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The General Electric GAU-13/A is a 30 mm electric Gatling Gun derived from the GAU-8 Avenger cannon.
Description
The GAU-13 was developed in the late 1970s for use in gun pod applications for fighter aircraft and attack aircraft use, primarily for air-to-ground and anti-tank attacks.
The GAU-13/A is a four-barreled rotary cannon based on the mechanism of the larger GAU-8, sharing the same massive 30mm ammunition. Like the Avenger, it has a double-ended feed system with reverse clearing to remove unfired rounds. Unlike the GAU-8, however, it is pneumatically driven, giving it a rate of fire of 2,400 rounds per minute. Minimum time between stoppages is estimated at 32,000 rounds, making it a very reliable weapon.
The GAU-13/A uses the same range of PGU-13 High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) and PGU-14 Armor-Piercing Incendiary (API) rounds (which contain a depleted uranium penetrator) as the Avenger. Despite its somewhat lower rate of fire compared to the seven-barreled Avenger, it is an immensely powerful weapon.
The principal application for the GAU-13/A was the GPU-5/A gun pod (originally marketed as the GEPOD 30). It is 4.3 m (14 ft 2 in) long and can be mounted on any standard NATO 762 mm (30 in) suspension lugs. The pod holds 353 rounds of ammunition, enough for approximately nine seconds of continuous fire. It weighs 600 kg (1,325 lb) empty and 841 kg (1,859 lb) fully loaded.
The GPU-5/A was intended for carriage on a wide range of U.S. tactical aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle and F-16. In the mid-1980s the USAF considered a specialized variant of the F-16 for the close air support (CAS) mission, using the GPU-5, as a substitute or adjunct for the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
The GPU-5 pod, however, proved unsatisfactory in service. It was briefly tried on some Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcons during the 1991 Gulf War, but was removed from service after barely a day of combat use because of its very poor accuracy. Despite the cannon's impressive ballistic characteristics, the pylon mounting was not sufficiently rigid to prevent deflection, and the weapon's heavy recoil exacerbated the problem by causing pylon misalignment. Further, the GPU-5 was not integrated into the F-16's sighting system (the slower A-10 can rely on a simple optical sight to aim the big GAU-8). The GPU-5 is no longer in U.S. service, although some Thai F-5E Tiger II aircraft still carry the weapon.
Specifications
- Type: four-barrel rotary cannon
- Caliber: 30 mm (1.18 in)
- Operation: pneumatic
- Length: 2.79 m (9 ft 2 in)
- Weight (complete): 151 kg (339 lb).
- Rate of fire: 2,400 rounds per minute
- Muzzle velocity: 1,030 m/s (3,600 ft/s)
- Projectile weight: (API) 430 grams (15.0 oz); HEI 360 grams (12.7 oz)
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