User:WikiReaper/GUA-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannon

The GUA-23/AW/LF Autocannon was a 30 mm, hydraulically-driven three-barrel gatling-type rotary cannon. The autocannon was designed to provide gunships such as the UNSC Air Force's AV-22 Sparrowhawk with a compact, self-contained, high rate firing capability. Its formal title is Automatic Weapon, Linear Linkless Storage and Feed System, Caliber 30mm, GUA-23.

Design details
The GUA-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannon is an externally-powered, gatling-style firing system developed by IXD Land and Ordnance Systems. The weapon can hold up to 2,400 rounds before needing to reload and normally be mounted on the nose of the aircraft. In one firing session, the weapon is capable of firing 1,750 to 3,500 rounds per minute. The linkless feed nature of the weapon provides a substantial advantage to the aircraft, reducing weight and avoiding the common problem of jamming.

Ammunition
The standard ammunition used for the GUA-23 autocannon would be the ARS 30 x 113 mm Armour-piercing high-explosive incendiary rounds. The ARS 30mm was one of the common 30mm caliber in the UNSCDF for autocannon firing systems, each shell designed with aluminium alloy braced with rotating band to improve ammunition capacity and barrel life.

Other known ammunitions compatible with the GUA-23 autocannon were the M3 "low-drag" rounds and the TR2 "kinetic core penetrating" rounds.

Firing system
The linear linkless feed system used in the GUA-23 was based on the concept of using the transfer ammunition through each of two ammunition compartments operating in parallel. The ammunition is extracted from an endless belt of protective metallic carriers at the exit of each compartment, the pitch spacing between rounds is expanded, and the two separate streams of ammunition are combined for transfer to the weapon.

Misfired rounds and empty cases returning from the weapon are separated into two streams, the pitch spacing between rounds is contracted, and they are restored in the belt of carrier elements. The carrier elements are stored inside the magazine compartments in a folded arrangement so as to best utilize the available storage volume and further reduce the linear velocity of the belt within the magazine.

As the belt translates through the magazine compartment, a series of guide tracks in the compartment walls unfold and refold the belt as it passes over a series of powered sprockets at the ends of each compartment. A separate flexible conveyor operating in flexible chuting between the combining unit and the weapon serves to isolate the fixed elements of the feed system from gun motions due to recoil and counter-recoil or bore-sighting.

Developmental history
The development of GUA-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannon by IXD Land and Ordnance Systems began in September 1st, 2487 at the request of the UNSCAF. It was developed to replace the GUA-11 autocannon in mid-2490s.

Prior to the development, the UNSCAF discovered some vulnerabilities with their GUA-11 autocannon, an older linkless feed system, previously used on the AC-163 gunship; the autocannon was prone to technical and systematical failures and overheat which some argue could be attributed to the nose structure where the weapon would be mounted upon. In response, the UNSCAF launched an official investigation into the weapon; the primary object of the investigation was to determine the effects of this subsystem on the structural integrity of the aircraft nose structure. As a result, it was concluded that the subsystem imposes no serious structural limitations on the AC-163; however, because of the effects of gun gas, the firing envelope of the aircraft is limited. Modifications to the basic GUA-11 autocannon were tested and found to be satisfactory, though several investigators cited maintenance issues.

Applications
The GUA-23 autocannons were first used in the FQ-77 Farian and saw its first actual combat action on the plains of Madrigal in 2490. It was later made available to the AV-22 Sparrowhawk, which helped expand its operational history by participating in the Insurrection of the Outer Colonies. Another known aircraft equipped with the GUA-23 autocannons was the.