Could the GAU-8 be turned into a 40mm?

[UCAS]

Super 40 - 40x180mm. Width and length compatible with 30x173mm.

 

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2012armaments/Thursday14074reynolds.pdf

[Fjordmonkey]

I don't really think we'll see a rotary 40mm gun-system for use in aircraft, due to the size of the gun itself (remember, the gun-assembly without ammo-drum and feed on the GAU-8 is 2.85m long and weighs about 281kg), the size of the recoil-dampening systems that would have to be in place, weight of a sufficient ammo-load and the recoil that sustained fire of such a system would kick out. The GAU-8 kicks out something like 45kN of recoil when it fires, and I don't really want to know what a 2-second burst of a rotary 40mm would do :p

[OutOnTheOP]

Well, you could always have a higher caliber with lower rate of fire... and theoretically it IS possible to scale up the gun. Look at the Henschel Hs129B-3; they took an underpowered radial-engine driven WWII attack aircraft, and strapped a high-velocity 75mm tank cannon on it, and that worked.

 

Not saying it's practical, and particularly not on today's battlefield; any role that kind of cannon could fill would probably better be filled by ATGMs.

[Fjordmonkey]

Well, you could always have a higher caliber with lower rate of fire... and theoretically it IS possible to scale up the gun. Look at the Henschel Hs129B-3; they took an underpowered radial-engine driven WWII attack aircraft, and strapped a high-velocity 75mm tank cannon on it, and that worked.

 

This is true, but then you might as well just strap one single-barrel 40mm Bushmaster or two 30mm Bushmasters onto the aircraft instead, and save yourself both the hassle with size and recoil that a 40mm rotary would introduce and the costs of developing that weapon.

 

Not saying it's practical, and particularly not on today's battlefield; any role that kind of cannon could fill would probably better be filled by ATGMs.

 

True, apart from the whole shock&awe-factor. I'd be pretty scared if it started raining ATGM's, but I'd forcefully eject my guts through the pooper if it started raining 3000 rounds per minute of 40mike :D

 

As a side-note, the new version of the Spooky, the AC-130J, will have only a single 30mm Bushmaster-cannon, but also have Griffin and Viper Strike-missiles in combination with a very extensive avionics-package.

[UCAS]

I don't really think we'll see a rotary 40mm gun-system for use in aircraft, due to the size of the gun itself (remember, the gun-assembly without ammo-drum and feed on the GAU-8 is 2.85m long and weighs about 281kg), the size of the recoil-dampening systems that would have to be in place, weight of a sufficient ammo-load and the recoil that sustained fire of such a system would kick out. The GAU-8 kicks out something like 45kN of recoil when it fires, and I don't really want to know what a 2-second burst of a rotary 40mm would do :p

The super 40 barrel is the same length as the 30mm barrel and the round fits in the same belt as the 30mm, with the same maximum width and height. Only weight increases. perhaps something like 2 KCA revolver cannon with a combined 2700rpm and instant spool up would be better. They'd probably fire the same number of rounds in the first second of fire.

Edited June 17, 2013 by UCAS