[jackbill]

During the early to mid 1980s I worked for General Dynamics in Ft. Worth Texas maker of the F-16 Flying Falcon and previously the F-111. It is now a division of Lockheed Martin. I worked in the stealth groups that analyzed RADAR signatures of military components. One of our short range sites was close to the boresight range where technicians would calibrate the Gatlin machine gun on each F-16 as part of its final checkout.

I worked with the F-16 for decades and have never seen one that was equipped with a "Gatling Gun". You're probably talking about the A-10, Warthog.

The F-16 is so fast, it would probably shoot itself down if it had such a gun.

[stacytec]

http://www.pafmuseum.com.pk/contents/armf16gun.htm

[tang-soo]

I worked with the F-16 for decades and have never seen one that was equipped with a "Gatling Gun". You're probably talking about the A-10, Warthog.

I may have jumped the "gun" when I said Gatlin gun. My memory is going back 20 years. It was a machine gun of sorts - I think it was made by Westinghouse. I was not thinking of the A-10. I helped design and test components on the f-16. My memory is not that bad.

[Trailerpark Badass]

I thought the F-16 has the M-61A1 20MM cannon?

[tang-soo]

Found this in a couple of minutes. It was a Gatlin gun!

However, in the twentieth century, rapid advancements were seen in the development of automatic firing weapons with the development of the recoil blowback concept, and the Gatling Gun gradually lost ground to the more advanced, fully automatic machine guns. In 1911, the US Army declared the weapon obsolete. But the weapon was to return, and this time it returned from the skies, reincarnated as the M61 Vulcan – a hydraulically driven, six barreled gun with a firepower of 6000 rounds per minute. Mounted on aircrafts like the F-16, the F-22 fighters and the B-58 bomber, it is an ideal weapon for short range air-to-air combat and for strafing ground based targets.

A spinoff of the old General Dynamics company further explains it here.

[kAcknor]

worked with the F-16 for decades and have never seen one that was equipped with a "Gatling Gun".

Hmmm, got a few years on the F-16 myself, and I remember things a bit differently.

The General Electric M61A1 Vulcan is a 6-barrel 20mm cannon of the gatling-type. It fires standard M50 ammunition at 6,000 rounds per minute (rate selectable in certain installations)

Today, after a period of neglect (when guns were thought to be rendered obsolete by missiles), the M61 in one form or another, is an integral part of the armament of modern fighters such as the F-15, F-18 and of course the F-16.

A 419th FW, 466th FS 'Diamondbacks' FS F-16C with access panels to the gun, ammo drum and barrels open. The barrels have been removed for maintenance. (F-16.net photo)