Re the Draco, I can say that I've never even heard of it until your post a few days ago. I think it may be a very viable system to work against some of the drone invasions that Ukraine is flooded with nightly. I'd have to have a better understanding of the systems and tactics used by the Russians and this weapon's capabilities to evaluate it against other possible solutions. I'm not sure that a 76mm is necessary for the job. Something in the 35 to 50mm may do the job and is capable of carrying more ammo for more engagements - it's basically a range and area coverage thing. Maybe layered?
Similarly, I don't see it as a divisional AA asset per se. Perhaps part of the corps level.
I do not see it as a viable "heavy cavalry" option. You've heard my views on dual tasking systems before. It may be technically feasible but not tactically practical for a number of reasons.
I will stipulate the difference of opinion here.
Initially I suggested a mix of SR76s, NEMOs and Missiles. After looking at the situation further I find myself debating the utility of the 120 mm mortar in a unit that can fire low angle LOS against close-in surface targets, high angle LOS against close-in aerial targets and high angle indirect distant precision and area targets. But that is to digress from my basic point of contention.
The navy can do some interesting things when you consider the size of the platform they are mounted on and how they are provided with "reloads." That goes back a few days - remember Nelson's Victory alone had 104 guns, many of them significantly heavier that the totality of the 156 field guns that Wellington had at his command at Waterloo.
The one thing Nelson didn't have that Wellington, and Napoleon, did was a wagon train. All those cannon meant that the combat was expected to be short, sharp and bloody. One day of battle every few months and the reprovisioning for Nelson. Wellington had to use his cannons for years.
I want to address the cost of the platform, the size of the crew and the number of reloads.
In order to bring one gun into action the navy invests a billion dollars in capital, 200 sailors and all the fuel and victuals necessary to sustain the gun and get to the fight. It may have a lot of rounds for that gun but it is still just one gun. In the words of an ancient navy chant "A gun won't bear. A gun ain't there. A gun don't care". Or in
@KevinB 's terms "2 is one. 1 is none".
The Billion dollars that is spent bringing that gun into action (and I am going to intentionally set aside all the other benefits that that vessel and its crew bring to the government) would fund a large number of guns and a large number of rounds on a large number of trucks with a relatively small number of gunners and truckers.
I will stick with the SR76/62 - Draco combination on a LAV6.
My "unit of action" is a troop of vehicles. In this instance it is 4 LAV6s with SR76s, one of which has the AD radar. The other three can cue off the radar gun. In addition, from the squadron, there is an ammo section of armoured PLS trucks.
The OTOMATIC turret (the original heavy weight turret mounted on the Leo 1 chassis) managed ammunition in this way:
The amount of ammunition onboard is 100 rounds (some sources mistakenly claim 90). 25 rounds are in the ready-to-use automatic loader and in the turret basket, another 45 in the turret rear and 30 in the hull. The automatic loader is equipped with two revolver type rotating cylinders, both with 12 rounds that allow the cannon to fire all the rounds of a cylinder in just 6 seconds in the Super Rapid version and about 8.6 seconds in the Compact version. However, when the cylinder is empty, the loader has to reload it manually, taking a long time.
However, it was common practice to fire 5 or 6 rounds bursts during tests to avoid excessive ammunition consumption and not to overheat the barrel.
The lighter Draco only had one 12 round drum feeding the cannon.
OTO Melara Draco air defence turret, shown on a Centauro 8x8 chassis (it will fit on other chassis weighing at least 15 tons). In adapting the firm's 76 mm automatic naval gun to AFVs, this is similar to the much bigger and heavier OTOmatic of the 1980s which needed a tank chassis to take the weight. Draco uses a new mechanism which saves a lot of weight, plus a more compact onboard radar and FCS.
The DRACO is a remotely operated weapon station with multi-purpose role against Air, R.A.M. and Surface targets, with high performance direct or indirect fire.
The ammunition loading system is based on a drum, in oscillating mass, with 12 ready-to-fire rounds. The 12 rounds can be of different types and ammunition's selection can be performed during firing. The drum can be reloaded automatically, from a magazine in the back of the turret.
The Draco loading system sounds a lot like the Stryker MGS system but the 8 round autoloader becomes a 12 round system and the "replenisher" is in the turret "bustle" at the rear in line with the auto-loader. Additional rounds can be stored in the rear of the hull and manually transferred to the turret.
I have not found a source for the number of rounds carried in the Draco-LAV. But....
The 105 mm round seems to weigh 20 to 24 kg per round
The 76mm round weighs about half of that.
The MGS only carried 18 rounds, inefficiently.
The OTOMATIC carried 100 rounds.
I will assume the Draco only carries 50 rounds. At 100 RPM that is only about 30 secs of firing. But the 12 rounds in auto-loader represents a 5 second burst.
The Draco is challenged.
But how about the Draco troop?
It carries 200 rounds with 48 rounds at the ready and a combined rate of fire of 400 RPM.
A short, sharp, intense burst is possible.
But so is a longer engagement at slower rates of fire dispersed over the 4 vehicles.
And then the next question is:
How many 76mm rounds on a pallet and how many pallets on a 20 ft flatrack?
....
As to mixing and matching missions - every Draco doesn't need to carry every type of round every time all the time. No more than an infantry secion has to carry a CG84 with every type of ammunition on every mission. In both cases additional ammunition types can be held at the squadron, regiment, brigade and division and distributed downwards in accordance with mission needs. A standard load might be a mix of SAPOM and DART. Perhaps somewhere in the rear are a few pallets of 40 km Vulcano rounds.
....
PS - I am explicitly referencing the 76mm Draco in an instance of special pleading. But. The logic applies to any army/navy comparison.
The navy version of the gun has 80 ready rounds that can be manually replenished from stores by two ammunition handlers.
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