Mk44 Bushmaster II

Mk44 Bushmaster II
Finnish CV 9030 with Mk44
Type	Chain gun autocannon
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	2007–present
Used by	See users
Production history
Designer	Alliant Techsystems
Manufacturer	Northrop Grumman
Specifications
Mass	344 lb (160 kg)
Length	134.05 inches (3,405 mm)
Barrel length	94.88 inches (2,410 mm)
Width	13.5 inches (340 mm)
Height	15.43 inches (392 mm)
Shell	30×173mm 40×180mm
Caliber	30 millimetres (1.18 in) caliber 40 millimetres (1.57 in) caliber
Rate of fire	100/200 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	1,080 metres per second (3,500 ft/s) (HEI-T ammunition)
Effective firing range	3,000 metres (9,800 ft) land appl. 5,100 metres (16,700 ft) naval appl.

The Mk44 Bushmaster II is a 30 mm chain gun manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It is a derivative of the 25 mm M242 Bushmaster, and uses 70% of the same parts as the M242 while increasing the firepower by as much as 50% with the 20% increase in caliber size. The barrel is chromium-plated for extended life. The gun uses standard GAU-8 Avenger ammunition that is available in API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary), HEI (High-Explosive Incendiary) and APFSDS-T (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot-Tracer) variants.

The gun can be converted to a caliber of 40×180 mm, which involves changing the barrel and a few key parts, to use the SuperShot 40 cartridge. It can also be converted to use the 30×170 mm RARDEN cartridge.