The Marines just released some footage of a GAU-17 Vulcan minigun clocking in during a recent live-fire exercise and it almost makes you feel bad for the target.
Developed originally by General Electric in the early 1960s, the electrically-driven Gatling-type Vulcan cannon system has been used in a wide series of calibers from 5.56mm all the way up to the downright beefy 37mm Vigilante system we have covered in the past. The above GAU-17 is the 7.62x51mm NATO model used by the Marines, in this case from the side of a UH-1Y Venom (Super Huey) against a simulated small boat threat.
The GAU-17 is used by door gunners in today’s generation of Hueys in place of the Vietnam-era M60s and has a 3,000 round-per-minute rate of fire, for as long as the feeder/delinker assembly holds up or the ammo hopper lasts, whichever comes first. (Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kyle Carlstrom/U.S. Navy)
Essentially the same gun is used across the DOD designated M134/XM196 by the Army and GAU-2/A by the Air Force. Different strokes for different folks.
For some more dramatic footage, check out the below from minigun maker Dillion Aero, where they use an M134D to stitch up a propane tank under the gaze of a high-speed camera set to a soft metal soundtrack.
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