The latest domestic Gatling gun will be equipped soon

The latest domestically produced Gatling gun will soon be equipped

Many military fans have a soft spot for the Gatling gun, with its sci-fi and handsome appearance, powerful and shocking firepower. It can be called the star of vehicle-mounted weapons. In fact, the Gatling gun is a very old automatic weapon invented by an American military doctor named Richard Jordan Gatling, and entered China in the 13th year of Tongzhi. After the 1950s, in order to increase the rate of fire of machine guns, the United States began to apply its principles to modern machine guns. The most famous of these is the U.S. Air Force's 20mm Vulcan cannon. Due to the extremely poor reliability of the first-generation air-to-air missiles, the US military had to reinstall the cannon on the aircraft. A large number of US military fighter jets were shot down during the Vietnam War, and many cannon samples were obtained by Chinese military personnel, so China is no stranger to this cannon. But for many years, for unknown reasons, there have been basically no Gatling guns in the Chinese army. Only the Navy's close-in defense artillery uses the Gatling principle.

In fact, many Chinese companies have displayed Gatling guns at previous air shows and security shows, showing that Chinese manufacturers are fully capable of processing such sophisticated weapons. Therefore, the key link is whether the military has actual needs, or which platforms are most suitable for equipment. CCTV recently reported on the two latest Gatling-type machine guns in a video news, which may mean that these two machine guns will enter service in the Chinese army. One of the two weapons displayed in the news is a 6-barrel 7.62mm model with a maximum rate of fire of up to 3,000 rounds per minute, a common rate of fire of 2,500 rounds per minute, and an effective range of 1,000 meters. However, China has basically canceled the 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun. In the future, China will follow the world trend and develop an 8.6mm machine gun. Therefore the issue of ammunition needs to be considered. But this machine gun has appeared on the official website of Norinco, which means that the gun has matured and is being exported. After completing the development of this gun, engineers began the development of a new 3-barrel 12.7 mm Gatling gun. The 12.7mm version has more powerful power and is more lethal to lightly armored targets, civil fortifications, and brick wall targets.

With the development of the times and changes in our military's combat situation and goals, our three armed forces are now beginning to have a demand for Gatling guns. After China completed the development of the Z-20 helicopter after untold hardships, China can finally improve its fully airborne troops and revolutionize the rapid assault capabilities of its infantry units. But this also means that the airborne team members riding the Z-20 will risk landing in the enemy's controlled area, and they cannot predict the opponent's counterattack capability when they land. Therefore, it is necessary for the Z-20 to carry a door machine gun in the future, and China currently does not have a truly suitable door machine gun. The volume and size of the six-barreled 7.62 mm Gatling gun are just right for the Z-20. After acquiring this gun, the Z-20 will have powerful ground suppression firepower and will no longer be afraid of small groups of soldiers on the ground. It will become the Z-20 Personal bodyguard.

The Chinese Navy now has to undertake a large number of overseas peacekeeping and escort missions. Whether it is ship-based helicopters, rigid inflatable boats, or even large ships, they all need defensive machine guns. The old-fashioned machine guns currently used by the Navy cannot meet the requirements in terms of accuracy and rate of fire. In order to cope with more complex struggles in the future, the Navy is also in urgent need of Gatling guns.

The Chinese Air Force’s airborne troops are equipped with a large number of light combat vehicles. Recently, a new four-wheeled enclosed armored vehicle has even entered service with the airborne troops. Due to the requirement of airdrop and parachute landing, the light armored vehicle of the airborne troops cannot have a high combat weight. Therefore, its carrying capacity is insufficient and it cannot carry large-caliber weapons. The Gatling gun weighs only a few dozen kilograms. For example, the current test platform for the newly developed 3-tube 12.7 mm model is a light armored vehicle. With such powerful weapons, the airborne troops will not be afraid of the enemy's siege after landing.

The biggest difficulty with the Gatling gun is the processing accuracy. Due to the high rate of fire, it is very easy for the barrel to jam when it rotates at high speed. The Chinese design team spent a lot of time solving this problem and finally achieved extremely high reliability.

"Gatling with blue fire" will not just be a joke among netizens, it will truly add to the firepower of the Chinese army.