Brrrrrrrrrrrt, That's Why
This just happens to be the Chinese Type 730 CIWS (Close-In Weapons System). It fires a 30mm round and is capable of firing up to 5,800 rounds per minute.
The Type 730 is very similar to our Phalanx CIWS, which fires depleted uranium shells at a rate of 4,500 rounds per minute. Listening to the rates of fire, just by sound alone, I think the Chinese are exaggerating their numbers a little, just saying
But on the battlefield, one of the Marines, friends that goes Brrrrrrrrrrrt is the A-10 Thunderbolt II or more commonly referred to as the ‘Warthog’, which can fire up to 3,900 rounds per minute, firing depleted uranium shells.
The Air Force’s A-10 not only can fire holy hell down on the enemy with its 30×173 mm GAU-8/A Avenger autocannon. The A-10 is more like a gun and they built a plane around it. Besides the underwing mount points for AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles (other configurations can be the Hydra 70 rocket pods, laser-guided bombs such as GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, Paveway series bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser and AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon glide bombs.
Their normal configuration however is the ALQ-131 Electronic countermeasures pod and two AIM-9 Sidewinders air-to-air missiles.
It also carries 1,174 rounds of 30mm ammunition for the Avenger autocannon (brrrrrrrrrrt)
The A-10 can also take an insane amount of battle damage as seen in these photos.
Welcome to the Average Joe Weekly blog. This is basically my place on the web where I can help spread some of the knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. I served 10+ years in the Marine Corps on Active Duty, but that was some 25 years ago.
