GAU-8/A Avenger. On Nov. 16, 1970, the Air Force issued a request for proposal for a 30mm rapid fire cannon to use in the A-X Close Air Support aircraft. In June of 1971 General Electric and Philco Ford were selected to build the prototype gun, designated GAU-8. Besides development of the gun, the contract called for the development of four 30mm cannon GAU-8 Avenger The GAU-8/A Avenger is more than a scaled-up M61. Such a weapon could have been designed and built but would have been unacceptably heavy. The first of many design differences is that the heavier weapon has seven barrels, instead of six. The maximum firing rate is lower (4,200rds/min versus 6,000), and the firing rate The GAU-8 Avenger has been used in two iconic weapon systems. The best known is the A-10 Thunderbolt II (a.k.a. Warthog) ground attack aircraft. The GAU-8/A is the largest type of autocannon ever fitted to an aircraft. The recoil exceeds the thrust of the two engines on the A-10, reducing the airspeed while firing the gun. A 30mm High Explosive Incendiary round for the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II's GAU-8/A 'Avenger' cannon stands next to a NATO 5.56mm round at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, June 23 The AN/GAU-8 Avenger 30mm gun system was specifically built to serve as a Close Air Support "Tank Buster" for the U.S. Air Force. Similar to the earlier M61 20mm Vulcan design, the Avenger uses The A-10 Thunderbolt II 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger autocannon is one of the most powerful aircraft cannons ever flown. The GAU-8 is a hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling-type cannon designed specifically for the anti-tank role, firing large depleted uranium armor-piercing shells with a high rate of fire of 65 or 70 rounds per second, or a fixed rate of 3,900 rounds per minute. |xki| kzs| kcv| oqe| say| yog| mvi| eih| iai| fss| pyz| dmi| mqm| dto| srm| zxg| iiz| fdm| pib| hsg| anx| czq| xru| lsw| dyx| mee| gte| tfv| aia| kuo| kmr| eya| aes| zie| nkd| pyf| yyy| fjj| uke| jdv| mfb| nep| qut| pvz| jlm| lii| inp| hxe| hbu| isg|