BAE Systems recently unveiled its Sea Tridon family of 40mm naval guns, which include a containerised version for self-protection aboard commercial vessels on a temporary or mission-specific basis.
The containerised variant is being offered for military, government, and civilian vessels operating in high-risk areas. BAE Systems said the modular construction will allow rapid installation with minimal modification to the host vessel and limited integration work.
Listed features include below-deck loading, increased ammunition capacity, flexible command-and-control arrangements, and optional surveillance radar integration.
The baseline Sea Tridon pairs a Bofors Mk4 40mm gun with an electro-optical fire control system. This lets the weapon system identify targets, follow their movement, and engage them without external sensors.
The gun system also has gyrostabilisation and a 30-round ready-use magazine.
BAE Systems has described it as a maritime adaptation of a land-based gun concept, with drones, missiles and fast attack craft among its intended targets.
A close-in weapon system adds a surveillance radar and a dedicated radar tracker for all-weather tracking. Both are integrated into a single mount with the gun. The system is intended to defend against missiles and drones, as well as additional threats moving at high speed.
All four configurations fire pre-fragmented, programmable, and proximity-fused ammunition. Each round can be set to one of six fuze modes immediately before firing.
Stefan Lofstrom, BAE’s Director of Marketing and Sales, clarified that the company has no launch customer yet for the Sea Tridon family but there have been, “advanced discussions with different customers."
Lofstrom also said BAE Systems was in discussions with several navies about fitting the guns to unmanned vessels intended to remain at sea for weeks without human support.
