The structural behavior of Np 2 Co 17 is investigated by means of high-pressure diamond-anvil compression measurements and is compared with that of the isostructural compounds Lu 2 Co 17 and Lu 2 Ni 17 . The Th 2 Ni 17 -type hexagonal crystal structure is preserved with no measurable discontinuous volume collapses up to the highest achieved pressure, p = 43 GPa. For Np 2 Co 17 , fits to the Birch-Murnaghan and Vinet equations of state give values of the isothermal bulk modulus and its pressure derivative of B 0 = 286 GPa and B 0 = 3, revealing that this Np compound is a highly incompressible solid with stiffness comparable to that of superhard covalently bonded materials. For the Lu 2 T 17 (T = Co, Ni) compounds, the measured bulk modulus changes from B 0 = 137 GPa for T = Co to B 0 = 257 GPa for T = Ni. The isothermal equation of state for the studied compounds are in excellent agreement with the results of ab initio fully relativistic, full-potential local spin-density functional calculations. Theoretical estimates of the bulk modulus are given also for Np 2 Ni 17 , for which B 0 is predicted to assume values intermediate between those measured for Lu 2 Ni 17 and Np 2 Co 17 .