerill turret.
30 mm
Sandrine, Program Manager: “Using a turret with a medium-caliber cannon is very different on land or on water. To meet this need expressed by our Asian partner, we decided to use the 30 mm variant of our modular turret, and to challenge our teams to integrate it on a catamaran. This resulted in a magnificent collaboration with the customer and shipowner’s teams, and a first model was delivered in 2019. At the same time, we are working on a lightweight medium-caliber version for mass production.”
Other units should follow. “First of all, because our client is looking to equip a full fleet,” adds Sandrine. “Secondly, because this new combination of catamaran and turret will allow other nations to protect their coasts, rivers or estuaries.”
10 years already
The acquiring country is no stranger to John Cockerill. It has been using Cockerill® CSE90 systems for more than ten years. Its satisfaction and confidence are such that, in 2019, it ordered CSE90 simulators to train its troops in the handling of these systems, and several Cockerill® 3105, modular turrets in their 105 mm configuration, which are to be installed on a tracked vehicle. A first.
Minimizing the time between the statement of the need and the delivery of the equipment
In today’s technological environment, the needs of modern armed forces are evolving at a very high rate. In addition to its ability to understand the specific needs of each of its clients, John Cockerill has earned a reputation in the market for its unique ability to minimize the time between the statement of the need and the delivery of the appropriate technological responses.
Record of 27 turrets in one month
2019 is thus the year of a new record, that of the largest number of turrets assembled over a month. Sébastien, Production Manager: “For several years now, we have been running a supply program of an exceptional scale. We completed the development and qualification stage in record time. At the same time, we developed a supply chain involving more than 150 suppliers capable of supplying some 7 000 parts per turret. Not to mention the critical mechanical parts, which are designed and made by our own teams. Since 2018, our assembly lines have found their cruising speed. At their maximum yield, they allowed us to reach the record production of 27 turrets in a single month.”
This program is entering the final stretch. Carrying this out to such a tight deadline is a real success, and is entirely due to the qualities of each of the players in the chain. This achievement is a perfect example of the ability of John Cockerill to design, qualify, produce, deliver and support large quantities of weapons systems that perfectly meet the current and future requirements of its clients, the regular armed forces.
