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The M134 Minigun is an American 7.62×51mm NATO six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute). [2] It features a Gatling-style rotating barrel assembly with an external power source, normally an electric motor.
Later editions of Jane's Infantry Weapons claimed a theoretical cyclic rate of up to 6,000 rpm. George Chinn, author of The Machine Gun Volume V, contended that the XM214 prototype had a rate of fire of up to 10,000 rpm, but the man-portable Six-Pak was limited to 4,000 rpm. General Electric tested it successfully at 12,000 rpm. [3]
Rate of fire may also be affected by ergonomic factors. For rifles, ease-of-use features such as the design of the bolt or magazine release can affect the rate of fire. For artillery pieces, a gun on a towed mount can usually achieve a higher rate of fire than the same weapon mounted within the cramped confines of a tank or self-propelled gun ...
In order to develop a weapon with a more reliable, higher rate of fire, General Electric designers scaled down the rotating-barrel 20 mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon for the 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition. The resulting weapon, the M134 Minigun, could fire up to 6,000 rounds per minute without overheating. The gun has a selectably variable rate of fire ...
In April 2017, Raytheon tested a new electric gun for the Phalanx allowing the system to fire at varying rates to conserve ammunition. The new design replaces the pneumatic motor, compressor, and storage tanks, reducing system weight by 180 lb (82 kg) while increasing reliability and reducing operating costs.
It is also the basis of the GPU-2/A gun pod, which incorporates the cannon, a battery and electric drive motor, and 300 rounds of linkless ammunition. In the Cobra, the weapon is supplied with a magazine of 700 linked rounds, with a total capacity including feeder system of 750 rounds. It has a cyclic rate of fire of 730+-50 rounds per minute.
It uses a 2 hp (1.5 kW) electric motor to fire 30 mm (1.2 in) linkless ammunition at a rate of 625±25 rounds per minute. The air-cooled gun's practical rate of fire is about 300 rounds per minute with a 10-minute cooling period. [7] The gun has a positive cook-off safety for open bolt clearing, and double ram prevention. Spent casings are ...
A minigun with a belt of separate firing chambers also exists. [9]The Multi-shot Accessory Under-barrel Launcher is an electronically fired, 12-gauge shotgun for use as an accessory weapon to a range of weapons, such as the M4 or M16 rifle, or as a stand-alone 5 shot weapon, providing a range of lethal (buckshot and slug) and non-lethal (blunt impact, door breaching, and frangible) munitions ...