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52-471: The weapons system itself consists of two 35 mm (1.38 inch) revolver cannons with a rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute, a fire control system made up of a sensor unit and a detached command post. The Skyshield can use up to two surface-to-air missile 8-cell modules for an expanded air defense capability. The Skyshield is designed for traditional anti-aircraft roles in addition to defense against missiles (see anti-ballistic missile ). The Skyshield

104-411: A machine gun . Autocannons have a longer effective range and greater terminal performance than machine guns, due to the use of larger/heavier munitions (most often in the range of 20–60 mm (0.79–2.36 in), but bigger calibers also exist), but are usually smaller than tank guns , howitzers , field guns , or other artillery . When used on its own, the word "autocannon" typically indicates

156-518: A 6000 rpm 7.62 mm aircraft machine gun using revolver design, called SIBEMAS (СИБЕМАС), but this was abandoned. It was not until the mid-1940s that the first practical revolver cannon emerged. The archetypal revolver cannon is the Mauser MK 213 from World War II, from which almost all current weapons are derived. However, various problems, such as only moderate improvements in rate of fire and muzzle velocity, coupled with excessive barrel wear, and

208-454: A C2 network with different weapons. Each Skynex system comprises four Revolver Gun Mk3 cannons, a CN-1 control node, and an X-TAR3D radar all mounted on HX trucks . Planned for delivery at the beginning of 2024, the delivery of the first was announced on 4 January 2024. In April, Germany delivered the second Skynex system to Ukraine. Revolver cannon A revolver cannon is a type of autocannon , commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses

260-411: A German government spokesman said that Rheinmetall would provide two Skynex systems to Ukraine as part of assistance during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . Valued at approximately €182 million ($ 192 million), Germany would pay for the cost involved. The Skynex air defense system is based on a concept that keeps airspace surveillance separate from the effectors, only requiring a tracking unit to link

312-598: A consequence, fighters at the time had cannons added back in external "gun pods", and virtually all fighter aircraft retain autocannons in integral internal mounts to this day. After the Second World War, autocannons continued to serve as a versatile weapon in land, sea, and air applications. Examples of modern autocannons include the 25 mm Oerlikon KBA mounted on the IFV Freccia , the M242 Bushmaster mounted on

364-401: A cylinder with multiple chambers, similar to those of a revolver handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, to further speed the loading process. Unlike a rotary cannon , a revolver cannon only has a single barrel, so its spun weight is lower. Automatic revolver cannons have been produced by many different manufacturers. An early precursor was

416-586: A modern autocannon ranges from 90 rounds per minute , in the case of the British RARDEN, to 2,500 rounds per minute with the GIAT 30 . Rotary systems with multiple barrels can achieve over 10,000 rounds per minute (the Russian GSh-6-23 , for example). Such extremely high rates of fire are effectively employed by aircraft in aerial dogfights and close air support on ground targets via strafing attacks, where

468-660: A new generation of weapons developed, based on the proposed NATO 25 mm caliber standard and the Mauser 27 mm round. A leading example is the Mauser BK-27 . In the 1980s, the French developed the GIAT 30 , a newer generation power-driven revolver cannon. The Rheinmetall RMK30 modifies the GIAT system further, by venting the gas to the rear to eliminate recoil. Larger experimental weapons have also been developed for anti-aircraft use, like

520-625: 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 (particularly on aircraft). Autocannons are heavy weapons that are unsuitable for use by infantry . Due to the heavy weight and recoil , they are typically installed on fixed mounts , wheeled carriages , ground combat vehicles , aircraft , or watercraft , and are almost always crew-served , or even remote-operated with automatic target recognition / acquisition (e.g. sentry guns and naval CIWS ). As such, ammunition

572-414: A part of German Army's future "SysFla" air defence program. A mobile version called Oerlikon Skyranger 35 has been demonstrated with the turret fitted to a Boxer armoured fighting vehicle . In March 2014, Rheinmetall signed a contract with South Africa to modernize the country's existing SHORAD systems. The contract encompassed the supply of Oerlikon Skyshield fire control units to substantially improve

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624-572: A rate of fire of up to 10,000 rounds per minute (such as the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23 ), while revolver cannons are capable of a rate of fire of up to 2,500 rounds per minute (such as the GIAT 30 ). However, revolver cannons are generally able to be made much lighter than rotary autocannons, requiring less support and mounting hardware—rotary autocannons spin the whole multiple barrel and breech assembly, which, in equal caliber versions, can weigh hundreds of kilograms more in comparison (though

676-465: A rate of over 200 rounds a minute: much faster than conventional artillery while possessing a much longer range and more firepower than the infantry rifle . In 1913, Reinhold Becker and his Stahlwerke Becker firm designed the 20mm Becker cannon , addressing the German Empire 's perceived need for heavy-calibre aircraft armament. The Imperial Government's Spandau Arsenal assisted them in perfecting

728-492: A role to which they were suited as tank armour is often lightest on top. The Polish 20 mm 38 Fk auto cannon was expensive to produce, but an exception. Unlike the Oerlikon, it was effective against all the tanks fielded in 1939, largely because it was built as an upgrade to the Oerlikon, Hispano-Suiza, and Madsen. It even proved capable of knocking out early Panzer IIIs and IVs, albeit with great difficulty. Only 55 were produced by

780-524: A short period of time. The development of guided missiles was thought to render cannons unnecessary and a full generation of western fighter aircraft was built without them. In contrast, all Eastern Bloc aircraft kept their guns. During the Vietnam War , however, the United States Air Force realized that cannons were useful for firing warning shots and for attacking targets that did not warrant

832-532: A single barrel mated to a cylinder with multiple chambers, this type of autocannon uses the revolver principle to accelerate the cycle of loading, firing and ejecting multiple rounds of ammunition, achieving a very high rate of fire compared to conventional cannon of the same calibre. Automatic revolver cannons generally have a lower maximum sustained rate of fire than that of rotary cannons because their barrel suffers from much higher heating loads, as it alone must fire every round. Rotary autocannons are capable of

884-407: A single cannon shell with a high-explosive payload could instantly sever essential structural elements, penetrate armour or open up a fuel tank beyond the capacity of self-sealing compounds to counter, even from fairly long range. (Instead of explosives, such shells could carry incendiaries, also highly effective at destroying planes, or a combination of explosives and incendiaries.) Thus by the end of

936-418: A varying speed. As a result of their design, revolver cannons lack these issues altogether. Autocannon An autocannon , automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large- caliber (20 mm/0.79 in or more) armour-piercing , explosive or incendiary shells , as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles ( bullets ) fired by

988-524: Is deployed by trucks and other transportation systems. The fire control system (FCS) uses an X-band search and tracking radar X-TAR-3D , and another unit for radar/TV and/or laser/ FLIR precision tracking. The command post can be placed up to 500 meters, roughly, from the fire control unit (FCU), using encrypted radio-waves. The Skyshield system can be networked with other air defense systems for wider and more effective air coverage, expanding its roles from point defense to area defense . Radars for

1040-407: Is regarded as the archetypal modern revolver cannon . With multiple chambers and a single barrel, autocannons using the revolver principle can combine a very high rate of fire and high acceleration to its maximum firing rate with low weight, at cost of a reduced sustained rate of fire compared to rotary cannon. They are therefore used mainly in aircraft for AA purposes, in which a target is visible for

1092-458: Is typically fed from a belt system to reduce reloading pauses or for a faster rate of fire , but magazines remain an option. Common types of ammunition, among a wide variety, include HEIAP , HEDP and more specialised armour-piercing (AP) munitions, mainly composite rigid ( APCR ) and discarding sabot ( APDS ) rounds. Capable of generating extremely rapid firepower , autocannons overheat quickly if used for sustained fire, and are limited by

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1144-564: The ADEN and DEFA , respectively. Switzerland produced the Oerlikon KCA . The American M39 cannon used the 20 mm version, re-chambered for a slightly longer 102 mm cartridge, intermediate between the MK 213's 82 mm and Hispano-Suiza HS.404 's 110 mm case lengths. Several generations of the basic ADEN/DEFA weapons followed, remaining largely unchanged into the 1970s. Around that time,

1196-740: The Maxim gun and the Browning gun were peaking in popularity. In 1932, the Soviet ShKAS machine gun , 7.62 mm calibre aircraft ordnance used a twelve-round capacity, revolver-style feed mechanism with a single barrel and single chamber, to achieve firing rates of well over 1800 rounds per minute, and as high as 3,000 rounds per minute in special test versions in 1939, all operating from internal gas-operated reloading . Some 150,000 ShKAS weapons were produced for arming Soviet military aircraft through 1945. Around 1935, Silin , Berezin and Morozenko worked on

1248-562: The Messerschmitt 410 Hornisse (Hornet) bomber destroyer. 300 examples of the BK 5 cannon were built, more than all other versions. The PaK 40 semi-automatic 7.5 cm calibre anti-tank gun was the basis for the BK 7,5 in the Junkers Ju 88 P-1 heavy fighter and Henschel Hs 129 B-3 twin engined ground attack aircraft. The German Mauser MK 213 was developed at the end of the Second World War and

1300-629: The Oerlikon 20 mm , the Bofors 40 mm and various German Rheinmetall autocannons would see widespread use by both sides during the Second World War; not only in an anti-aircraft role, but as a weapon for use against ground targets as well. Heavier anti-aircraft cannon had difficulty tracking fast-moving aircraft and were unable to accurately judge altitude or distance, while machine guns possessed insufficient range and firepower to bring down aircraft consistently. Continued ineffectiveness against aircraft despite

1352-537: The Puckle gun of 1718, a large flintlock revolver gun, manually operated. The design idea was impractical, far ahead of what 18th century technology could achieve. During the 19th century, Elisha Collier and later Samuel Colt used the revolver action to revolutionize handguns . William A. Alexander of Mobile, Alabama invented a Rapid Firing Cannon Gun made from a design by Captain Weingard, both of whom also helped build

1404-538: The Anglo-Swiss twin barrel but single chamber 42 mm Oerlikon RK 421 given the code name "Red King" and the related single-barrel "Red Queen" - all of which were cancelled during development. The largest to see service is the Rheinmetall Millennium 35 mm Naval Gun System . Soviet revolver cannon are less common than Western ones, especially on aircraft. A mechanism for a Soviet revolver-based machine gun

1456-631: The H.L. Hunley submarine. The gun was the prototype for the Gatling Gun. It was made in Mobile, Alabama and was the first to be used in the defense of Mobile. When the Confederates had to evacuate Mobile, they placed it on the ship the Magnolia to be shipped further inward for use upriver. The Union was gaining on them so to keep it out of their clutches they pushed it overboard into the river. The Union discovered

1508-635: The Skyshield. Rheinmetall is believed to have received a contract in October 2019 worth around €210 million (US$ 204 million) for an unspecified number of Skymasters, radars, and guns including AHEAD programmable air-bursting ammunition that is effective against small targets out to a range of 4 km. Video released by the Qatari Ministry of Defence showed eight 35 mm Revolver Gun Mk3s and one X-TAR3D target acquisition and tracking radar. On 9 December 2022,

1560-518: The acquisition and tracking of air and surface targets, named Oerlikon Tracking Module TMX Mk2 and TMKu Mk2 , operated in X and Ku band respectively. A modified and improved version of Skyshield with six fully automated turrets, dubbed MANTIS (Modular, Automatic and Network capable Targeting and Interception System) was ordered by the German Army as a stationary base defence system. Two systems were delivered in 2011, with more orders being planned as

1612-509: The amount of ammunition that can be carried by the weapons systems mounting them. Both the US 25 mm M242 Bushmaster and the British 30 mm RARDEN have relatively slow rates of fire so as not to deplete ammunition too quickly. The Oerlikon KBA 25 mm has a relatively mid-high rate of fire 650 rounds per minute but can be electronically programmed to 175-200 rounds per minute. The rate of fire of

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1664-553: The earlier phases of the war, the Japanese aircraft they dealt with were not only unusually lightly built but went without either armour plate or self-sealing tanks in order to reduce their weight. Nevertheless, the U.S. also adopted planes fitted with autocannon, such as the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, despite experiencing technical difficulties with developing and manufacturing these large-calibre automatic guns. Weapons such as

1716-515: The effects of the Allied bombing campaign against German industry, meant that at the end of the war only five prototypes (V1 to V5) of either 20 mm MG 213 or 30 mm MK 213 were finished. In the immediate post-war era the unfinished weapon, and the engineers who worked on it, were seized by the Allies to continue development; Both the British and French worked on the 30 mm versions of the MK 213, producing

1768-412: The end of 1915 , almost entirely replaced wood and fabric biplanes . At the same time as they began to be made from stronger materials, the machines also increased in speed, streamlining, power and size, and it began to be apparent that correspondingly more powerful weapons would be needed to counter them. Conversely, they were becoming much better able to carry exactly such larger and more powerful guns;

1820-464: The expenditure of a (much more expensive) missile, and, more importantly, as an additional weapon if the aircraft had expended all its missiles or enemy aircraft were inside of the missiles' minimum target acquisition range in a high-G close range engagement. This was particularly important with the lower reliability of early air-to-air missile technology, such as that employed during the Vietnam War. As

1872-576: The fuselage or wings. The 37 mm BK 3,7 cannon, based on the German Army's 3.7 cm FlaK 43 anti-aircraft autocannon was mounted in pairs in underwing gun pods on a small number of specialized Stuka Panzerknacker (tank buster) aircraft. The BK 5 cm cannon , based on the 5 cm KwK 39 cannon of the Panzer III , was installed in Ju 88P bomber destroyers , which also used other Bordkanone models, and in

1924-520: The gun under the water and fished it out. In 1864 Alexander was called back to Mobile, AL. from Charleston, SC. To build one of his Rapid Firing Gun. The Confederate States of America used a single 2-inch, 5-shot revolver cannon with manually rotated chambers during the Siege of Petersburg . The gun was captured in Danville, Virginia by Union forces on April 27, 1865. The Hotchkiss revolving cannon of

1976-483: The guns in aircraft failed, as the weight severely limited both speed and altitude, thus making successful interception impossible. The more effective QF 2 pounder naval gun would be developed during the war to serve as an anti-aircraft and close range defensive weapon for naval vessels. Autocannons would serve to a much greater extent and effect during the Second World War . The German Panzer II light tank, which

2028-427: The introduction of self sealing fuel tanks provided reliable protection against these small projectiles. These new defenses, synergistically with the general robustness of new aircraft designs and of course their sheer speed, which made simply shooting them accurately in the first place far more difficult, entailed that it took a lot of such bullets and a fair amount of luck to cause them critical damage; but potentially

2080-466: The large numbers installed during the second World War led, in the West, to the removal of almost all shipboard anti-aircraft weapons in the early post-war period. This was only reversed with the introduction of computer-controlled systems. The German Luftwaffe deployed small numbers of the experimental Bordkanone series of heavy aircraft cannon in 37, 50 and 75 mm calibres, mounted in gun pods under

2132-407: The late 19th century was not a revolver cannon in the modern sense but was rather a Rotary cannon , with multiple barrel allowing for feeding and extraction operations in parallel in different barrels. In 1905, C. M. Clarke patented the first fully automatic, gas-operated rotary chamber gun, but his design was ignored at the time. Clarke's patent came as reciprocating -action automatic weapons like

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2184-569: The ordnance. Although only about 500+ examples of the original Becker design were made during World War I, the design's patent was acquired by the Swiss Oerlikon Contraves firm in 1924, with the Third Reich's Ikaria-Werke firm of Berlin using Oerlikon design patents in creating the MG FF wingmount cannon ordnance. The Imperial Japanese Navy 's Type 99 cannon , adopted and produced in 1939,

2236-488: The performance and accuracy of South Africa's existing twin-gun systems, as well as significantly expand the operational spectrum of its air defence capabilities. South Africa currently operates 102 GDF-002 and 48 modified GDF-005 units. In this context, a number of the twin-gun systems will also be retrofitted with upgrade kits to accommodate Rheinmetall's state-of-the-art AHEAD anti-missile programmable ammunition including logistics and training services. The complete package

2288-507: The target dwell time is short and weapons are typically operated in brief bursts. The first modern autocannon was the British QF 1-pounder , also known as the "pom-pom". This was essentially an enlarged version of the Maxim gun , which was the first successful fully automatic machine gun, requiring no outside stimulus in its firing cycle other than holding the trigger. The pom-pom fired 1 pound (0.45 kg) gunpowder-filled explosive shells at

2340-451: The technology of which was in the meantime also developing, providing significantly improved rates of fire and reliability. When the Second World War did break out, it was swiftly realised that the power of contemporary aircraft allowed armour plate to be fitted to protect the pilot and other vulnerable areas. This innovation proved highly effective against rifle-calibre machine gun rounds, which tended to ricochet off harmlessly. Similarly

2392-616: The time of the Polish Defensive War. However it was in the air war that these weapons played their most important part in the conflict. During the First World War, rifle-calibre machine guns became the standard weapons of military aircraft. In the Second, several factors brought about their replacement by autocannon. During the inter-war years, aircraft underwent extensive evolution and the all-metal monoplane , pioneered as far back as

2444-655: The war, the fighter aircraft of almost all the belligerents mounted cannon of some sort, the only exception being the United States which in most cases favoured the Browning AN/M2 "light-barrel" .50 calibre heavy machine gun . A fighter equipped with these intermediate weapons in sufficient numbers was adequately armed to fulfill most of the Americans' combat needs aloft, as they tended to confront enemy fighters and other small planes far more often than large bombers; and as, in

2496-441: The weight per rounds fired is lower for the rotary). The firing rate of a rotary autocannon is directly related to the rotational speed of the barrel cluster. The need to accelerate this cluster generally requiring a large, external power supply means that the maximum attainable rate of fire is not immediately available. In addition, rotaries suffer from lower accuracy, a consequence of dispersion caused by multiple barrels rotating at

2548-719: Was also based on the Becker/Oerlikon design's principles. During the First World War , autocannons were mostly used in the trenches as anti-aircraft guns . The British used pom-pom guns as part of their air defences to counter the German Zeppelin airships that made regular bombing raids on London . However, they were of little value, as their shells neither ignited the hydrogen of the Zeppelins nor caused sufficient loss of gas (and hence lift) to bring them down. Attempts to use

2600-580: Was one of the most numerous in German service during the invasion of Poland and the campaign in France , used a 20 mm autocannon as its main armament. Although ineffective against tank armour even during the early years of the war, the cannon was effective against light-skinned vehicles as well as infantry and was also used by armoured cars . Larger examples, such as the 40 mm Vickers S , were mounted in ground attack aircraft to serve as an anti-tank weapon,

2652-561: Was patented in 1944. The virtually unknown Rikhter R-23 was fitted only to some Tu-22 models, but later abandoned in favor of the two-barrel, Gast gun Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 in the Tu-22M . The Rikhter R-23 does have the distinction of being fired from the space station Salyut 3 . The Soviet navy has also adopted a revolver design, the NN-30, typically in a dual mount in the AK-230 turret. With

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2704-660: Was scheduled for completion by 2017. Indonesia operated four units of the Skyshield in 2017, and signed a second contract for additional eleven more units in 2017 but effective only in November 2018 due to funding issues. In October 2022, the Qatar Emiri Air Defence Forces revealed they had procured the Skynex, a modular air defense architecture centered around the Skymaster battle management system that can link components of

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