XBradTC

Everybody knows and loves the GAU-8 30mm cannon mounted on the mighty A-10 Warthog. Fewer folks are aware of it’s little cousin, the GAU-12 25mm rotary cannon.  Primarily used by the Marine Corps AV-8B fleet, its five barrels give it a rate of fire of 3600 rounds per minute, with a maximum rate possible of 4200 rpm. The ammo pod only carries 300 rounds, so y0u only get a short burst. The GAU-12 is also part of the armament of the mighty AC-130U Spooky gunship, though its rate of fire in the application is only 1800 rpm.

The Marines also fielded an air defense variant of their Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) fleet, the LAV-AD that mounted a GAU-12, but withdrew it from service as the recoil from the gun was pretty much shaking the vehicles to pieces.

An updated, four barreled verison, the GAU-22A, will serve as the gun armament for the F-35 Lightning II. The Air Force F-35A’s mount the gun internally, while the Marine Corps F-35B and Navy F-35C will have an option to carry a podded version.

While the video focuses on the armor piercing incendiary round, in reality, most of the time, the gun uses a High Explosive Incendiary round, and in spite of impressive accuracy, is used for suppressive fire as an area weapon.