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| New 30mm Cannon for AC-130 |
| 2005-06-21 |
| June 21, 2005: SOCOM is replacing the 25mm and 40mm guns, on its AC-130 gunships with, two 30mm Bushmaster cannon. The Mk44 30mm Bushmaster cannon weighs 344 pounds and fires at 200 or 400 rounds per minute (up to 7 per second). The cannon has 160 rounds available, before needing a reload. That means the gunner has 25-50 seconds worth of ammo, depending on rate of fire used. Each 30mm round weighs about 25 ounces (depending on type.) The anti-armor shell weighs about half a pound. The armor piercing round will go through 25mm of steel at 2,000 meters range. This will get through the top armor of most vehicles, and spray the inside with fragments. At that range, time of flight is about 1.7 seconds. Explosive anti-personnel rounds are also available. From higher altitudes (up to 6,000 meters), the AC-130 fire control system and night vision sensors, enable the 30mm gunners to accurately hit targets with high explosive shells. The existing 25mm and 40mm guns are being phased out of military service, and the new 30mm gun is easier to operate. The first four AC-130s converted to use the 30mm guns, will be available later this year, with the rest of the 21 AC-130s converted next year. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #10 chain fed, at these rates? A-A weighs half a pound? Jeeebus! Hell has come to visit... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-21 17:45 |
| #9 Snif! I never go anywhere without my Janes. ummm..... Im desperate for a '88 copy under market, I don't mind begging. There're damn difficult to steal, especially since Strozier sealed off the 6th floor windows. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-21 17:37 |
| #8 So are the old phased out 40mm's available for purchase at WalMart yet, we have a gopher problem and I need something serious to rectify it. |
| Posted by: Mountain Man 2005-06-21 16:39 |
| #7 When I was still in ('98) they were talking about a switch to the 30mm and ditch the TOW launcher for a HellFire Launcher. The 25mm Bushmaster was an awesome weapon. We had gunners that took out T-62's with the 25mm in the first Gulf War. They discovered that if you had a flank shot you could penetrate with AP. You just had to hit the thin armor between the road wheels. |
| Posted by: 98zulu 2005-06-21 14:18 |
| #6 Cheaderhead: Not necessarily. It's possible (all My copies of Janes and such are at home) the Army guns are shorter and lighter than the Navy ones, trading off range and penetration against maneuverability. If you use a different barrel, the ammo should be different for best performance. Now, if the they really are identical in size, then, yes, they probably should be unified, though remember that it could only be phased in over several years, since you don't want to throw out perfectly good weapons and ask Congress for new ones to save money. Actually, what I dislike is that completely different weapons have the same caliber. Despite its many problems, the old Soviet Army did some good things. They would choose a slightly different caliber for different weapons. So you had a 73mm cannon, a 75mm rocket, a 76mm RCL and an 81(?)mm mortar. When you are trying to get more ammo from the rear, with your communications being disrupted, you just have to get "7-3" or "7-6" across. Supposedly, this policy occurred when they were demonstrating the new 130mm rocket to Stalin. They opened the boxes and found 130mm HE artillery shells. Oops. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-06-21 14:00 |
| #5 This is a good move I think. Many lessons learned and put into action from recent experience. The air crew that have to reload these things in flight will be happy too I hope. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-06-21 13:00 |
| #4 The existing 25mm and 40mm guns are being phased out of military service, and the new 30mm gun is easier to operate. The first four AC-130s converted to use the 30mm guns, will be available later this year, with the rest of the 21 AC-130s converted next year Will this eventually work its way down to the 25mm on the Bradley? One thing I am absolutely in favor of is commonality of ammunition types across the services when ever posible. I never really understood why the Navy should have a 6 inch naval rifle that used a different ammunition than the Army's 155MM SP and towed artillery. To me that is plain stupid |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2005-06-21 11:17 |
| #3 Maybe they've been watching "too much" (for them!) Rurouni Kenshin ... *snicker* |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2005-06-21 10:26 |
| #2 From the same Strategypage column : "May 11, 2005: The U.S. Air Force is shipping to Iraq a new bomb, HardSTOP (Hardened Surface Target Ordnance Package), designed to destroy the inside of target buildings, without damaging adjacent buildings. HardSTOP is a GPS guided half ton cluster bomb. The GPS and computer in the bomb control the dispersal of 54 smaller bomblets, that are designed to penetrate the roof of a building and explode inside. The bomb software can be programmed to distribute the bomblets in an area as small as 20 feet in diameter, or up to 110 feet. When the bomblets go through the roof, they explode. Some of the bomblets can be programmed to go through one or more floors before exploding. With HardSTOP, the risk of damage to nearby buildings is minimal. Actually, the building the bomblets hit won’t be damaged much, as the small explosive charge in each bomblet is designed to kill people, not destroy a building. In effect, HARDStop puts 54 large hand grenades inside a building, allowing nearby friendly troops to quickly move in and take possession." Now, THAT's room-clearing! |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2005-06-21 10:23 |
| #1 Let's see the jihadis outrun these new guns (play on yesterday's story about the "insurgents" running around like they thought they could outrun a bullet). |
| Posted by: BA 2005-06-21 10:06 |