The 100mm Compact is the export-oriented light branch of the French 100 mm/55 naval-gun family. Creusot-Loire developed it from the Model 1968 architecture as a smaller unmanned turret with external fire-control input, short-burst firing, and reduced magazine volume; later Mk 2 and Chinese Type 210/H/PJ87 derivatives carried the Compact design path into Malaysian, Saudi, and Chinese ship fits.
The Compact branch was built around weight and integration limits that differed from the larger French Model 1968/CADAM mounts. Weaponsystems.net describes a private-venture export turret with a reduced gunhouse and below-deck magazine, no crew on the mount, and fire-control input from the ship combat system.
The Compact reduced weight partly by accepting short bursts rather than sustained automatic fire; listed burst choices are 1, 2, 3, or 6 rounds.
The Mk 2 added selectable 20, 45, or 90 rounds-per-minute firing rates and improved ammunition selection, with technology later feeding the French 100 TR modernization.
Open sources checked here support export service, platform fits, exercises, and family relationships; they do not independently document the exact Compact export branch in a named armed conflict.
Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Compact; WeaponSystems.net 100mm Creusot-Loire; Seaforces DCN/GIAT 100 mm gun.
Public sources separate the Compact export turret from the larger Model 1968/CADAM line while also treating the Chinese Type 210 and H/PJ87 as direct-copy or derivative branches.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compact Mk 1 | Initial French export model | Weaponsystems.net describes Mk 1 as the initial Creusot-Loire 100mm Compact production standard, with French-built guns supplied before later Saudi and Malaysian Mk 2 upgrades. Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Compact |
| Compact Mk 2 | Improved short-burst model | Weaponsystems.net dates the Mk 2 improvement to 1990 and lists selectable 20, 45, or 90 rounds-per-minute rates with revised ammunition selection and automatic test equipment. Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Compact |
| Type 210 | Chinese direct-copy branch | Weaponsystems.net describes Type 210 as a Chinese-produced direct copy of the French Compact turret, probably based on the Mk 1 configuration. Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Compact |
| H/PJ87 | Chinese reduced-signature derivative | Weaponsystems.net describes H/PJ87 as an updated Chinese Type 210 design with a more angular reduced-radar-cross-section housing and improved integration with Chinese combat-data systems. Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Compact |
 | Adjacent French 100 mm modernization | Weaponsystems.net says technology from Compact Mk 2 was later implemented in the 100 TR, while Seaforces lists La Fayette-class ships with a Mod.100TR Compact gun. Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Creusot-Loire, Seaforces La Fayette Class Frigate |
The most useful catalog links are ship-class fits and adjacent family relationships. Some export users do not yet have public catalog ship-class records, so those remain in prose rather than as invented links.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Chinese frigate class | Weaponsystems.net identifies the two early Type 054 frigates as H/PJ87 carriers, before the improved Type 054A moved to a 76 mm H/PJ26 main gun. Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Compact |
 | Chinese destroyer class | Weaponsystems.net lists Type 052C destroyers with a single H/PJ87 100 mm gun on the bow. Sources: WeaponSystems.net 100mm Compact |
 | French stealth frigate class | Seaforces lists La Fayette-class frigates with one DCN/GIAT Mod.100TR Compact 100 mm gun, an adjacent French family member that reused Compact Mk 2 technology. Sources: Seaforces La Fayette Class Frigate, WeaponSystems.net 100mm Creusot-Loire |
Weaponsystems.net gives 1977-1981 as the development period for the 100mm Compact export turret.
Weaponsystems.net lists French Compact production from 1983 into the 2000s, with about 15 French-built examples before wider Chinese production.
Weaponsystems.net identifies the Mk 2 as a 1990 improvement with selectable firing rates and rearranged ammunition handling.
Weaponsystems.net notes that Malaysia's two Kasturi-class corvettes carried the 100mm Compact until a 2014 refit program removed it.
