SYDNEY (BNS): New Zealand Navy’s Anzac class frigate HMNZS Te Mana has successfully test-fired the Phalanx close-in weapons System (CIWS) during the ongoing Bersama Shield 2011 military exercise in the South China Sea.
The Phalanx system, a 6 barreled radar controlled 20mm machine gun that can fire up to 75 rounds of hardened steel bullets a second (4500 per minute), was test fired “to calibrate the CIWS radar tracking system to ensure accuracy.”
“Four firings were undertaken, with a total of 550 rounds fired,” the Royal New Zealand Navy said.
