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The Mk44 Bushmaster II is a 30 mm chain gun manufactured by Alliant Techsystems. It is a derivative of the 25 mm M242 Bushmaster, and uses 70% of the same parts as the M242 while increasing the firepower by as much as 50% with the 20% increase in caliber size. The barrel is chromium-plated for extended life. The gun uses standard GAU-8 Avenger ammunition that is available in API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary), HEI (High-Explosive Incendiary) and APFSDS-T (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot-Tracer) variants. The gun can be converted to a caliber of 40 mm, which involves changing the barrel and a few key parts, to use the Super 40 cartridge. It can also be converted to use the 30x170 mm RARDEN cartridge. ==History== The Bushmaster II is the standard primary armament of Bionix-II AFV currently in service with the Singapore Army, the KTO Rosomak in Polish service as well as that of the CV90 AFVs in Finnish, Norwegian and Swiss service. Although the United States Air Force selected this cannon to replace the 25 mm and 40 mm guns on its fleet of AC-130U gunships in 2007, this plan was later canceled. The United States Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which has been canceled, was expected to be armed with this cannon as well. Some United States Navy vessels, such as the new ''San Antonio''-class amphibious transport dock are armed with the Bushmaster II for surface threat defense. The Bushmaster II cannon is used in the DS30M Mark 2 Automated Small Calibre Gun (ASCG) point defense system that is fitted to the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates.〔(Scott, Richard, ''ASCG enhances Type 23 close-in defence'', International Defence Review, 30 October 2007. )〕 The USAF had experimented with installing Bushmaster II cannons on their AC-130U gunships in place of the GAU-12 and Bofors 40 mm cannons. On 11 August 2008, the effort was canceled because of problems with the Bushmaster's accuracy in tests "at the altitude we were employing it." There were also schedule considerations that drove the decision.〔("Spooky Gun Swap Canceled" ). Air Force Magazine, October 2008, Volume 91, Number 10, p. 24.〕 On 9 July 2012, the Air Force type classified a new version of the Bushmaster called the GAU-23/A. The cannon will be used on the AC-130W and the AC-130J gunships.〔(GAU-23 30mm Automatic Cannon Receives Type Classification ) - Prnewswire.com, July 9, 2012〕 The U.S. Navy uses the Mk44 Bushmaster II in the Mk 46 Mod 2 Gun Weapon System (GWS). The GWS is produced by General Dynamics to give warships protection against small, high-speed surface craft. A Mk 46 turret consists of the 30 mm chain gun, a forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, a low light television camera, and a laser rangefinder. The guns fire at 200 rounds per minute and are fed by a 400-round magazine through 200-round dual feeds. Effective range is 2,200 yds (2,000 m) for full-caliber high-explosive or armor-piercing ammunition, which can be extended when using sub-caliber rounds. The Mk 46 GWS is permanently installed on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and can be installed on Freedom-class and Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships as part of the surface warfare (SuW) package.〔(Mk-46 GWS ) - Seaforces.org〕〔(Navy Orders Six More General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship MK46 Mod 2 Gun Weapon Systems ) - Guns.com, 21 March 2013〕 In 2012, the Navy decided to replace the Mk 110 57 mm cannons on Zumwalt-class destroyers with the Mk 46 GWS.〔(Navy Swaps Out Anti-Swarm Boat Guns on DDG-1000s ) - News.USNI.org, 5 August 2014〕 In early 2015, the U.S. Army approved an upgrade for 81 Stryker vehicles of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team deployed in Europe to be upgunned with the Mk44 30 mm Bushmaster cannon to increase their lethality against other light armored vehicles used by Russia in the theater. The cannons will be installed by 2018, and may be the first step in adding the Bushmaster to the entire active fleet of about 1,000 Strykers.〔(US Army: Strykers Need Bigger Gun to Fight Russia ) - Defensenews.com, 24 July 2015〕〔(Firepower Upgrade Planned for GDLS Strykers ) - Militarytimes.com, 15 October 2015〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mk44 Bushmaster II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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