M134 Minigun

Description

Cemented into modern pop-culture by Arnold Schwarzenegger in films such as Predator (1987) and Terminator 2 (1991), the M134 Minigun actually came into service decades earlier in 1962, just prior to the United States entering in the Vietnam War.

General Electric designed this revolutionary weapon in 1960, with the basic operation replicating that of the Civil War, multi-barreled/hand cranked Gatling (designed by Richard Jordan Gatling in 1861). This time however the rotation of the six barrels was to be cranked/powered by an electric motor.

The rationale behind a rotating/multi barreled weapon is to allow for a prolonged rate of fire. This is achieved by spreading the inevitable heat built up by excessive firing between each of the barrels, so in theory the more barrels, the longer an automatic weapon can function for before cooling time is required.

In 1990 Dillon Aero Inc. of Arizona sought to modernized the weapon, of which in near 30 years of service had began to display some component weaknesses. They upgraded the majority of parts, including the rotor, bolt, housing and barrel, which lead to the re-designation of the weapon in 2003 to the M134D.

The 7.62×51mm M134 is a smaller version of their 20mm M61 Vulcan, which is used on a multitude of US fixed wing aircraft, such as the F15 & F16 fighter. The M134 is also used by the US Airforce, predominantly on their trooper carrying helicopter fleet as a door or tail defensive weapon, or used as an offensive weapon on smaller ‘attack’ style helicopters.

As per the US, users of the M134 (which includes many NATO countries) deploy it within all arms of their armed forces and aside from the earlier mentioned Air Force use, it has become a staple defensive weapon on Navy warships throughout the world.