DT’s video guru Glenn Anderson has been a busy man lately and this is his latest handiwork. It’s BAE Systems’ Mk 38 chain gun used by the U.S. Navy. The newest version of the gun is remotely controlled from the Combat Information Center or the bridge of a ship and features an electro-optical/infrared camera package and a laser range finder. All this lets the gun fend off small vessels without exposing crew members to the elements or enemy fire.
DT Video: Mk 38 Chain Gun In Effect
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
I understand the navy might put these on the Perry class frigates where the Standard launcher used to be?
All the Perry's are being decom'ed last i heard. That or sold to people like taiwan, pakistan(wtf?), etc.
Now we have LCS….even if it cant do its job and is in the freaking port most of the time being repaired……..
'they hit everytime' as the play the clip of it missing
LOL You saw that to eh? LOL
I wouldn't want to be in a target small boat instead of that target though, they didn't miss by much. Kind of like missing the 10X ring but still hitting center of mass. If you noticed they hit the Spectre target with the first shot. If you had ever seen the MK38 or M2 fired under manual control, you would understand what a dramatic improvement the MK38MOD2 is. Having said that, it was probably not the best mix of video and words!
Same capability for 5 times the cost – another contractor revenue generating exercise.
What do you mean same capability? When have you ever fired a MK38? Even seen on fired? The old system came with a red dot sight and rarely reliably hit anything without hundreds of rounds of practice, and that was with a good gunner. This one comes with 24hr a day remote operation which anyone with any familiarity with a video game can hit virtually with the first shot. Probably even you. Yeah, clearly the same capability.
So same capability then, just get to sit in from the rain.
Doosh…
I wasn't aware most humans could see and zoom in with the capability of modern electro-optical and FLIR systems.
The low rate of fire makes this useless against missile targets. It's strictly a counter-speedboat point defence system and as such an expensive counter to a ridiculously inflated threat.
It wouldn't help in a Cole scenario because you cannot just shoot at everything nearby in a harbour and it the swarms of speedboats on the high seas are largely a fiction of Riper's wargaming red team of sometime around 2002. The meagre Iranian attempt to realise this into something real is quite a failure. WW2 ship crews were adept at countering motor torpedo boats with anti-air guns ranging from 76 mm to 133 mm. There's no good reason why a manual control for some Phalanx system and a clever use of 5" guns couldn't address speedboats well enough.
They even turned the RIM-116 and ESSM into anti-speedboat-capable missiles!
This is really just an example of a corporation leeching even more money out of a state's budget.
Is there something wrong with a corporation trying to sell products? Is it not up to the buyer, in this case the government to make the decision and decide weather they need that product or not?
If this is true, lay off the evil business socialist agenda.
By 'ridiculously inflated threat' you mean Iranian swarming tactics in narrow waters such as the Straits of Hormuz?
But WWII-era ships had a lot of weapons that could deal with small craft. Usually in the form of multiple 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose guns, 3" anti-aircraft guns, plus lighter 40mm and 20mm cannons.
Our current destroyers have an impressive arsenal of missiles, but against small boats they only have a single 5"/54 or 5"/62 caliber gun, the Block 1B 20mm Phalanx, and some manually operated Mk.38 25mm chain guns. Some argue this isn't enough. Personally I would like to see a 57mm Mk.110 fitted on back of the Flight III Burkes.
In my opinion this improved Mk.38 isn't as necessary on destroyers as it is on other ships lacking in such direct fire weapons.
I haven't heard of the RIM-116 and RIM-162 used in an anti-ship role, I'd be interested in more details if you could spare them. Considering four ESSMs can be fit into a single VLS cell, this would be a good thing to have.
Today's 5" guns can score an indirect air-burst hit on a speedboat (5" HE shell exploding mere metres in front of and above the boat) on first shot with a simple ET fuse.
This capability, if well maintained, is better than the firepower of even a Brooklyn cruiser of WW2.
All they needed to do is to adapt their guns for the air burst method. It's really as simple as defeating MTBs in WW2.
The biggest remaining threat would be munitions launched from boats several miles away. Think of modified Sidewinders, ATGMs, Hydra or SNEB salvo rockets, 324 mm torpedoes…
The missile overemphasis and lack of guns was a problem with the first generation of pure missile cruisers and destroyers of the 60's (see Long Beach), but that was fixed by the introduction of automatic 5" L/54 guns around '70.
About RIM-116: See HAS software upgrade.
About ESSM: Video of successful test against boat in 2007 was published long ago.
Ever seen a WWII clip of ships firing at any target be it a plane or a boat fire is all over the place and even full battle groups with hundreds of guns of all calibers were relatively exposed without fighters overhead.
As for precision look at Phalanx vs RIB target ,it takes forever to hit something http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3A0is0pXUQ&fe…
Ever seen a WWII clip of ships firing at any target be it a plane or a boat fire is all over the place and even full battle groups with hundreds of guns of all calibers were relatively exposed without fighters overhead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4J7zETjc-M
After an hour in an RIB at full chat in high seas, a 25mm shell through the skull would come as a relief.
Not recommended after a hearty meal and a few glasses of wine.
"It's strictly a counter-speedboat point defence system and as such an expensive counter to a ridiculously inflated threat. "
Yet, this supposedly "ridiculously inflated threat" is precisely the one the navy is currently being tasked with and will be tasked with in the future: Counter piracy, as well as littoral waters patrolling and combat.
You mention two strawmen: Harbor engagement and "swarms of speedboats". You neglect the obvious applications in places like off of African shores, in engagements in the Strait of Malacca, and others.
5" HE.
Somehow the systems that are supposed to stop a mach 2 sea skimming missile cant hit a rubber dingy going at 20 knots. Once you realize that you can see why a whole new gun and fire control system is needed rather then a simple software change.
One 5" HE warning shot fountain does the job. no need for tiny 25mm HE water fountains.
For everything at really close range where 5" gun depression isn't enough: Old stock .50" cal with simple portable armor steel plate protection.
Ever fired a M2 at a moving target from a ship?
I would be willing to bet you couldn't hit anything with it, most gunners can't, especially at night.
But this, first round hits at extended ranges in all weather.
Many systems hit moving targets at extended ranges in all weather. This one is unnecessary, duplicate.
The M2 proposal (actually in use in many navies) was explicitly for
"For everything at really close range where 5" gun depression isn't enough:"
Careful reading should have told you that this can only be the case in a harbour, and yes – you can hit everything in a M2 at short range while being in harbour. "Extended ranges" are entirely irrelevant for my .50cal part.
Looks good, but it still needs a secondary, weatherized, manual control station next to or near the gun in case of combat action severing cables to the remote station.
It has a manual operation back-up and sights. Also, it could be operated either from the bridge or the CIC, so there's some redundancy there on most ships.
Yep. You can see the manual controls already on the gun, folded over the top.
Well, then, I promote myself to Wheel Reinventer, 2nd class and thank you for the info. Though I would like the manual controls off to the side, below some shielding. Maybe a portable laptop ("toughbook") kit with length of cable. Assuming that doesn't exist also.
went to school for this weapon system, its a beast………….
Maybe used in defense of Somali pirates marauding convoys?
In place of what? On the Perry class frigates. The Mk92gmls?
An earlier version of this 25mm cannon was used by the Sri Lanka Navy Dvora & Colombo & Shaldag class FAC craft against the Tamil TIgers(ltte) Sea Tigers craft with great success ! Since its inception no SLA FAC suffered any casualties ! Tribute to this cannon, which is superb for naval craft. Nice Video !
what happens if it gets hit or the control system goes off line? The Mark I eyeball used to work pretty well with a good gunner's mate. This thing looks like if the optics or other sensors get fogged , misaligned, or otherwise incapacitated it is out of commission.
Keep it simple.
Looks like an interesting weapons system for patrol craft through Coast Guard cutters and destroyers. They are light, small foot print, fairly effective HE round, dual use optics, etc. All this talk about using a 5"/54 gun or 76mm gun fails to think about the complexity and size of such a system, cost of the ammunition, magazine requirements, crew requirements, etc. The old WWII 40mm was good but this offers a lot more flexible bang for the buck. Much much cheaper and easier than a Standard missile system. As to anti missile defense – I don't know, but that's where you need a Sparrow system. It would have been nice on close in coastal patrols. Isn't this what brown water Navy is supposed to be about?