M61 Vulcan 20mm Cannon

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BerettaNut92

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This BUG's been in service for what, 40 years? What do you think will eventually replace it?
 
Skunk, BUG=big ugly gun?:confused:

Kobun, notice he said "eventually". I'm not sure the M16 is a good example...
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I'm thinking it will be replaced by lasers.

In aircraft there seems to be a move to replace/augment it with a laser weapon.

For ground based air defence I think the Army is replacing it with a 25mm weapon on a Bradley chassis. (Not sure about that, anyone know more?) I've also seen where they are trying to develop ground based lasers to take over air defense including shooting down incoming arty.

I have no idea what they're working on for ships, but I'm guessing it will be a laser system, or maybe something like the Metal Storm system.
 
I've shot this puppy. Nice piece! I come from South Africa, and did some work in the '80's with Armscor (the predecessor to Denel), so I had contacts there who invited me to come over and play during my last visit, early last year.

This gun was developed partly for long-range sniping (the 14.5mm Russian round was chosen in preference to the Browning .50 or the Russian equivalent in 12.7mm, because its ballistic coefficient over longer ranges is superior) and partly for ordnance disposal and soft-target assault activities. For the latter, the 20mm. round is much superior to the Browning .50 or the 14.5mm. Russian round, because it can be made in a genuinely high-explosive and/or incendiary configuration, causing much more damage to a target like a truck or aircraft than the solid round in the machine-gun caliber.

The recoil really isn't bad... I actually found it less than a Barrett .50 semi-auto rifle (I fired the Barrett some months after the NTW, so my memory may be playing tricks on me, but I seem to recall less kick with the latter). Very accurate, too.
 
Replace?
Like there has been a need to replace the M-16, or the Browning M2?

Having spoken from guys who were soldiers when the m-16 replaced the m-14, and having been in the army myself, I believe that the m-16 leaves a lot to be desired. I have shot much more reliable rifles since I left the army. And if I had a choice, an ar-15 would not be it.

Not to bust on any ar-15 lovers, it is a proven weapon. And one I would, and DID use. I'd just pick something different if I had a choice.
 
The 20 mm is a wimp gun.

My beloved A-10 has the best gatling gun in the world baby!
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TryThis site to see some action footage of the 30 mm Gau-8 gun firing.
 
Lennyjoe, do you know why there is a difference between those two guns? The one sporting the peace sticker seems to be polished and the muzzles look like they are fairly flush fitting. The other is different there and also has a bolt and some sort of pin in it. :confused:
 
Triad ...

If you look close, I think you'll see that the "chrome" gun just has a hub-cap type cover fitted over the muzzle clamp. I doubt that they fly with it on. It was probably made to snap into place for static displays at airshows and such.
And yes, the M61 is a nice piece of kit but 20mm is considered quite small for modern aircraft. Newer guns will be 25mm and up ...
 
The A-10 is awesome when it shoots. Hearing one of those things let loose while in flight is something to behold. I used to see those things doing practice runs on an Army base with live ammo years ago. I'd just hate to be on the recieving end. I beleive that they load that 30mm with depleted uranium rounds, that penetrate almost anything.
 
Any plane that carries a 30mm gun, plus 16,000 lbs. of ordnance on either 9 or 10 pylons (middle 3 can't all be used at the same time), has my vote for most bad-a$$ed plane of the century. God bless Warthog drivers!
 
Lennyjoe

I wished I could have been an A10 pilot.. sadly, the old eyes are not up to snuff
 
Frohickey ... "Bug" Trivia ...

Actually, the name "Vulcan" refers specifically to the 20 mm M61A1 or GAU 4 and to the M61A2. The 30 mm plinker found on the Warthog is a GAU 8 which is known as the "Avenger".
The correct generic term for this family of guns is "Rotary Cannon".

There's lots of info all over the net about these guns. A place to start would be by searching for "General Dynamics Armament Systems" or "GENDARM".

Try www.generaldynamics.com
 
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