O/T - 2,000 rounds per minute...

[Woody Williams]

Imagine having to reload for this one

http://www.combatfilms.com/cfrtv_archive_0005.asp

This GAU-19 is being fired from a United Arab Emirates Army Humvee at the UAE Army's Maqatra live fire range near Abu Dhabi. At the time of this test fire, March 2001, General Dynamics, the GAU-19s manufacturer, was in discussions with the UAE Army for an unspecified number of these gatling guns. The 12.7mm (.50 caliber) GAU-19 Externally Powered Gatling Gun, has variable rates of fire—up to 2000 rounds per minute—and has seen increasingly widespread deployment over the last several years. Notably, it is now fielded by the MH-series helicopters fielded by the 160th Special Operations Air Regiment, as well as those assigned to the 16 Special Operations Wing of Air Force Special Operations Command. Additionally, budget appropriations for FY 2004 allow for funds to equip the U.S. Army's OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter. As a general rule in the U.S. military, the GAU-19 has come to replace the M-134 "minigun," a six-barreled gatling-style weapon that fired the much-smaller 7.62mm round. A FY 2002 budget request for funds to deploy the GAU-19 on special operations helicopters cited the GAU-19's superior range to that of the M-134 as one of the primary reasons for the replacement. Tests are currently underway to determine the suitability of mounting the GAU-19 on the Marine Corps's V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, which is currently unarmed.
As with any weapon system, there are costs and benefits associated with the GAU-19. It is heavier and more complex than the M2 .50 caliber machine guns and M-19 grenade launchers currently mounted on U.S. HMMWVs, for example, and requires an external power source to fire. It also consumes ammunition at a tremendous rate, which can be a problem in sustained engagements. On the other hand, it provides an absolutely devastating amount of firepower, and has a greater effective range than those other weapons.

For the CFR team watching the live fire, it was interesting to see the Humvee—which weighs over 5,000 pounds—rock back with the recoil of the weapon.

[DrDan]

Just more waste of our tax money. Big noise little do. I go to machine gun shoot twice a year and watch them guys. They back up to firing line with pickups loaded with ammo and have refrigerators, cars, freon bottles, propane bottles all for targets. Guess what? About all they hit is the car unless it is an accidental hit on a propane bottle.

Nope the US went wrong when they dropped the M! or M14 Garand and quit training soldiers to be marksmen. Now all they do is make noise and shoot up tons of ammo. I'd rather go up against a machine gun rather than a trained sniper anyday.

[Rebel Hog]

Back in the 60's in Nam, we had the Vulcan at 6,000 Rds per min!
www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_30-cal_GAU17.htm

[BigTiny]

They tried modifying the M61A1 to a similar configuration a few years back. The problem then was the high rate of fire combined with the size(20mm) of the round that made it impractical for ground troops to lug around. 50 cals may be old, but they still get the job done better than anything else anyone has come up with in the last 70 years. Besides, the only thing more fun to shoot is a Mk19!

[xeon]

Doing the math, thats 33 shots per second... If I could afford to feed that thing, I would get it... sooooo faaassstttt (Next to that Vulcan ofcourse Rebel Hog )