Check Out The Awesomeness Of This .50 Cal Minigun From General Dynamics

Terrorist Killer US Military GAU 19B 50 Cal Gatling Gun

 

 

 

Published on Oct 27, 2014

” Another great weapon for the US military and us army. Could prove useful in combating terrorists in Iraq and Syria. The GECAL 50, officially designated by the United States military as the GAU-19/A, is an electrically driven Gatling gun that fires the .50 BMG (12.7×99mm) cartridge.

Technical specifications

  The GAU-19/A is designed for a linkless feed, but can be fed from a standard M9 linked belt if a delinker feeder is used. The rate of fire is selectable to be either 1,000 or 2,000 rounds per minute. The Humvee armament kit version fires at 1,300 rounds per minute. The average recoil force when firing is 500 pounds-force (2.2 kN). In January 2012, General Dynamics announced they would be delivering a new version designated the GAU-19/B. It provides the same firepower in a lighter platform, weighing 106 lbs.[1]
History

  The GECAL 50 was first manufactured by General Electric, then by Lockheed Martin, and now by General Dynamics. Design work began in 1982. Early prototypes had six barrels, but a three-barreled configuration is now standard. The GAU-19/A was originally designed as a larger, more potent version of the M134 Minigun. Due to the loss of nine helicopters in Grenada GE started building prototypes of the weapon in both a three-barreled and a six-barreled configuration. The six-barreled version was designed to fire 4,000 rpm, and could be adapted to fire up to 8,000 rpm. The GAU-19 takes 0.4 seconds to reach maximum firing rate.[2] Soon it was recommended as a potential armament for the V-22 Osprey.[3] The magazine would be located underneath the cabin floor and could be reloaded in-flight. However, plans to mount the gun were later dropped.[4] In 2005, the GAU-19/A was approved to be mounted on the OH-58D Kiowa helicopter. It also could have been used on the Army’s now cancelled ARH-70.[5] In January 2012, the U.S. Army ordered 24 GAU-19/B versions for use on helicopters. All were delivered by the next month.[1]

  In 1999, the United States sent 28 GAU-19s to Colombia.[6] Oman is known to use the GAU-19/A mounted on their HMMWVs. The navy of Mexico uses MDH MD-902 series helicopters with the GAU-19/A system mounted for anti-narcotics operations.[7]
Users

Colombia: Used by Drug Enforcement troops, and the Colombian national police
Japan: Used by Japan Coast Guard, on PC Kagayuki class
Mexico: Used by the Mexican Air Force and the Mexican Navy in Humvees, UH-60 Black Hawks and the MD Explorer
Oman: Used on Army HMMWV.
United States
Gatling Gun History

  The Gatling gun is one of the best-known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. Invented by Richard Gatling, it is known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat. Later it was used in the Boshin War, the Anglo-Zulu War and still later in the assault on San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.[1]

  The Gatling gun’s operation centered on a cyclic multi-barrel design which facilitated cooling and synchronized the firing/reloading sequence. Each barrel fired a single shot when it reached a certain point in the cycle, after which it ejected the spent cartridge, loaded a new round, and in the process, allowed the barrel to cool somewhat. This configuration allowed higher rates of fire to be achieved without the barrel overheating.
History

Patent drawing for R.J. Gatling’s Battery Gun, 9 May 1865.

  The Gatling gun was designed by the American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861 and patented on November 4, 1862.[2][3] Gatling wrote that he created it to reduce the size of armies and so reduce the number of deaths by combat and disease, and to show how futile war is.[4]
Although the first Gatling gun was capable of firing continuously, it required a person to crank it; therefore it was not a true automatic weapon. The Maxim gun, invented in 1884, was the first true fully automatic weapon, making use of the fired projectile’s recoil force to reload the weapon. Nonetheless, the Gatling gun represented a huge leap in firearm technology.

  Prior to the Gatling gun, the only weapons available to militaries capable of firing many projectiles in a short space of time were mass-firing volley weapons like the French Reffye mitrailleuse in 1870–1871, or field cannons firing canister, much like a very large shotgun. The latter were widely used during and after the Napoleonic Wars. Although the maximum rate of fire was increased by firing multiple projectiles simultaneously, these weapons still needed to be reloaded after each discharge, which for multi-barrel systems like the mitrailleuse was cumbersome and time-consuming. This negated much of the advantage of their high rate of fire per discharge, making them much less powerful on the battlefield. In comparison, the Gatling gun offered a rapid and continuous rate of fire without having to manually reload by opening the breech.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DoD Fakes Arrival Ceremonies Of Recovered Remains

JPAC Admits To Phony Ceremonies Honoring ‘Returning’ Remains

 

 

” The Department of Defense unit charged with recovering servicemembers’ remains abroad has been holding phony “arrival ceremonies” for seven years, with an honor guard carrying flag-draped coffins off of a cargo plane as though they held the remains returning that day from old battlefields.

The Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday that no honored dead were in fact arriving, and that the planes used in the ceremonies often couldn’t even fly, and were towed into position. The story was first reported on nbcnews.com.

The ceremonies at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii are held up as a sign of the nation’s commitment to its fallen warriors. They have been attended by veterans and families of MIAs, led to believe that they were witnessing the return of Americans killed in World War II, Vietnam and Korea.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Army Needs To Admit It Has A Problem — Or Things Will Only Get Worse.

 

Loss Leader

 

 

 

” I’m glad to see a concerned senior Army officer respond to my recent piece on the risks of brain drain inside the U.S. military. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges undoubtedly speaks for many senior leaders in each service who feel exactly the same way about this looming challenge: “Hey, we don’t even have a problem!”

Maybe, maybe not. Frankly, I remain worried. The issue is not that the best and brightest in the military have already left. My concern is that the worst effects of the ongoing drawdown are still to come — and may well be years away. The people who must ultimately judge whether Hodges’s defense is sound are the junior officers and sergeants wrestling with tough individual decisions about staying in or leaving the service. But for the Army, now is the time to look for leading indicators and craft proactive strategies to avert what could easily become one of the worst unintended consequences of shrinking the force.

Each service will have unique challenges keeping top-drawer talent as numbers drop, budgets tighten, and opportunities to serve in combat dwindle. But the Army most of all faces a perfect storm of vexing issues. It is gradually coming down from a wartime high of nearly 570,000 troops, planning to hit 490,000 by 2017. Most Army leaders and defense analysts expect that number will decline farther — perhaps to 400,000 soldiers or less. Officer and NCO reductions — voluntary and otherwise — under that scenario could number in the tens of thousands.

At the same time it gets smaller, the Army is leaving a decade of combat that has energized the force with an unparalleled focus and sense of mission. The next Army will largely be a garrison force based almost entirely in the United States, with limited opportunities to serve abroad. Even its planned exercise program to rotate units regularly overseas is jeopardized by lack of funding. Convincing experienced combat leaders that this force will be an empowering, exciting place to serve is the ultimate challenge. The bare bones remedies Hodges outlines are not nearly adequate to the task. Fundamental change is needed. Here are a few ways to do it: “

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• UPDATE: Delta Force general: Obama following Castro’s plan… ‘CONSTABULARY FORCE’ COMING (redflagnews.com)
• Marines Struggling With Bullet Shortage While DHS Ammos Up (+video) (joemiller.us)
• US Army hollowed out after war (bbc.co.uk)
• Army Officer Says Obamas DHS Is To “Kill Me & You” (harfordlibertyblog.wordpress.com)
• Gen. Hodges vs. Gen. Barno: Is the Army losing too many talented officers? (ricks.foreignpolicy.com)
• Sicily revokes permission for U.S. military satellite station (healthnexercise.com)

 

 

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Things To Be Thankful For …

Thanksgiving: Have an Attitude of Gratitude

Support Gold Star Mothers

Today is Gold Star Mothers Sunday

 

  “Mothers of fallen service members began calling themselves “Gold Star Mothers” during the First World War, but the sorrowful bond they share reaches back to every woman who has lost a son or daughter in uniform since our nation’s revolution. The Army cherishes the mothers of its Soldiers as bedrocks of support and comfort, and honors the mothers of its fallen as resilient legacies of their children’s service. The United States began observing Gold Star Mothers Day on the last Sunday of September in 1936. This year, the Army joins the nation Sept. 30, in recognizing the sacrifice and strength of its Gold Star Mothers.”

The PC Crowd Has Taken Over The Military

DC Caller : Army base cancels Ted Nugent concert over anti-Obama remarks.

Makes one wonder where the troops’ loyalties will be when the SHTF . I want to believe that the rank and file would never fire on their fellow citizens but it’s hard to believe that the brass won’t issue the orders . it seems that the corruption of the Federal authorities is nearly complete . This calls for a book recommendation . If you haven’t read ” Unintended Consequences ” by John Ross , perhaps you should .