China’s Newest Machine Gun Could Fire Half a Million Rounds Per Minute
But it remains unclear what the weapon’s purpose would be.
The United States military’s Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) was employed just a year ago to counter a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile that came within a mile of the United States Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107). The Phalanx is seen as the last line of defense, but it got the job done.
The Gatling Gun-style weapon, which is based on the 20mm M61 Vulcan autocannon, can fire 20mm x 102mm rounds at an extremely high rate. It has a dual fire rate of either 3,000 or 4,500 rounds per minute, but there have been efforts to develop weapons with even higher rates of fire.
That has included the Australian-designed Metal Storm, an automatic weapon that utilized 36 barrels that could fire 180 rounds of special caseless 9mm ammunition in less than one-hundredth of a second. At such a rate, it could cut through the armor of a tank or warship like a hot knife through butter.
Not to be outdone, Beijing is now looking to take the concept even further.
The Half-Million Round Per Minute Weapon From China
Earlier this month, The South China Morning Post reported that development is underway of a weapon that would take the Gatling Gun concept and put it on overdrive. Each barrel could be “capable of firing bullets at a rate of 450,000 rounds per minute.”
Such a high-speed rate of fire could allow it to be employed to intercept “hypersonic missiles traveling at speeds exceeding Mach 7.” At least in theory, as the range of the weapon would still be an issue, and it would need to successfully lock on to the missile in flight.
But there is no denying that if you throw enough lead down range, you’re bound to hit something.
A Solution Without a Problem?
A weapon that can fire literally millions of rounds per minute via five or more barrels would be an impressive weapon, but as the Metal Storm proved, just because you can doesn’t mean it would be effective. Yes, the rounds could cut through the armor of a tank, and possibly put enough rounds in the sky to shoot down missiles, drones, and other airborne threats—yet that aforementioned range would be an issue.
At best such a weapon would still be one of last resort, and it would still have issues that need to be overcome.
That notably includes how to reload it. According to Chinese researchers, it could involve “a container-like, replaceable magazine filled with barrels, each packed with bullets. Once the bullets are fired, the disposable barrels are simply discarded along with the whole container.”
How long it would take to reload the weapon, and whether it could be done at sea, isn’t clear.
The concept would “improve loading speed, reduce the decrease in barrel strength and accuracy due to repeated loading, and achieve the combat objectives of multiple strikes, continuous operations and rapid counter-attacks,” the project team led by Lu Xutao, an associate professor of mechanical and electrical engineering with the North University of China, wrote in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese Journal of Detection & Control in December, The South China Morning Post added.
Lu seemed confident that the Chinese-designed weapon could surpass the rate of fire of the Metal Storm by a factor of 10. It would seem Beijing could have bragging rights, but the practicality of such a weapon still seems unclear. It would fire a lot of ammunition, but as most of it would miss the target, the point is also missing.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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