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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.
The Gatling gun was a field weapon, first used in warfare during the American Civil War and subsequently by European and Russian armies. The design was steadily improved; by 1876 the Gatling gun had a theoretical rate of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute, although 400 rounds per minute was more readily achievable in combat.
M61 Vulcan – 20 mm Gatling-type rotary cannon; M134 Minigun – American rotary machine gun; XM214 Microgun – American prototype 5.56 mm rotary-barreled machine gun; M197 electric cannon – 20 mm Gatling-type rotary cannon; GAU-12 Equalizer – 25 mm rotary aircraft autocannon; GAU-8 Avenger – American 30mm autocannon (since 1977)
All models of Gatling guns were declared obsolete by the U.S. military in 1911, after 45 years of service. [20] The original Gatling gun was a field weapon that used multiple rotating barrels turned by a hand crank, and firing loose (no links or belt) metal cartridge ammunition using a gravity feed system from a hopper. The Gatling gun's ...
With a fast-firing gun using standard rifle ammunition, the US Army and US Air Force showed interest for use of the XM214 on aircraft, helicopters, and armored vehicles. The smaller and lighter Microgun could replace the Minigun on heavily armed gunship aircraft and attack helicopters, freeing up space for ammo, equipment, and even more guns.
The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm × 102 mm (0.787 in × 4.016 in) rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute).
The XM301 was an improved M197 intended to be the gun on the later canceled RAH-66 Comanche. The weapon's current contractor is General Dynamics Armament Systems. Iran has claimed downing one Iraqi MiG-21 fighter on 14 February 1986 during the Iran–Iraq War using the M197 gun turret installed on its AH-1J Internationals.
Main components of the XM18 Gun Pod (less M134 machine gun) Perhaps the most widely used gun pod developed by the US military, fitted with a single GAU-2 7.62×51mm Minigun. [3] This weapon was produced in three generations, with separate designations applied by both the US Army and US Air Force.