Two Lipan Bara HMPV armed with M134D mini-guns at the farewell parade for the Army chief on Dec. 9.2016. BTDM picture.
SHAH ALAM: AS you might be aware the Army is getting more Dillon M134D mini-guns for its units. The mini guns are now arming the Army Air Wing AW109s, Lipan Bara MRAP and also possibly the upgraded Condors.
This is what Dillon – the manufacturer says about the gun.
The Dillon Aero M134D is one of the most reliable weapons in the world, given its capacity, simplicity in loading, and ease of maintenance. Designed for speed and accuracy, the M134D is a true force multiplier. The rapidity of shooting is of the utmost importance: only guns as rapid as the M134D can achieve the extreme shot density needed to suppress multiple targets in compressed periods of time. Additionally, the M134D is virtually free of recoil.
Proof of concept Condor upgrade fitted with a turret armed with a Dillon M134D mini-gun displayed at DSA 2016.
When properly mounted, it moves slightly aft with the first shot, without any tendency to pitch or yaw. This stability is vital, in that it significantly assists in the aiming on and retention of a target. High rates of fire, extremely dense shot grouping, and high weapon stability demonstrate the perfect pairing of swiftness and precision.
Najib firing the mini-gun from the PUTD AW109 helicopter in May this year. H20 Comms picture
Yes its a mouthful so we have here Ian from Forgotten Weapons to tell us all about the mini-gun with a detailed explaination about the technical aspect of the weapon.
It is a truly awe-inspiring weapon, and quite an experience to fire! In addition to destroying a truck with it, we will look at disassembly and functioning of the minigun – the delinking mechanism is really the most complex part of the weapon, and a very interesting device.
A Lipan Bara MRAP armed with a Dillon M134D mini-gun at the Army chief farewell parade on Dec 9. 2016. BTDM picture.
Would the vehicles be able to carry a respectable amount of ammo to keep this beast fed? Also wouldn't the extra ammo load affect the personnel load of infantry-carrying vehicles like the AV4 and Condors?
IMHO even vehicles carrying medium-caliber GPMGs are usually limited to carry 400-500 rounds only. For me if you are packing miniguns, you'd probably need at the very, very least, 2000-3000 rounds. Carrying less would mean the miniguns won't be as effective as they were meant to be.
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Even if they could carry thousands of extra ammo, is it possible to reload especially in combat? From the video we know that it will be a slow and methodical process. That's why combat videos from Iraq and Afghanistan showed most of the time the gunners will opt for their secondary weapons once the main gun runs out of ammo
FYI the founder of Dillon Aero had just passed away a few weeks ago. Those that have dealt with him always have good things to say about his dedication to his customers, even shipping out small parts for free so that his miniguns or bullet refill machines works perfectly.
The plus a minus factor at work again. A mini gun is much hungrier than a GPMG or a HMG but for sustained fire [for which any well trained gunner will control his bursts] the availability of several barrels reduces the risk of overheating. The amount of ammo that should be carried depend entirely on the circumstances : low intensity work that doesn't call for high volumes of fire or otherwise?
For me the interesting question is whether the army really specified the need for a mini gun or did the interest come from above?
How many lipanbara's we ordered and what was the offset included in the deal any info........btw is our ec725 equipped to fire missiles and do we hv them??
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18, AFAIK no offset. No, the Cougars are not equipped with missiles.
Which army unit will get the lipanbara?
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The ones based in ESSCOM.
Any update on the A109 SPH from US?
Reply
At one at a time, one at a time
I doubt if any Cougars anywhere are fitted with missiles. Even if the Cougar has been integrated with missiles; arming ours with missiles wouldn't serve any purpose as ours are utility/rescue birds. Saudi Cougars have a 20mm gun pod and unguided rockets for self defence and light attack. Arming utility birds for self defence and light attack is fine but the danger is that by doing so they might be misused as gunships, which they're not.
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Brazil is arming its naval Cougars with Exocets; Airbus is also offering the HForce, an integrated solutions to arm its military helicopters for the customers, missiles are entirely to the customers preference
The gun as I understand has 2 magazines and can be switched over in a manner of minutes(that is in one of their security promotional you-tubes).
Pumas have long been armed/integrated with Exocets, as have Dauphins. I can see the value of arming a utility with an ASM to engage targets at sea from a distance but as I see it, arming a utility with a missile to engage surface land targets runs the risk of it being misused. Of course it depends largely on the threat level but there's a fine line that's easily crossed when it comes to dedicated attack, self-protection and the light attack role/armed scout role.
Now that MD530Gs have been ordered, ideally the A-109s will not be used for the light attack role/armed scout role; their mini guns being used for self protection when hovering low over a landing zone.
I muzt say its a great decision to get these mini guns. We should get even more if we can afford
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Would the vehicles be able to carry a respectable amount of ammo to keep this beast fed? Also wouldn't the extra ammo load affect the personnel load of infantry-carrying vehicles like the AV4 and Condors?
IMHO even vehicles carrying medium-caliber GPMGs are usually limited to carry 400-500 rounds only. For me if you are packing miniguns, you'd probably need at the very, very least, 2000-3000 rounds. Carrying less would mean the miniguns won't be as effective as they were meant to be.
Reply
Even if they could carry thousands of extra ammo, is it possible to reload especially in combat? From the video we know that it will be a slow and methodical process. That's why combat videos from Iraq and Afghanistan showed most of the time the gunners will opt for their secondary weapons once the main gun runs out of ammo
FYI the founder of Dillon Aero had just passed away a few weeks ago. Those that have dealt with him always have good things to say about his dedication to his customers, even shipping out small parts for free so that his miniguns or bullet refill machines works perfectly.
The plus a minus factor at work again. A mini gun is much hungrier than a GPMG or a HMG but for sustained fire [for which any well trained gunner will control his bursts] the availability of several barrels reduces the risk of overheating. The amount of ammo that should be carried depend entirely on the circumstances : low intensity work that doesn't call for high volumes of fire or otherwise?
For me the interesting question is whether the army really specified the need for a mini gun or did the interest come from above?
How many lipanbara's we ordered and what was the offset included in the deal any info........btw is our ec725 equipped to fire missiles and do we hv them??
Reply
18, AFAIK no offset. No, the Cougars are not equipped with missiles.
Which army unit will get the lipanbara?
Reply
The ones based in ESSCOM.
Any update on the A109 SPH from US?
Reply
At one at a time, one at a time
I doubt if any Cougars anywhere are fitted with missiles. Even if the Cougar has been integrated with missiles; arming ours with missiles wouldn't serve any purpose as ours are utility/rescue birds. Saudi Cougars have a 20mm gun pod and unguided rockets for self defence and light attack. Arming utility birds for self defence and light attack is fine but the danger is that by doing so they might be misused as gunships, which they're not.
Reply
Brazil is arming its naval Cougars with Exocets; Airbus is also offering the HForce, an integrated solutions to arm its military helicopters for the customers, missiles are entirely to the customers preference
The gun as I understand has 2 magazines and can be switched over in a manner of minutes(that is in one of their security promotional you-tubes).
Pumas have long been armed/integrated with Exocets, as have Dauphins. I can see the value of arming a utility with an ASM to engage targets at sea from a distance but as I see it, arming a utility with a missile to engage surface land targets runs the risk of it being misused. Of course it depends largely on the threat level but there's a fine line that's easily crossed when it comes to dedicated attack, self-protection and the light attack role/armed scout role.
Now that MD530Gs have been ordered, ideally the A-109s will not be used for the light attack role/armed scout role; their mini guns being used for self protection when hovering low over a landing zone.
I muzt say its a great decision to get these mini guns. We should get even more if we can afford