Minigun is a term used to describe a type of multiple-barreled, gatling-derived rotary gun with a high rate of fire that is usually found powered externally (IE: Pneumatics, Electrical). The gun may fire several thousand rounds per minute. These are often only put on aircraft, due to their size, weight and ammunition consumption. Miniguns may have to take a few seconds to get the barrel rotating before unleashing its heavy load of lead because if it didn't wait, rounds would cut the barrel apart and jam it. It can reach rotation speeds of up to 6000+ RPM (Rounds Per Minute). There are multiple types of miniguns, the most common being the GShG-7.62 and M134 Minigun, both of which fire around 6000 bullets a minute.
Deception as an infantry weapon in media
It must be noted that the Minigun has been portrayed as a man portable infantry weapon in media. This in reality is impossible for a number of reasons (IE:weight, ammo, recoil, power supply, field ruggedness etc). There have been designs though but have never been accepted for use in this role. The only known handheld minigun is the Aeroknox XM556. However, there are firearms that would fill the Minigun role for ground usage: the TKB-059 and the AO-63 assault rifle which fires up to 6000rpm bursts. Assault rifles, SMGs with more than one barrel, Or simply a GPMG with its ROF adjusted to rapid fire.
List of Miniguns
Self-operated
- Neal MG, a 5 barrel .22LR self operated weapon.
- XM133, a gas operated variant.
- EX-17 Heligun, a self operated rival to the M134.
- Bangerter machine gun, a 12 barrel self operated weapon.
- Slostin machine gun, a self operated weapon of Russian origin.
Non-NATO
- Akhgar, Iranian equivalent to the M134.
- Fokker-Leimberger, German equivalent to the M134.
- GShG-7.62, Russian equivalent to the M134.
- CS/LM12, Chinese equivalent to the M134.
- Hua Qing Minigun, Chinese equivalent to the M134.
"Microgun"
- XM214 Microgun
- Aeroknox XM556
Gallery
See Also
- Multiple barrel firearm
- Machine revolver
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