PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Is the RAF "anti-cannon" ?
View Single Post
Old 22nd Oct 2014, 12:28
  #22 (permalink)  
LowObservable
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Far West Wessex
Posts: 2,580
Received 4 Likes on 2 Posts
Good points, Engines.

To which I would add that the switch from 27 mm Mauser to 25 mm Gatling came at a point where LM was blithely and quite inaccurately convinced that they had weight to burn. Plus, as mentioned, the LCC issues of bringing a new caliber into the system. However it turns out that the 25 needs a new round to deliver A-G and A-A effects without using depleted uranium. Oh well, it's only the taxpayer's money.

Also, as Engines notes, tests of integrated fire/flight control in the 1980s showed higher gun lethality. The Sovs were on this earlier and consequently both cut down the number of rounds and reverted to a non-revolver cannon on the Su family (GSh-301 and 150 rounds, 2800 ft/sec MV). However, it was not fully recognized when the F-22 design was set.

Sticking a Gatling in or on a stealth aircraft is about the most expensive way to go - but that's where we are.
LowObservable is offline