General Dynamics unit delivers new Gun System.

• Author: Brand, Lois F.
• Position: Women in Defense

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, of Burlington, Vt., has begun--a month ahead of schedule--to deliver 39 F/A-18 E/F 20mm M61A2 Gun Systems to the Naval Air Systems Command, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., according to GDATP President Linda Hudson. GDATP is a unit of General Dynamics Corporation, of Falls Church, Va. Hudson also is a member of WID.

"We started on schedule, and we are one month ahead of the contract delivery plan," she said. The contract, valued at up to $37.1 million, includes options for up to 126 additional gun systems over a three-year period.

The M61A2 is an improved version of a six-barrel Gatling gun system that the Navy has used on its F/A-18 strike fighters since the mid-1990s. Improvements include a lighter ammunition handling system, Hudson said. This was accomplished by reducing the number of rounds from 578 to 412 and replacing steel parts with composites and titanium.

The new system includes the very first use of an aluminum casting as a structural component, she said. The drum was shortened to make room for avionics. The M61A2 requires reduced depot-level maintenance and is less susceptible to breakage during installation and removal from the aircraft, Hudson said. In addition, the new system uses approximately 85 percent of the same parts as the version older version.

The M61A2 includes a new, lightweight barrel and fully integrated, linkless ammunition feed, Hudson explained. "The gun and ammunition feed system was specifically designed for this aircraft," she said.

"The one on the current F18 version is 52 pounds lighter than the gun system that was on the C/D version of the aircraft. It's more maintainable.

"Its lighter weight frees up space in the aircraft to allow the customer to do some other things--to increase range, to increase payloads, to do whatever they like," Hudson said. "All of this adds to the performance of the aircraft, in general.

"The F/A-18 E/F system has a selectable firing rate at 6,000 rounds a minute and one at 4,000 rounds a minute," she said. The 4,000 shots-per-minute rate is intended for air-to-ground target engagements, and the 6,000 shots-per-minute rate is meant for air-to-air engagements.

The F-18 has used the M61A2 lightweight gun since the mid 90's in both C/D and E/F versions. Prior to that, the F-18 had a heavier gun, similar to the one in the Air Force F-16 The F18 E/F version has been in production since 1997.

Reducing the Weight

"It was...