ADEN cannon
|
A quad 30 mm ADEN cannon package. |
The
Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30 mm
cannon used on many
military aircraft, particularly those of the
British RAF and
FAA.
The ADEN (named for the
Armament Development Establishment, where it was designed, and
Enfield, where it is produced) was developed in the late
1940s as a replacement for the older
Hispano-Suiza HS 404 20 mm cannon used in British aircraft of
World War II. It is based (as are the French
DEFA and American
M39 cannon) on the mechanism of the
German Mauser MG 213C, an experimental
revolver cannon designed for the
Luftwaffe, but never used in combat. The ADEN entered service on the
Hawker Hunter in
1954, and subsequently used on every British gun-armed aircraft until the advent of the
Panavia Tornado in the
1980s. It remains in use on the
Harrier and
Sea Harrier.
The current version is the
ADEN Mk 4. Although its
muzzle velocity of 2,430 ft/s (741 m/s) is considerably lower than the Hispano's 2,789 ft/s (850 m/s), the substantially heavier projectile makes the ADEN more lethal, and it has a higher rate of fire of about 1,300 rounds per minute.
An improved version, the
ADEN Mk 5, incorporates a multitude of small changes to improve reliability and increase rate of fire slightly to 1,500â€"1,700 rounds per minute. No new Mk 5s were built, but many older weapons were converted, being redesignated
Mk 5 Straden.
Aircraft using the ADEN 30 as in-built armament have included the
English Electric Lightning,
Folland Gnat (and
HAL Ajeet),
Hawker Hunter,
Gloster Javelin,
Saab Lansen,
Saab Draken,
Supermarine Scimitar, and Australian versions of the
F-86 Sabre. Several
podded versions exist, including the installations scabbed below the fuselage of British
Hawker-Siddeley Harrier (and
USMC AV-8A/Cs) and
Sea Harriers and the Swedish
FFV Aden, which is used (among others) on the
BAe Hawk. The FFV Aden contains the weapon and 150 rounds of ammunition, is 151.57 in (3.85 m) long, and weighs 802.5 lb (364 kg) fully loaded.
The ADEN is very similar to the
French DEFA cannon, and the two weapons use the same range of 30 mm ammunition.
The ADEN Mk 5 became the basis for the planned
ADEN 25, which was to be a somewhat larger weapon (90 in / 2.29 m long, 203 lb / 92 kg) firing the new range of
NATO 25 mm ammunition (as in the American
GAU-12 Equalizer) at a much higher muzzle velocity of 3,445 ft/s (1,050 m/s). The lighter ammunition was also to produce a higher rate of fire, 1,650 to 1,850 rounds per minute. Unfortunately, severe development problems plagued the ADEN 25, which proved unable to meet its design weight target. It was finally cancelled in
1999. As a result, RAF Harrier GR.7 and GR.9 aircraft currently have no cannon, no attempt apparently having been made to retrofit the older ADEN 30 mm pods.
Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers retained the 30 mm weapon until their retirement in 2006.
*
Type: single-barrel
automatic cannon*
Caliber: 30 mm x 113 (1.18 in)
*
Operation:
revolver chamber*
Length: 1.59 m (62.6 in)
*
Weight (complete): 87.1 kg (192 lb)
*
Rate of fire: 1,200 - 1,700 rpm
*
Muzzle velocity: 741 m/s (2,430 ft/s)
*
Projectile weight: 220 g (7.76 oz)
