New machine guns for Corps’ helicopters

[unhappycamper]

The GAU-21 can fire more than 1,000 rounds per minute.


New machine guns for Corps’ helicopters
By Amy McCullough - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 4, 2010 6:12:39 EST

Eventually, all Marine and Navy assault support rotary wing aircraft will be equipped with the M3M FN Herstal GAU-21 .50-caliber machine gun.

For the Corps, it is now in use on the ramps of the CH-53E Super Stallion, a heavy-lift helicopter, as well as the ramp and windows of the CH-53D, the Super Stallion’s predecessor. But officials at Naval Air Systems Command also are working to integrate a door-mounted GAU-21 onto the CH-53E and the UH-1Y Venom, the Corps’ newest light-utility helicopter.

The GAU-21, which remains in developmental testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., can fire more than 1,000 rounds per minute compared to the roughly 700 rounds per minute of the M2 Browning GAU-16/A machine gun it is replacing. When factoring in the jamming problems experienced by the GAU-16, Corey said, the GAU-21 can offer double the rate of fire of its predecessor.

Engineers at Patuxent River however, are still trying to figure out how the .50-caliber, belt-fed rounds should be fed into the gun and where the ammunition should be stored, said Navy Capt. Brian Corey, the program manager for direct and time-sensitive strike programs.

In addition to putting more rounds down range, the new gun, with a maximum effective range of 21,000 feet, is more accurate due to a new recoil compensation system that also reduces the wear and tear on helicopters. When you fire the GAU-16, the shock rattles all the way down to the airframe, which causes a strong vibration and makes accuracy difficult, said Col. Harry Hewson, the program manager for Marine light/attack helicopters. The new system absorbs that shock in the mount, he said. NavAir also is working to install laser sights for night use.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/01/marines_gau21_010410w/



unhappycamper comment: .50 caliber is some big shit. The round is almost an inch long and is big as your thumb --> http://www.olive-drab.com/od_firearms_ammo_50cal.php

[flamin lib]

1. Glad the '53 is a heavy lift copter. At just over 4 oz per round the

new gun eats up 250 pounds of ammo a minute. At $2.50 a round that's also $2,500.00 a minute.

War is hell, and expensive!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. The 1000rounds per minute is a bad lie

Heat and other issues preclude that happening. Its is the instantaneous rate of fire, but its sustained rate is well bellow that. Typical for any automatic fire weapon.

Same lies are spread by the Brady bunch and their ilk, claiming very high rates of fire for the weapons they oppose, blithely ignoring magazine limitations.

[flamin lib]

3. Wellllll, now isn't that speaciallll. My M-60 fired at 760 rounds per minute

and came with a second barrel with a glove to facilitate the exchange.

No, it won't fire 760 or 1000 or 50000 for extended time, but ya' know what? It's still a lot of ammo to carry and a lot of cost to feed the doggone thing.

The chain gun fires a lot more than that and a HUEY only carries about 2 minutes of ammo 'cause it won't lift more than that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk0luq1JYxc

It ain't a lie. It's a method of counting rounds down range. At 180 knots a gunship isn't over the target long enough to overheat the weapon.

Don't care much for bein' called a liar . . .

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. The only tactically relevant number is sustained rate of fire

The spec numbers which are instantaneous rate of fire, which whether used by the developer or the Brady bunch are nothing but smoke and mirrors, and the bad lies. It was not my intent to call you personally a liar.

BTW, the The UH-1Y carries a lot more weight...

[flamin lib]

5. I disagree. The sustained rate of fire is NOT the only relevant number.

By that reasoning a 105 Howitzer is kinda' useless because it's rate of fire is so low.

Depends on the deployment. A chain gun fireing 10-15 second bursts (1000 rounds)from a copter moving at 120 knots is pretty damn effective. How long do you suppose an A-10 pilot holds the trigger on his 30mm Gatling gun?

Sustained rate of fire MIGHT be the sole criteria is a light infantry weapon but that would make the current M-4 as useless as the 105 Howie as it only fires three round bursts. That's why they developed the SAW for rifle platoons.

See, the application of technology decides tactically relevant rate of fire. This gun does what it is designed to do; expend ammunition at a very high rate for whatever time the target is in range which, hopefully, isn't too long. For that reason "the instantaneous rate of fire" is the only consideration. If the Marines wanted a 1000 rnd/minute sustained rate of fire they'd have it. It's not a lie, it's a specification. And it still gobbles up a lot of ammo and costs a lot to feed . . .

Sorry for being too sensitive r.e. "liar".

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

6. it also rips shit to shreds that

laugh at m60's... and with short bursts, aimed bursts... I would much rather put 3 rounds of 50 into a target than kick up dirt all around it with 7.62s, and I know the Marines and sailors huddling in the mud down below feel the same way

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. A low sustained rate of fire is not bad or good, it represents what can be counted on for tactical

usage. Including the 105s, M4s, and the GAU-8 on the A-10. The instantaneous rate by itself is rarely ever useful in the tactical calculus. What does get consideration is the number of bursts (at the instantaneous rate of fire) the weapon whether its on an airplane or being humped by grunts had provide.

My disparagement of the IRF numbers is based mostly on its misuse by the Brady bunch, Gray Davis, the M$M, and others who quote the rate and do not understand what it really means. You clearly understand it and what it means.