An M61 Vulcan Cannon gun can fire 75 rounds a second. Bagram Airfield has 10 Vulcans. (The Washington Post)
Washington Post: Meet the impressive guns protecting U.S. bases from rocket attacks in Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Deep in the countryside, Taliban fighters take aim at U.S. military bases with indirect fire: in particular, cheap and ubiquitous Chinese-made 107mm rockets. The U.S. Army’s answer: A series of impressive six-barreled, 20mm Gatling guns that spew up to 75 rounds per second.
The M61 Vulcan Cannon is part of what is known as the C-RAM in the Army, short for Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System. It has been used successfully to take out numerous rockets, with a fireball typically lighting up the sky as bright tracer rounds from the gun find their target.
The C-RAMs here are run by Task Force Iron Shield, a group of soldiers with the Florida National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. The weapon was initially designed for use on Navy ships decades ago and is known by the Navy as Phalanx, but the Army eventually adopted it for use in Iraq. It made its way to Bagram closer to 2012.
WNU Editor: At 75 rounds a second .... and being able to locate and hit targets a good distance away .... I can see why these weapon platforms are a success.