Osprey may get turret-mounted machine gun

[unhappycamper]

Osprey may get turret-mounted machine gun
By Gayle S. Putrich - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 10, 2007 5:45:42 EDT

Air Force and Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys may get a turret-mounted machine gun, fulfilling a long-sought requirement for a forward-firing defensive weapon and making it unique among today’s U.S. transport aircraft.

There’s little agreement on when such a gun might arrive, but at least one major defense company is spending its own money to compete for the job.

A nose gun was considered early in the tilt-rotor’s two-decade gestation but was branded too costly, Air Force requirements officials said.

The fiscal 2008 supplemental request includes $82 million for research, development and testing of an “all-quadrant,” or 360-degree, defensive weapon to augment the ramp-mounted .50-caliber machine gun the Marines use for now.

Navy program spokesman James Darcy said there is no timetable for finding such a gun, and the search will be bound by finances and the plodding acquisition process.

“SOCom is looking at a faster turnaround,” Darcy said. “But Air Force Special Operations Command is flying a different mission than the Marine Corps.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/10/defense_ospreygun_071009n/



uhc comment: 20+ years of development, $20+ billion later and these guys discovered they need armament in the front of the V-22? Where the fuck did they think they were going to fly these things? Atlanta?

If you read the article, you'll see BAE Systems has been working on a gun with - hold your breath - their own money. So if BAE Systems has a working gun, what is the $$82 million for???