30 mm caliber

The 30mm caliber is a range of autocannon ammunition. It includes the NATO standardized Swiss 30×173mm (STANAG 4624), the Soviet 30×155mmB, 30×165mm and 30×210mmB, the Czechoslovak 30×210mm, the Yugoslav 30×192mm, the British 30×113mmB, and the French 30×150mmB and 30×170mm cartridges.

Usage

Ammunition in 30mm is typically not used against personnel but rather as an anti-materiel or armor-piercing round. Rounds of this size can be effective against lightly armored vehicles as well as fortified bunkers. It is also a popular caliber for shipboard close-in weapons systems (CIWS), such as the Russian AK-630 and Dutch Goalkeeper CIWS.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation use their 30mm weapons in a variety of vehicles, including the Su-25 attack aircraft, Mi-24 helicopter, Mi-28 attack helicopter, Ka-50 attack helicopter, and the BMP-2, BMP-3, and BTR-90 infantry fighting vehicles. The most modern anti-aircraft gun systems in use by Russia are chambered in 30mm.

The U.S. military uses 30mm weapons in their A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft, AC-130 gunship (AC-130J Ghostrider variant), and in the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter (30×113mm). It was going to be used in the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, until the project was canceled. The United States Navy uses 30mm weapons on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and on Freedom and Independence-classlittoral combat ship as part of the surface warfare (SuW) package. In 2012, the Navy decided to replace the Mk 110 57 mm cannons on Zumwalt-class destroyer with the Mk 46 GWS (Gun Weapon System), a navalized mounting of the Mk44 Bushmaster chain gun. In 2022, the United States Coast Guard announced plans to install 30mm Mk44 chain guns on newly-built Polar Security Cutters (PSCs), though existing cutters would retain their 25mm Mark 38 mounts.

Types of ammunition

30 mm weapons are used in a variety of roles. As a result, ammunition in 30mm comes in several varieties: armor-piercing (AP), high-explosive (HE), airburst, and target practice (TP) rounds. Both AP and HE cartridges commonly possess incendiary or tracer elements, which may be noted in its designation; API and HE-T are Armor-Piercing Incendiary and High-Explosive Tracer respectively.

Weapons

• Examples of 30 mm rounds and cannons
• Swiss 30×173mm
• Soviet 30×165mm
• The DU penetrator of a 30×173 mm round used in the GAU-8
• French 30×150mmB
• 30×113mmB rounds being loaded into an AH-64D Apache Longbow

Current weapons

Historical weapons

See also

• 20 mm caliber
• 23 mm caliber
• 25 mm caliber
• 37 mm caliber
• 40 mm grenade
• Table of handgun and rifle cartridges

External links