AERIAL ARMORY

It was the gun which led the way in abn weaponry to be followed by the bomb and abn rkt. Over the years, however, these simple categories have become more complex and developments have produced precision-guided wpns and submunition dispensers, overflight and stand-off wpns.

Guns

About the only wpn which has remained, essentially, the same is the abn gun, which reigned supreme as the principal ftr wpn until the mid-1950s, when the first air-to-air msls (AAMs) entered service. Such were the advances that by the mid-1960s, several major nations had entirely abandoned the abn gun in air def acft. Yet from the reality of modern air cbt in the late-1960s, the lessons of history were re-learnt and guns rapidly re-introduced. The resurgence was led by General Electric's 20 mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. This wpn was rapidly integrated on board a Phantom and has been on virtually every major US ftr since. Of course, the M61 is not the only GE product. The company produces a wide range of abn wpns varying from 30 mm down to 7.62 mm with the rate of fire from 300 up to 6000 rd/min that can be selected by the gnr.

Lighter wpns, including pintle- and pod-mounted machine guns, are used on hels. They can also be installed in chin turrets and are available in single- to six-barrel forms.

Fixed-wing acft can carry heavier cannon than the average hel, but firing opportunities are generally restricted in duration. Number of barrels is usually from five to seven.