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Navy Eyes Apache Helo's Guns for Use at Sea
The Navy is looking at arming its patrol boats and helicopters with the same withering firepower carried aboard the Army's AH-64 Apache gunship helicopters.
ATK Armament Systems has modified its venerable M230 30mm chain gun to give naval forces a more potent alternative to the .50 caliber machine gun.
For years, the Navy has admired the Apache's powerful, nose-mounted 30mm cannon, but the Navy's strict safety guidelines make the M230's electrically-primed firing system unsafe for use aboard surface vessels.
As a potential solution, the Navy awarded ATK a contract roughly two years ago to develop a version of the M230 with a more traditional, percussion-primed system.
The new M230LF is still an electrically powered chain gun, capable of firing the potent 30mm ammunition at a rate of 200 rounds per minute.
Navy Eyes Apache Helo's Guns for Use at Sea
The Navy is looking at arming its patrol boats and helicopters with the same withering firepower carried aboard the Army's AH-64 Apache gunship helicopters.
ATK Armament Systems has modified its venerable M230 30mm chain gun to give naval forces a more potent alternative to the .50 caliber machine gun.
For years, the Navy has admired the Apache's powerful, nose-mounted 30mm cannon, but the Navy's strict safety guidelines make the M230's electrically-primed firing system unsafe for use aboard surface vessels.
As a potential solution, the Navy awarded ATK a contract roughly two years ago to develop a version of the M230 with a more traditional, percussion-primed system.
The new M230LF is still an electrically powered chain gun, capable of firing the potent 30mm ammunition at a rate of 200 rounds per minute.
Navy Eyes Apache Helo's Guns for Use at Sea
