HNLMS Evertsen frigate 127mm main gun integration

The HNLMS Evertsen will undergo the upkeep programme and be equipped with a new 127mm main gun supplied by Italian company Leonardo. But not only that, the logistics and storage of ammunition will also be overhauled. The ammunition room will be completely redesigned, with new auxiliary equipment.

The Ministry of Defence and Leonardo commissioned Nevesbu to design the integration of the new main gun, the new layout of the ammunition room, and the new auxiliary equipment to ensure ammunition handling can be carried out in compliance with occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation. During the implementation, Nevesbu will also provide on-site supervision.

When formulating the layout for the ammunition room and designing the new auxiliary equipment, Nevesbu examined how the entire logistics chain of transporting the ammunition from the quay to the vessel’s ammunition room and from the ammunition room to the main gun can be conducted in compliance with occupational health and safety legislation. Both in the port and during seaway. The new auxiliary systems designed by Nevesbu consist of a transport system that transfers the ammunition from the lift to the ammunition storage room, bulk storage racks for conventional ammunition storage, and an assisted ammunition transport system that can move the ammunition within the space, for example, from the storage racks to the gun hoist. The new layout of the ammunition room guarantees that the crew can carry out the work safely, efficiently, and according to occupational health and safety legislation while ensuring the continuance of operations in a seaway and, for example, following a shock (an explosion in or around the vessel) or during an ambush of the vessel’s hull.

Nevesbu presented the final design of the new situation with a virtual reality (VR) model to the Naval Maintenance and Sustainment Agency of the Ministry of Defence and Leonardo. The advantage of presenting the final design through VR is that it enables the client, end-user, supplier and shipyard to experience the design in a realistic and accurate manner. Furthermore, the VR glasses make it possible to walk through the new ammunition room and observe the actual dimensions of objects while gaining insight into how much space is available and how the interfaces are related. VR thus offers a realistic experience of how the design is put into practice. Nevesbu also used VR during the project to make choices for specific design solutions.