Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30

Infobox Weapon
name= Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30


caption=
origin=flagcountry|Soviet Union
type=Gatling gun
is_ranged=yes
service=
used_by=
wars=
designer=
design_date=1970s
manufacturer=
unit_cost=
production_date=
number=
variants=
spec_label=
weight=149 kg (328 lb)
390 g (13¾ oz) — projectile
length=2040 mm
part_length=
width=
height=
diameter=
crew=
cartridge=30x165 mm
caliber=30 mm (1.18 in)
barrels=6
action=Gas actuated, electrically fired
rate=6000 rounds/min
velocity=845 m/s (2770 ft/s)
range=
max_range=
feed=
sights=

The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30 is a Russian 30 mm cannon used by Soviet and later CIS military aircraft.

The GSh-6-30, designed in the early 1970s and entering service in 1975, is a six-barreled Gatling gun similar in design to the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23. It was based on the naval AO-18 used in the AK-630 system. [ [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/GSh-6-30.htm ] ] Unlike most modern American rotary cannons, it is gas-operated rather than electric, allowing it to "spin up" to maximum rate of fire more quickly, allowing more rounds to be placed on target in a short-duration burst. Ignition is electrical, as with the smaller GSh-6-23.

The GSh-6-30 fires a 30x165 mm round with a hard-hitting 390 g (13¾ oz) projectile. With such a high rate of fire, it is a potentially devastating weapon, although its tactical usefulness is restricted by ammunition supply. That limitation may be why the cannon has seen few aircraft applications.

The principal application for the GSh-6-30 is the MiG-27 'Flogger,' which carries the weapon in a gondola under the fuselage, primarily for strafing and ground attack. It was fitted to prototype Su-25T aircraft, but subsequently replaced with the GSh-30-2 twin-barreled cannon of the original Su-25. It is also used as the gun component of the CADS-N-1 Kashtan air defense weapon.

External links

* [http://www.kbptula.ru/rus/str/cannons/gsh6_30.htm KBP Instrument Design Bureau]