Videos showing Mirage IIIC downing Mig-17 (top) and Egyptian MiG-21s, on the bottom right there is a photo showing downed IAF Mirage.
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Videos showing Mirage IIIC downing Mig-17 (top) and Egyptian MiG-21s, on the bottom right there is a photo showing downed IAF Mirage.
The main combat variants are the IIIC (single-seat) and IIIE (single-seat) variants, as well as the IIIR reconnaissance variant—50 units of which were delivered to the French Air Force—which featured 5 cameras mounted on the nose instead of the radar.
Let's begin with the IIIC variant. This version was operated by France (95 units) and Israel (72 units), among many other countries. However, it saw its primary operational service with Israel. Having already discussed its radar, let us now look at its armament.
Statistically, the Mirage IIIC achieved the vast majority of its kills using its two built-in 30mm DEFA cannons. This was not unusual for the time: contemporary radars were highly unreliable for missile guidance, forcing pilots to rely almost exclusively on cannons or infrared missiles. This brings us to the introduction of the Magic missile, the most famous Western short-range missile alongside the American Sidewinder.
Both belonged to the same category, featuring a weight of 89 kg, heat-seeking guidance, and a range of approximately 10 km for the variant used during those years, paired with a modest 12 kg warhead.
What made the Mirage-Magic combination so lethal was the missile's high maneuverability. It featured an extra pair of movable fins behind the forward fins, which enabled 35G maneuvers even back then. Combined with a highly sensitive heat seeker that made target acquisition easier, it was effective, though not yet revolutionary—it still could not lock onto an aircraft from any angle other than the engine exhaust.
I will not dwell on the option of using medium-range missiles, as their unreliability rendered them completely useless.
Suffice it to say, the standard configuration consisted of: 1 medium-range missile on the centerline centerline station, 2 external drop tanks, 2 Magic 1 (or Sidewinder) missiles under the wings, and naturally, the twin 30mm cannons.
During the Six-Day War, 12 Israeli Mirage IIICs (Shahak) downed an impressive 48 aircraft of the Arab coalition—all scored with cannons, since the Magic did not yet exist. In the Yom Kippur War, the Mirage IIIC in Israeli service shot down 106 Arab aircraft and served as the mount for top ace Giora Epstein (17 kills). Rather than expanding further on a relatively straightforward aircraft, I will post some dogfight footage.
To conclude, here is some quick data regarding the engines used by the aircraft to help understand the logic behind choosing such a lightweight interceptor for the Air Force.
The Mirage IIIC and IIIE utilized the Atar 9B and 9C engine family. It is enough to know that these were simple turbojet engines designed to keep weight and fuel consumption in check, while delivering very high speed and ease of maintenance. They produced around 42 kN of thrust, which increased to 60 kN with the afterburner—though injecting fuel directly into the exhaust resulted in extremely high fuel consumption.
In terms of dimensions, the Mirage III was roughly 15 meters long with a wingspan of 8.22 meters, featuring an elongated and tapered aerodynamic design.
The IIIC variant had an empty weight of about 6 tons and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 11.5 tons. The IIIE variant was heavier, with corresponding values of 7 tons and 13.4 tons respectively.
Let's begin with the IIIC variant. This version was operated by France (95 units) and Israel (72 units), among many other countries. However, it saw its primary operational service with Israel. Having already discussed its radar, let us now look at its armament.
Statistically, the Mirage IIIC achieved the vast majority of its kills using its two built-in 30mm DEFA cannons. This was not unusual for the time: contemporary radars were highly unreliable for missile guidance, forcing pilots to rely almost exclusively on cannons or infrared missiles. This brings us to the introduction of the Magic missile, the most famous Western short-range missile alongside the American Sidewinder.
Both belonged to the same category, featuring a weight of 89 kg, heat-seeking guidance, and a range of approximately 10 km for the variant used during those years, paired with a modest 12 kg warhead.
What made the Mirage-Magic combination so lethal was the missile's high maneuverability. It featured an extra pair of movable fins behind the forward fins, which enabled 35G maneuvers even back then. Combined with a highly sensitive heat seeker that made target acquisition easier, it was effective, though not yet revolutionary—it still could not lock onto an aircraft from any angle other than the engine exhaust.
I will not dwell on the option of using medium-range missiles, as their unreliability rendered them completely useless.
Suffice it to say, the standard configuration consisted of: 1 medium-range missile on the centerline centerline station, 2 external drop tanks, 2 Magic 1 (or Sidewinder) missiles under the wings, and naturally, the twin 30mm cannons.
During the Six-Day War, 12 Israeli Mirage IIICs (Shahak) downed an impressive 48 aircraft of the Arab coalition—all scored with cannons, since the Magic did not yet exist. In the Yom Kippur War, the Mirage IIIC in Israeli service shot down 106 Arab aircraft and served as the mount for top ace Giora Epstein (17 kills). Rather than expanding further on a relatively straightforward aircraft, I will post some dogfight footage.
To conclude, here is some quick data regarding the engines used by the aircraft to help understand the logic behind choosing such a lightweight interceptor for the Air Force.
The Mirage IIIC and IIIE utilized the Atar 9B and 9C engine family. It is enough to know that these were simple turbojet engines designed to keep weight and fuel consumption in check, while delivering very high speed and ease of maintenance. They produced around 42 kN of thrust, which increased to 60 kN with the afterburner—though injecting fuel directly into the exhaust resulted in extremely high fuel consumption.
In terms of dimensions, the Mirage III was roughly 15 meters long with a wingspan of 8.22 meters, featuring an elongated and tapered aerodynamic design.
The IIIC variant had an empty weight of about 6 tons and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 11.5 tons. The IIIE variant was heavier, with corresponding values of 7 tons and 13.4 tons respectively.
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Videos showing Mirage IIIC downing Mig-17 (top) and Egyptian MiG-21s, on the bottom right there is a photo showing downed IAF Mirage.
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Le principali varianti da combattimento sono la variante IIIC (monoposto) e IIIE (monoposto) e anche la variante IIIR consegnata in 50 esemplari all'Aeronautica Francese che aveva 5 telecamere disposte sul muso al posto del radar.
Iniziamo con la variante IIIC, questa fu operata in 95 esemplari dalla Francia e 72 da Israele oltre a molti altri paesi, ma diciamo che vide il servizio operativo principalmente con Israele, abbiamo già parlato del suo radar, vediamo quindi gli armamenti.
Il Mirage IIIC statisticamente ha effettuato la stragrande maggioranza dei suoi abbattimenti con i 2 cannoni da 30mm DEFA di cui è armato e fin qui nulla di particolare, all'epoca i radar erano altamente inaffidabili per la guida di missili, e si ricorreva quasi sempre ai cannoni o a missili a infrarossi, ed è ora che introdurremo il missile Magic, ovvero il più celebre missile a corto raggio Occidentale dopo il Sidewinder Americano.
Questi appartengono alla stessa categoria, peso di 89kg, guida a ricerca di calore e gittata di circa 10km per la variante di quegli anni, la testata era da soli 12kg, ciò che rese l'abbinamento Mirage-Magic così fatale fu l'alta manovrabilità del missile che aveva un paio di alette aggiuntive mobili dietro le alette frontali, che gli consentivano già all'epoca manovre a 35G e un cercatore di calore molto sensibile, che rendeva più semplice agganciare il bersaglio, ad ogni modo niente di rivoluzionario, non era comunque capace di agganciare un'aereo se non sui motori.
Non mi soffermerò sulla possibilità di utilizzare missili a medio raggio perché furono totalmente inutili vista la loro inaffidabilità, basti pensare insomma che la configurazione classica era: 1 Missile a medio raggio sul centro, 2 serbatoi esterni, 2 Magic 1 (o Sidewinder) sulle ali, e ovviamente la coppia di cannoni da 30mm.
Nella guerra dei sei giorni 12 Mirage IIIC (Shahak) Israeliani abbatterono ben 48 aerei della coalizione Araba, tutti con cannoni visto che non esisteva il Magic all'epoca, nella Guerra dello Yom Kippur il Mirage IIIC in servizio Israeliano abbatté 106 velivoli arabi e fu il cavallo di battaglia dell'asso Giora Epstein (17 abbattimenti), piuttosto che dilungarmi ulteriormente su un'aereo relativamente semplice posterò alcuni filmati del dogfight, per chiudere ecco alcune veloci informazioni sui motori utilizzati dall'aereo per comprendere la logica dietro la scelta di un'intercettore così leggero per l'Aeronautica.
Il Mirage IIIC e IIIE utilizzava la famiglia di motori Atar 9B e 9C, basti sapere che si trattava di semplici motori a turbogetto progettati per mantenere peso e consumi sotto controllo a fronte di un'elevatissima velocità e di una facilità di manutenzione, circa 42kN di potenza che arrivavano a 60kN con l'uso del postbruciatore che iniettando direttamente carburante nello scarico aveva consumi elevatissimi.
Parlando di dimensioni il Mirage III risultava esser lungo circa 15 metri con un'apertura alare di 8,22 metri, per cui un design aerodinamico allungato e rastremato, la variante IIIC aveva un peso a vuoto di circa 6 tonnellate e un peso massimo al decollo di 11,5.
La variante IIIE era più pesanti con i rispettivi valori di 7 ton e 13,4 ton.
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🇫🇷☢️MIRAGE-IIIE and AN-52
The Mirage IIIE entered service in 1965 with the French Air Force, which received 185 units. It was born in response to the requirement for a multirole fighter-bomber designed for nuclear infiltration.
The aircraft introduced numerous radar innovations that effectively made the Mirage IIIE a third-generation aircraft. While the Mirage IIIC could not detect obstacles with its radar—and was therefore limited to operating only at high altitudes at night under the guidance of ground-based radar stations—the Mirage IIIE could fly at very low altitudes even in zero visibility.
It was this very aircraft that introduced the Doppler Radar to Europe (visible in the photo as the bulge under the nose of the plane). This was a recent invention: consider that the first Doppler radar was mounted on an American missile in 1959, and just six years later, a French aircraft entered service with this technology, allowing it to navigate blind by following the terrain information gathered by the radar.
However, mind you, it did not allow the aircraft to detect and engage an enemy plane flying below it without the ground deafening the radar by reflecting the waves.
This was because normal aerial detection still relied on the standard nose radar, which was unable to use the Doppler effect to distinguish an aircraft's silhouette from ground clutter (we would have to wait for Sweden to see this capability in Europe).
As many of you know, the Doppler effect is the change in frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source. Imagine that someone throws a tennis ball at you every second: if you run toward the thrower, you will catch more balls per second, whereas if you run away in the opposite direction, you will catch the balls at a lower frequency.
This principle allowed the aircraft to navigate blind even at very low altitudes by knowing the positions of bridges, bunkers, pylons, mountains, and buildings. This truly turned the Mirage IIIE into a dangerous multirole fighter-bomber for nuclear infiltration. Indeed, in this configuration, it could carry a 15-kiloton AN-52 bomb, flying at night at extremely low altitudes to evade both enemy radar and terrain obstacles, making the Mirage IIIE a highly lethal nuke carrier.
The aircraft could be armed with six 250kg bombs and two or four 400kg bombs, or Durandal anti-runway bombs; however, range requirements usually prevented such extreme loadouts. The Doppler radar would calculate the necessary ballistic trajectory to hit the target.
The AN-52 was a 455kg pre-strategic bomb that entered service in 1972 with two selectable yield modes: one at 8kt and one at 25kt. For this type of mission, the Mirage IIIE would be fitted with two massive 1,700-liter underwing drop tanks, allowing it to execute a one-way mission up to 1,200 km away from its base.
For aerial detection, the Mirage IIIE utilized the famous Cyrano II radar, which increased the detection range to a solid 50 km—well above the 30 km range of the Mirage IIIC's Cyrano I Bis. This was because the radar had finally begun using early transistors, which reduced internal electronic noise within the device, thereby allowing it to "hear" the returning radar wave much more clearly.
The aircraft introduced numerous radar innovations that effectively made the Mirage IIIE a third-generation aircraft. While the Mirage IIIC could not detect obstacles with its radar—and was therefore limited to operating only at high altitudes at night under the guidance of ground-based radar stations—the Mirage IIIE could fly at very low altitudes even in zero visibility.
It was this very aircraft that introduced the Doppler Radar to Europe (visible in the photo as the bulge under the nose of the plane). This was a recent invention: consider that the first Doppler radar was mounted on an American missile in 1959, and just six years later, a French aircraft entered service with this technology, allowing it to navigate blind by following the terrain information gathered by the radar.
However, mind you, it did not allow the aircraft to detect and engage an enemy plane flying below it without the ground deafening the radar by reflecting the waves.
This was because normal aerial detection still relied on the standard nose radar, which was unable to use the Doppler effect to distinguish an aircraft's silhouette from ground clutter (we would have to wait for Sweden to see this capability in Europe).
As many of you know, the Doppler effect is the change in frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source. Imagine that someone throws a tennis ball at you every second: if you run toward the thrower, you will catch more balls per second, whereas if you run away in the opposite direction, you will catch the balls at a lower frequency.
This principle allowed the aircraft to navigate blind even at very low altitudes by knowing the positions of bridges, bunkers, pylons, mountains, and buildings. This truly turned the Mirage IIIE into a dangerous multirole fighter-bomber for nuclear infiltration. Indeed, in this configuration, it could carry a 15-kiloton AN-52 bomb, flying at night at extremely low altitudes to evade both enemy radar and terrain obstacles, making the Mirage IIIE a highly lethal nuke carrier.
The aircraft could be armed with six 250kg bombs and two or four 400kg bombs, or Durandal anti-runway bombs; however, range requirements usually prevented such extreme loadouts. The Doppler radar would calculate the necessary ballistic trajectory to hit the target.
The AN-52 was a 455kg pre-strategic bomb that entered service in 1972 with two selectable yield modes: one at 8kt and one at 25kt. For this type of mission, the Mirage IIIE would be fitted with two massive 1,700-liter underwing drop tanks, allowing it to execute a one-way mission up to 1,200 km away from its base.
For aerial detection, the Mirage IIIE utilized the famous Cyrano II radar, which increased the detection range to a solid 50 km—well above the 30 km range of the Mirage IIIC's Cyrano I Bis. This was because the radar had finally begun using early transistors, which reduced internal electronic noise within the device, thereby allowing it to "hear" the returning radar wave much more clearly.
🇮🇹Il Mirage IIIE entrò in servizio nel 1965 con l'Aeronautica Francese e fu consegnato in 185 esemplari alla forza aerea del paese, nacque in risposta alla necessità di un cacciabombardiere multiruolo da infiltrazione nucleare.
L'aereo introdusse molte innovazioni radaristiche che di fatto resero il Mirage IIIE un aereo di terza generazione, fu infatti il pioniere in Francia dei radar multimodali, mentre il Mirage IIIC non poteva rilevare ostacoli col radar, e quindi di notte poteva operare solo ad alta quota guidato dalle stazioni radar a terra, il Mirage IIIE poteva volare a bassissima quota anche senza visibilità.
Fu proprio questo aereo ad introdurre in Europa il Radar Doppler (nella foto si tratta di quella gobba sotto il muso dell'aereo), un'invenzione recente, pensate che il primo radar doppler fu montato nel 1959 su un missile Americano, e dopo soli 6 anni entrava in servizio un'aereo Francese con questa tecnologia che gli permetteva di navigare alla cieca seguendo le informazioni che il radar raccoglieva sul terreno.
Ma attenzione non permetteva di poter rilevare un'aereo sotto di sé e ingaggiarlo senza che il terreno assordasse il radar riflettendo le onde, poiché per rilevare gli aerei veniva utilizzato il normale radar sul muso, che invece era incapace di distinguere la sagoma dell'aereo dal rumore del terreno utilizzando l'effetto Doppler (dobbiamo aspettare la Svezia per vedere questa capacità in Europa).
L'effetto Doppler come molti di voi sapranno è la variazione di frequenza o periodo di un'onda in funzione della velocità dell'osservatore rispetto alla sorgente o viceversa, immaginate che qualcosa vi lanci una pallina da tennis ogni secondo, se voi correte verso il lanciatore allora prenderete più palline e al contrario se fuggite in direzione opposta riuscirete a prendere le palline ad una frequenza più bassa.
Questo principio permetteva all'aereo di navigare alla cieca anche a bassissima quota, conoscendo la posizione di ponti, bunker, tralicci, monti ed edifici, rendendo il Mirage IIIE un vero caccia-bombardiere multiruolo per l'infiltrazione nucleare, infatti in questa configurazione poteva trasportare una bomba AN-52 da 15 kilotoni, volando di notte a quota bassissima evitando i radar nemici e gli ostacoli, rendendo il Mirage IIIE un pericolosissimo nuke carrier.
L'aereo poteva essere armato di 6 bombe da 250kg e 2 o 4 bombe da 400kg o Durandal antipista, ma solitamente i requisiti di gittata impedivano configurazioni estreme simili, il radar doppler avrebbe calcolato la traiettoria balistica necessaria per colpire l'obiettivo.
L'AN-52 era una bomba pre-strategica da 455kg entrata in servizio nel 1972 con 2 modalità di resa atomica, una da 8kt e una da 25kt, il Mirage IIIE in questo tipo di missione avrebbe montato due enormi serbatoi subalari da 1700 litri l'uno, in questo modo avrebbe potuto compiere una missione suicida a 1200km di distanza dalla base.
Per il rilevamento aereo il Mirage IIIE utilizzava il famoso radar Cyrano II che incrementava la portata di rilevamento a ben 50km, ben più dei 30km del Cyrano I Bis del Mirage IIIC, questo poiché il radar finalmente aveva iniziato ad utilizzare i primi transistor, che riducevano il rumore elettronico all'interno dell'apparecchio permettendo quindi di "ascoltare" più chiaramente l'onda radar di ritorno
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🇮🇹 VULCANO Top: 127mm Mid: 155mm Bottom: 76mm
Today we will talk about an Italian excellence, the VULCANO ammunition developed by the defense giant Leonardo, a system that is currently at the undisputed pinnacle of its category worldwide.
Studies for the development of hyper-extended range ammunition began in the early 2000s, initially for unguided versions, namely the BER (Ballistic Extended Range) family, which aimed to significantly increase the range of 155mm and 127mm artillery. We would have to wait until 2009 for the first guided versions.
Leonardo's VULCANO BER ammunition utilizes a new geometry to extend flight range. These are sub-caliber projectiles that fit 127mm and 155mm barrels thanks to sabots—diameter extenders that also serve to impart additional rotation to the projectile as it exits the barrel. The sabots are structured with slots arranged in such a way that the air forces the projectile to rotate just before the sabot separates and falls away (which happens almost immediately after exiting the muzzle).
The presence of stabilizing fins has further extended the range. The trade-off was a reduction in the explosive charge due to the smaller diameter of the actual projectile. This applied the principle of tank APFSDS (simple penetrators) to artillery, which requires HE (High Explosive) charges, thereby giving birth to a category of projectiles known as HEFSDS, which stands for "High Explosive Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot".
To put this into perspective, if we take an American M109 self-propelled howitzer, it would achieve a range of about 24 km with an ordinary projectile, and around 40 km with an Excalibur guidance kit. However, with an unguided Vulcano (BER) projectile, it would reach an impressive 50 km, which drops to 36 km if fired from a short-barreled cannon.
The leap in quality comes with the GLR (Guided Long Range) version, available in 76mm and 127mm naval calibers, 155mm land artillery, and since 2025, even in 120mm for main battle tanks.
In this version, the fired projectile is equipped with an inertial guidance system (accelerometer and gyroscope) coupled with a GPS guidance system. In the terminal phase of the flight, it activates a SAL (Semi-Active Laser) seeker; it begins to "search" for a target designated by a laser (which can be painted by a human, a drone, an aircraft, etc.) and starts maneuvering to hit it while in motion by following the laser. This allows it to strike tanks on their top armor, turning it into a standoff anti-tank weapon. Keep in mind, someone must designate the target with a laser.
There is also a 127mm version featuring a heat-seeking guidance system for precision anti-ship firing, but these are classified variants about which little is known.
The range of the guided Vulcano varies from 70 to 100 km for the 127mm and 155mm calibers, outclassing any other system in the world. Similar ammunition programs exist in China and South Korea, for example, but these are still under development rather than being a consolidated operational capability. In Ukraine, the PzH 2000s supplied by Italy and Germany regularly strike at distances over 70 km using guided ammunition, while the Italian Navy is among the very few capable of engaging other ships at 100-120 km with precise artillery fire.
Italy, Germany, Ukraine, and the United States are the operators of the VULCANO. Germany is currently integrating it into its Navy and opening domestic production lines with Diehl, while the US has ordered a new variant known as ERAP.
Studies for the development of hyper-extended range ammunition began in the early 2000s, initially for unguided versions, namely the BER (Ballistic Extended Range) family, which aimed to significantly increase the range of 155mm and 127mm artillery. We would have to wait until 2009 for the first guided versions.
Leonardo's VULCANO BER ammunition utilizes a new geometry to extend flight range. These are sub-caliber projectiles that fit 127mm and 155mm barrels thanks to sabots—diameter extenders that also serve to impart additional rotation to the projectile as it exits the barrel. The sabots are structured with slots arranged in such a way that the air forces the projectile to rotate just before the sabot separates and falls away (which happens almost immediately after exiting the muzzle).
The presence of stabilizing fins has further extended the range. The trade-off was a reduction in the explosive charge due to the smaller diameter of the actual projectile. This applied the principle of tank APFSDS (simple penetrators) to artillery, which requires HE (High Explosive) charges, thereby giving birth to a category of projectiles known as HEFSDS, which stands for "High Explosive Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot".
To put this into perspective, if we take an American M109 self-propelled howitzer, it would achieve a range of about 24 km with an ordinary projectile, and around 40 km with an Excalibur guidance kit. However, with an unguided Vulcano (BER) projectile, it would reach an impressive 50 km, which drops to 36 km if fired from a short-barreled cannon.
The leap in quality comes with the GLR (Guided Long Range) version, available in 76mm and 127mm naval calibers, 155mm land artillery, and since 2025, even in 120mm for main battle tanks.
In this version, the fired projectile is equipped with an inertial guidance system (accelerometer and gyroscope) coupled with a GPS guidance system. In the terminal phase of the flight, it activates a SAL (Semi-Active Laser) seeker; it begins to "search" for a target designated by a laser (which can be painted by a human, a drone, an aircraft, etc.) and starts maneuvering to hit it while in motion by following the laser. This allows it to strike tanks on their top armor, turning it into a standoff anti-tank weapon. Keep in mind, someone must designate the target with a laser.
There is also a 127mm version featuring a heat-seeking guidance system for precision anti-ship firing, but these are classified variants about which little is known.
The range of the guided Vulcano varies from 70 to 100 km for the 127mm and 155mm calibers, outclassing any other system in the world. Similar ammunition programs exist in China and South Korea, for example, but these are still under development rather than being a consolidated operational capability. In Ukraine, the PzH 2000s supplied by Italy and Germany regularly strike at distances over 70 km using guided ammunition, while the Italian Navy is among the very few capable of engaging other ships at 100-120 km with precise artillery fire.
Italy, Germany, Ukraine, and the United States are the operators of the VULCANO. Germany is currently integrating it into its Navy and opening domestic production lines with Diehl, while the US has ordered a new variant known as ERAP.
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🇮🇹 VULCANO Top: 127mm Mid: 155mm Bottom: 76mm
Oggi parleremo di un'eccellenza Italiana, il munizionamento VULCANO sviluppato dal gigante della difesa Leonardo, un sistema che al momento è al vertice indiscusso nella sua categoria in tutto il mondo.
Gli studi per lo sviluppo di munizionamento con gittata iper-estesa vengono avviati nei primi anni 2000, inizialmente per versioni non guidate ovvero la famiglia BER (Ballistic Extended Range) che aveva lo scopo di aumentare significativamente la gittata dell'artiglieria da 155mm e 127mm, bisognerà aspettare il 2009 per le prime versioni guidate.
Le munizioni VULCANO BER della Leonardo utilizzano una nuova geometria per estendere la gittata del volo, e si tratta di proiettili sottocalibrati che si adattano alle canne da 127 e 155mm grazie a dei Sabot, ovvero degli estensori di diametro che hanno anche la funzione di imprimere la rotazione aggiuntiva al proiettile quando questo esce dalla canna, perché i sabot appunto sono strutturati con delle fessure disposte in modo tale che l'aria imprima la rotazione al proiettile poco prima che il sabot si separi e cada (ciò avviene quasi immediatamente dopo l'uscita dalla canna).
La presenza di alette stabilizzatrici ha inoltre esteso ancora di più la gittata, il prezzo è stato quello della riduzione della carica esplosiva dovuto al minor diametro del proiettile vero, applicando il principio degli APFSDS dei carri armati (semplici penetratori) con l'artiglieria, che necessità di cariche altamente esplosive HE, dando vita dunque ad una categoria di proiettili nota come HEFSDS che significa "High Explosive Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot" ovvero proiettile altamente esplosivo stabilizzato con alette e con sabot a scarto.
Dunque prendiamo un obice semovente Americano M109, con un proiettile ordinario avrebbe fatto circa 24km, con un kit di guida Excalibur circa 40km, invece con un proiettile non guidato (BER) Vulcano ne avrebbe fatti ben 50, che scendono a 36km qualora fosse un cannone a canna corta.
Il salto di qualità avviene con la versione GLR (Guided Long Range) disponibile nei calibri navali da 76 e 127mm, di artiglieria terrestre da 155m, e dal 2025 persino da 120mm per i carri armati.
Qui il proiettile viene sparato ed è munito di un sistema di guida inerziale (quindi accelerometro e giroscopio) insieme ad un sistema di guida GPS, nella fase terminale del volo invece attiva un cercatore SAL ovvero inizia a "cercare" un obiettivo designato da un laser (che può essere designato da un umano, un drone, un aereo ecc) e inizia a manovrare per colpirlo in movimento seguendo il laser, permettendogli di colpire i carri armati sulla parte superiore, diventando un'arma anticarro standoff, ricordiamo è necessario che qualcuno designi con un laser il bersaglio.
Esiste poi una versione da 127mm con sistema di guida a ricerca di calore per il tiro di precisione antinave, ma si tratta di varianti classificate di cui si sa poco.
La gittata dei Vulcano guidati varia dai 70 ai 100km per i calibri da 127 e 155m, surclassando qualsiasi altro sistema al mondo, esistono munizionamenti simili in Cina e Corea del Sud ad esempio, ma si tratta di programmi in fase di sviluppo e non capacità operativa consolidata, in Ucraina i PZH2000 forniti da Italia e Germania colpiscono regolarmente a +70km con munizioni guidate, mentre la Marina Italiana è fra le uniche a poter ingaggiare altre navi a 100-120km con fuoco di artiglieria preciso.
Italia, Germania, Ucraina e Stati Uniti sono gli operatori del VULCANO, la Germania lo sta integrando nella Marina e sta aprendo linee di produzione interne della Diehl, mentre gli USA hanno ordinato una variante nuova nota come ERAP.