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Bushmaster III | |
---|---|
Type | Automatic cannon |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 2008–present [1] |
Used by | Danish Defence, Armed forces of the Netherlands, Estonian Defence Forces |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Alliant Techsystems (now Northrop Grumman) |
Produced | 1998–present |
Specifications | |
Mass | Total: 480 lb (218 kg) Barrel: 250 lb (113 kg) |
Length | 158.19 in (4,018 mm) |
Shell | 35 × 228 mm 50 × 228 mm (XM913) 50 × 319 mm |
Caliber | 35 mm (1.4 in) |
Action | Chain gun: open bolt, forward ejection |
Rate of fire | Cyclic: 200 rounds/minute |
Muzzle velocity | 1,180 m (3,871 ft) /s |
Feed system | Dual linked and linkless, 24 volts |
The Bushmaster III is a 35 mm automatic/semi-automatic cannon designed and built by Alliant Techsystems, based on the 25 mm M242 Bushmaster. The weapon has been selected as primary armament for the CV9035 export versions of the CV90 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) currently in service with the Danish, Dutch and Estonian armies. [2] [3] The Bushmaster III is a chain gun, like the other members of the Bushmaster family, which grants it great dependability and safety from ammunition cook-off even though it does result in lower rates of fire. The caliber is the NATO standard 35×228 introduced by the Oerlikon KD in the 1950s.
The U.S. Army is testing the Bushmaster 50 mm cannon as a counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) and counter unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) weapon. Initially developed under the Extended Area Protection and Survivability Integrated Demonstration (EAPS ID), it fires a 50×319 mm cartridge and has been successfully tested in tracking distant moving targets using interferometric radar as a sensor, fire control computer, and radio frequency transmitter and receiver to launch a course-correcting projectile. The command guided interceptors have a thruster that receives commands for maneuvering and warhead detonation, with a tantalum-tungsten alloy liner to form forward propelled penetrators to defeat C-RAM targets, and steel body fragments to destroy UAVs. [4] [5] The systems can destroy UAVs at a range of 1 km (0.62 mi) and at a height of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). [6] Converting the Bushmaster III to the 50 mm version can be accomplished by changing the barrel and a few key parts allowing it to fire the SuperShot 50 cartridge. [7]
Separately, under the Army's Advanced Lethality and Accuracy System for Medium Caliber (ALAS-MC) effort, Northrop Grumman (which had acquired Alliant Techsystems) was contracted to develop a 50 mm derivative of the Bushmaster III called the XM913 for the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV), later designated the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle (MICV), that would replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Although a further evolution of the Bushmaster III, this weapon fires the 50×228 mm cartridge rather than the 50×319 mm SuperShot 50 cartridge of the previous up-gunned variant. Various rounds include the XM1203 armor piercing sabot round and XM1204 high explosive round with a programmable fuse including delay and airburst. [8] [9]
1 Includes gun barrel, drive motor, recoil system and integral dual feeder.
The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) is a family of Swedish tracked armoured combat vehicles designed by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), Hägglund & Söner and Bofors during the mid-1980s to early 1990s, before entering service in Sweden in the mid-1990s. The CV90 platform design has continuously evolved from the Mk 0 to the current Mk IV with technological advances and changing battlefield requirements.
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bullets) fired by a machine gun. Autocannons have a longer effective range and greater terminal performance than machine guns, due to the use of larger/heavier munitions, but are usually smaller than tank guns, howitzers, field guns, or other artillery. When used on its own, the word "autocannon" typically indicates a non-rotary weapon with a single barrel. When multiple rotating barrels are involved, such a weapon is referred to as a "rotary autocannon" or occasionally "rotary cannon", for short.
Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace and arms manufacturer headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia. The company operated across 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. ATK revenue in fiscal year 2014 was about US$4.8 billion.
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The M230 Cannon is a 30 mm (30×113 mm), single-barrel electrically-driven autocannon, using external electrical power to cycle the weapon between shots. It was designed and manufactured originally by Hughes Helicopters in Culver City, California. As of 2019, it is produced by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.
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Bushmaster may refer to:
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The Rheinmetall Mk 20 Rh-202 is a 20 mm caliber autocannon designed and produced by Rheinmetall. It fires the 20×139mm ammunition originally developed for the Hispano-Suiza HS.820.
The Protector RWS is a remotely controlled weapons station (RWS) that can be mounted to vehicles and stationary platforms. It has been in full scale production since December 2001. It is manufactured by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway.
The Shipunov 2A42 is a Soviet/Russian 30 mm autocannon. It is built by the Tulamashzavod Joint Stock Company and named after A. G. Shipunov.
The CM-32 "Clouded Leopard", officially Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle (TIFV), is an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle currently being produced for the Republic of China Army. It is based on the 6x6 CM-31 designed by Timoney Technology Limited of Ireland and is further developed by the Ordnance Readiness Development Center.
The M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK), formerly XM1156, is a U.S. Army-designed precision guidance system to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons. The prime contractor was Alliant Techsystems – later merging with Orbital Sciences Corporation to form Orbital ATK, in turn being taken over by Northrop Grumman and renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems – and the industry team includes Interstate Electronics Corporation. By April 2018, more than 25,000 PGKs had been produced.
Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (LCAAP) is a 3,935-acre (15.92 km2) U.S. government-owned, contractor-operated facility in northeastern Independence, Missouri. It produces ammunition for military and personal rifles.
RG41, is a South African 8x8 armored fighting vehicle (AFV) with mine resistant protection developed by Land Systems OMC, a subsidiary of BAE Systems. The RG41 was designed as an affordable modern AFV can be utilized in a variety of roles, including infantry section vehicle, a command vehicle, an ambulance, recovery vehicle and engineer vehicle. Its large payload capability allows additional armour to be added to the RG41 and a variety of weapon systems such as the Alliant Techsystems's 25mm M242 Bushmaster mounted in a tactical response turret, the TRT-25 remote weapon station (RWS).
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The Mark 38 25 mm machine gun system (MGS) is a shipboard weapon system designed to protect warships primarily from a variety of surface threats, especially small, fast surface craft. It consists of an M242 Bushmaster chain gun mounted on a turret that can be either manually or remote controlled, depending on variant. Originally designed by the United States in the 1980s for use on their warships, the Mark 38 is today in service on warships of various NATO countries.