Mauser BK-27
The BK 27 (also BK27 or BK-27) (German acronym for "Bordkanone", translation: on-board cannon) is a 27 mm autocannon manufactured by Mauser (a subsidiary of Rheinmetall) of Germany. It was developed in the late 1960s for the MRCA (Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) program that ultimately became the Panavia Tornado.
The BK 27 is a gas-operated cannon firing a new series of 27x145 mm projectiles with a typical weight of 260 g (9.2 oz). It uses a linked feed system, but a BK 27 Linkless, with a new linkless feed system intended to improve reliability, has been developed for the Eurofighter.
The Mauser BK 27 is used in the Panavia Tornado, the Alpha Jet, the JAS 39 Gripen, and the Eurofighter Typhoon. At one time the USAF hoped to license its production for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, but those plans have been cancelled in favour of the cheaper GAU-22/A.
Recently Rheinmetall developed also modified, remote controlled naval versions, the MN 27 GS and the MLG 27 fully automatic naval guns, applied on many ships of the German Navy. 99 MLGs 27 have been ordered by the German Navy so far.[1] The cannon is a single-barrel, high performance, breech-cylinder gun operated by a fully automatic electrically fired gas-operated system at a selective rate of 1000 or 1700 rounds per minute.
The belted-link ammunition box is positioned to the side of the gun-feed mechanism and a floating buffer system imposes a very small recoil and vibration load on the airframe of the aircraft. Spent cartridge cases and empty links are ducted from the rear of the gun into a collection bay immediately behind the gun. Automatic ram air purges the gun compartment and spent cases bay during and after firing.
The weapon has a very good hit-accuracy and one of its main strengths is the cannon’s ability to achieve a full 1700-rounds-per-minute rate of fire almost from the first round. This is an important asset, particularly if the cannon is being used against a fast-moving target. Targeting of the cannon is done through the aircraft’s head-up-display (HUD). When the cannon is selected in the cockpit, a firing predictor is projected onto the HUD; this depicts a moving line (continuously compacted impact line), or snake, that predicts where the next few rounds of cannon fire will go. The cannon can be aimed by using either a prediction sight or, in the case of the F3, a radar-designated sight.
The cannon has a very high muzzle velocity and its high rate of fire, coupled with its ability to fire several different types of high-explosive shells, make it equally suitable for both interceptor- type aircraft and ground-attack aircraft alike. The system is relatively compact, extremely robust and its simple, rugged design makes it highly reliable.[2]
Operators
Specifications
- Type: single-barrel revolver cannon
- Caliber: 27 mm x 145 (1.06 in)
- Operation: revolver
- Length: 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)
- Weight (complete): 100 kg (220 lb)
- Rate of fire: 1,700 rpm (+/- 100rpm)
- Muzzle velocity: 1,025 m/s (3,362 ft/s)
- Muzzle energy: ~136600 Joule
- Projectile weight: 260 g (9.2 oz)
References
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<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- Airforce Technology page on the BK 27
- Website of Rheinmetall Defence
- Marineleichtgeschütz MLG 27 (Website from constructor)
- [http://www.airforce-technology.com/contractors/cannons/mauser2/ Airforce Technology
- Mauser BK 27 on WaffenHQ
- Webseite of the EF2000
- RAF page on BK 27
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zh:BK-27機炮
