Warfare Equipment

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. 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 30×165 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.

On the MiG-27 the Gsh-6-30 had to be mounted obliquely to absorb recoil (5,500 kg). The gun was noted for its high (often uncomfortable) vibration and extreme noise. The airframe vibration lead to fatigue cracks in fuel tanks, numerous radio and avionics failures, the necessity of using runways with floodlights for night flights (as the landing lights would often be destroyed), tearing or jamming of the forward landing gear doors (leading to at least three crash landings), cracking of the reflector gunsight, an accidental jettisoning of the cockpit canopy and at least one case of the instrument panel falling off in flight. The number of fragments from detonating shells was sufficient to damage aircraft firing (or flying) within 200 metres of the impact area.

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 some Su-25TM 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.

SCREENSHOOT

Type	Gatling gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1964-present
Specifications
Weight	149 kg (328 lb) Projectile: 390 g (13¾ oz)
Length	2040 mm
Cartridge	30×165 mm
Caliber	30 mm (1.18 in)
Barrels	6
Action	Gas actuated, electrically fired
Rate of fire	4000–6000 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	845 m/s (2770 ft/s)