Wikipedia

Hitfist

Hitfist turret on an Armoured fighting vehicle.

Oto Melara Hitfist is a two-man turret for armored vehicles developed by the Italian Oto Melara company.[1] The turrets are designed to mount a 25mm Oerlikon KBA or 30/40mm ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II autocannon. The main armament may mount a co-axial machine gun. A variant allows the operator to aim and fire anti-tank missiles.

The turret, and its weapons, can be operated by a single individual.[1]

Oto Melara also sells a smaller remotely operated turret, named Hitrole, that mounts smaller weapons, like machine guns and automatic grenade launchers.

Oto Melara sells a similar appearing remotely operated turret, called Hitfist OWS.[2]

The 30mm variant of the Hitfist turret adds 2,670 kilograms (5,890 lb) to a vehicle's weight.[3]

Operators

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 Italian Army – 483 turrets
200 equipped on the Dardo.[4] The turret is equipped with the following armament:
226 used on the VBM Freccia. The turret is equipped with the following armament:
41 ordered to be used on the VBM Freccia EVO iFV (up to 180). The turret will be equipped with the following armament:
16 ordered to be used with the KF-41 Lynx as part of the A2CS programme in a first order, with more planned in the future:[5]
  • Leonardo X-Gun 30×173mm[6]
Republic of Ireland Irish Army – 6 HITFIST–30
6 Piranha IIIH Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle equipped with 30mm HITFIST variant.[7]
Poland Polish Army – 359 HITFIST–30P [8][9]
359 equipped on the KTO Rosomak (delivery 2019-2021)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hitfist 25mm - 30mm: Light turret for infantry fighting vehicles" (PDF). Oto Melara. 2013-08-20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  2. ^ "Hitfist OWS 30mm (Overhead Weapons System): Remote Weapons System for infantry fighting vehicles" (PDF). Oto Melara. 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  3. ^ David R. Gillingham; Prashant R. Patel. "Method of Estimating the Principal Characteristics of an Infantry Fighting Vehicle from Basic Performance Requirements" (PDF). INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES. p. 35. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  4. ^ "Italian army to extend Dardo IFV service life | Defense News September 2022 Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army year 2022 | Archive News year". www.armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  5. ^ "Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles joint venture delivers first Lynx vehicles for Italian Army A2CS programme". 2026-01-27. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  6. ^ "Italien: Leonardo und Rheinmetall erhalten Lynx-Auftrag" (in German). 2025-11-05. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  7. ^ "Leonardo Offers HitFist Turret for Spain's Dragón AFV". MilitaryLeak. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  8. ^ "Poland". www.leonardo.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  9. ^ "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
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