7.62mm Minigun

Aircraft Equipment International (AEI) has a Manufacturing Licence and Technical Assistance Agreement (MLTAA) with General Dynamics Armament Systems USA covering the 7.62mm M134 Minigun. It is in the US military inventory (indentified as the M-134 by the US Army and as the GAU-2B/A by the US Air Force). The M134 is also in service in the UK, and AEI holds the MoD Post Design Support contract when it is fitted to the Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

Description

The minigun is a six-barrel externally powered Gatling gun firing all types of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, including SLAP. The gun is electrically powered by either 400 Hz AC or 28V DC.

Capability

The 7.62mm Minigun is also capable of firing much longer burst lengths compared to normal single-barrel, gas-operated weapons.An 18 second continuos burst at 4,000spm (1,200 rounds) can be fired, making the Minigun an excellent choice for suppressive fire.

AIRBORNE APPLICATIONS

Current installations include:

AH-1G Huey Cobra
0H-58 Kiowa
UH-60A Black Hawk
HH-53 Super Jolley
SH-3A Sea King
UH-1H Iroquois
0H-6 Little Bird
A-37 Dragonfly
CH-47D Chinook

Applications

This gun is ideal for applications requiring a lightweight, highly reliable, low-maintenance weapon capable of firing up to 6,000spm depending on customer requirements.The 7.62mm Minigun has been utilised on wheeled vehicles, several helicopters and fixed wing aircraft and on naval craft. It is adaptable to pintle mounts, turrets, pods or internal aircraft installations.

Maintainance

Because the Minigun operates using a continuous rotary motion, system reliability is extremely high with an MRBF od 200,000 rounds. As an externally powered weapon, low maintenance is required, with scheduled servicing at 20,000 rounds and first scheduled parts replacement at 64,000 rounds.