War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

USS Portland

2021-07-30T13:22:38Z

U78562968: /* General info */

{{Specs-Card
|code=us_cruiser_portland_class
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American heavy cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}
USS Portland's survivability is <s>rather mediocre</s> a truly pathetic excuse for a <s>an American</s> heavy cruiser. It will almost always be outgunned and outmaneuvered by literally anything short of a small gunboat. Portland has a main "armour" belt of just 57.15 mm of RHA, which can be easily penetrated by <s>SAP and AP shells above 127 mm calibre</s> literally anything bigger than a 20mm cannon. The magazines <s>are</s> pretend to be protected by 146 mm of armour and sit below the waterline, meaning that they are <s>relatively</s> survivable, at least when compared a beachhead whale. Portland's ready-use shell rooms are directly below the turrets and thinly-protected, meaning that they can be detonated by <s>enemy shells</s> a strong gust of wind, resulting in severe damage. Portland has a crew of 1,033 crew members, which is about average for a cruiser, but unlike an average cruiser, everyone single one of these brave men goes into battle knowing they ''are'' going to die. The ship's four engines are placed symmetrically in groups of two, meaning that a well-placed shot can knock out at least two engines, if not sink the entire ship because it's a Portland/Porter, and that's just what tends to happen.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}
Portland has decidedly average mobility for a <s>cruiser</s> small eel, with a top speed of 60 km/h in Realistic battles and 70 km/h in Arcade - this is on par with most cruisers of other navies. The ship's turning circle and acceleration are nothing special, either.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
Before reading any further, the short version is that your guns are not going to compare will with any heavy cruiser of any other navy; they will also be disabled by the secondary armaments of most light cruisers without a second thought before you can unleash your second salvo. Your AA is not worth mentioning. If you want to know, in detail, why this is the case, continue reading.{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|8 inch/55 Mark 15 (203 mm)}}

The ''Portland'' carries a main armament of nine 8"/55 Mk.15 guns in three triple turrets, two fore and one aft. These guns are the standard armament for American heavy cruisers, and pack an impressive punch. The guns have good ballistics, and can access four shell types: Mk.14 Common, Mk.19 APCBC, Mk.25 HC and Mk.17 SP Common. Of these shells, the Mk.17 Special Common shell is most effective against cruisers, as it has a great explosive mass and enough penetration for most cruiser main armour belts. The Mk.19 APCBC shell can be used against heavily-armoured targets, but has a relatively small explosive mass of 1.65 kg. Finally, the HC shell, with almost 10 kilograms of explosive filler, is highly effective against destroyers and unarmoured vessels.

However, the guns have two main drawbacks. Firstly, they have the slowest reload speed of any 8-inch gun, with a fire rate of just three rounds per minute (20-second gun reload). This means that they fire much slower than their contemporaries, which typically have a fire rate of five rounds per minute (12-second reload). As well, the guns have the slowest horizontal turret rotation speed of any heavy cruiser, at just 3.1 degrees/second (comparatively, the Admiral Hipper's guns rotate at 6.8 degrees/second).

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|5 inch/25 Mk.13 AA (127 mm)}}

The ''Portland'' carries a secondary armament of eight 5"/25 Mk.13 anti-aircraft guns, mounted on single open-mounts. These cannons are very effective medium-to-long range anti-aircraft guns, but are not effective against any armoured targets. They have access to just two shell types - Mk.36 AAC (HE-TF) and Mk.28 AAC (HE-VT). The former is a time-fuse shell (meaning that the fuze is set before the weapon is fired), while the latter is a proximity fuze shell that explodes automatically upon reaching the target. Both shells are ineffective against armoured targets, having ~35 mm of penetration. However, they are both capable of dealing with air and unarmoured targets quite effectively. The HE-VT shell is typically the better pick, as it offers greatly-improved efficiency against air targets.

The guns themselves are relatively good at short-range defence, being capable of firing at 20 rounds per minute (3-second reload). As well, they have very good vertical and horizontal firing angles. However, take note that the guns fire at a low muzzle velocity of 657 m/s which should be accounted for when manually aiming.

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}

{{main|1.1 inch/75 Mk.1 (28 mm)|20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm)}}

Portland carries four quadruple 1.1 inch "Chicago Pianos". The 1.1 inch/75 Mk.1 gun, otherwise known as the "Chicago Piano" (because it was the size of a baby grand-piano), was the standard anti-aircraft armament for most American ships prior to the introduction of the 40 mm Bofors cannon. These guns are mediocre at best; though they have a good fire rate (similar to the AN-M2 Browning), they aren't too effective at dealing damage, and also jam rather quickly. As well, take note that the gun doesn't have ammunition options.

Portland also carries twelve single 20 mm Oerlikon cannons. The 20 mm Oerlikon Cannon was the standard light anti-aircraft gun for several nations, including the United States, and replaced the prior [[AN-M2 (12.7 mm)|AN-M2]] Browning machine gun. This weapon is an effective short-range AA gun, and has great firing angles. The gun lacks belt options, but the loaded ammunition is still quite effective against light targets. As well, the guns fire from a drum magazine that will need to be reloaded. Because of the magazine design, the gun will not jam with continuous fire.

== Usage in battles ==

USS Portland <s>isn't the easiest ship to play</s> the most painful experience in the entire US naval tree, with the exception of the Porter, but just barely. Given that it faces battleships often (which completely outclass it in every aspect except anti-aircraft protection) and many cruisers too (such as USS Brooklyn and USS Helena) which outclass it in terms of firepower. As such, the ship needs to be played carefully in order to succeed in battle.<blockquote>Okay, no, hold on, pal. 👆 Don't even put this ship in the same sentence as our Queen Helena. She is a goddess; a warrior without equal! The Portland is not even worthy of being in the same fleet as her!</blockquote>Firstly, Portland's main battery is <s>quite mediocre</s> bad...just so, so bad. The 9 × 203 mm guns, placed in triple turrets, have an extremely weak reload speed of 17.1 seconds with a completely spaded crew, and 20+ seconds with a stock crew. This reload speed is <s>uncompetitive</s> bad against most other cruisers at the Portland's BR, and <s>severely limits the ship's damage potential</s> barely makes the ship any worse than it would be if they were replaced with the 5 inch guns seen on every US other ship. In fact, it'd be an improvement. Furthermore, Portland's guns are inaccurate - and that is, ''very'' inaccurate. These weapons have a lot of trouble hitting things reliably beyond ranges of 8 kilometres, making the ship hard to play at longer ranges. These constraints mean that ''Portland'' does a lot better at closer ranges, where its main battery can hit targets reliably. The other side of this coin is that at the range where this ship can hit destroyers, it is outgunned by destroyers. Seriously, a single Somers Class could reliably take out two of these. It doesn't do well at long range because it can't hit anything and it doesn't do well at short range because its guns' tracking is stupid-slow ''and'' the reload speed is long enough for any destroyer to put a lethal salvo into 2 of her 3 turrets.

Second, Portland is not <s>that</s> survivable. Although it does have a relatively large crew size for a heavy cruiser, <s>''Portland'' lacks heavy armour, especially on its citadel, which houses the massive engine block</s>, there is absolutely nothing standing between these men and certain death. The ship also has little protection on its first stage shell rooms, which can be detonated by <s>stray</s> untrained AI secondary gunners. Because of these constraints, you should try to use ground cover as much as possible to preserve survivability. In maps such as South Kvarken, with plenty of island covers, stay behind islands wherever possible. In open maps such as the conquest maps, your only hope will be to stay behind the front lines, and hope that enemies don't target you.

Finally, note that ''Portland'' does not have <s>great</s> even mediocre anti-aircraft defence. While the ship does get access to several 28 mm "Chicago Piano" and 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun mounts, these weapons lack range and power, limiting their effectiveness to ranges of less than 2.5 kilometres. Indeed, the ship does carry eight 127 mm Mk 25 guns, capable of firing AA-VT (proximity fuze) ammunition, but these weapons are not capable of firing fast enough to be able to destroy faster incoming aircraft. Because of this, you should try to stay with allied ships, particularly ships with great anti-aircraft protection. This will help ensure that your ship will stay safe from enemy aircraft.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* <s>Improved armour protection from HE shrapnel compared to the Brooklyn</s> Changed in recent updates; Brooklyn is better all around.
* Main guns hit relatively hard [compared to its secondaries], being of a large calibre [relative to its secondaries].
* Thicker armour over main magazines than the Brooklyn, but lacks anti-frag so destroyers can knock it out with SAP.
* Crew of 848 is above average
* Relatively good anti-aircraft protection for a '''''pre-war''''' American heavy cruiser

'''Cons:'''

* Long reload compared to everything except battleships, with minimum reload at 17.1 s
* Poor shell selection with primarily inter-war shells
* No torpedo armament
* Anti-aircraft armament lacks hitting power and range making it relatively ineffective

== History ==


The ''Portland''-class cruisers were the third heavy cruiser design that the Americans produced in the interwar years, following the ''Northampton'' class. There were only two ships in this class, the USS ''Portland'' (CA-33) and the USS ''Indianapolis'' (CA-35). Interestingly the ''Portland'' class was originally planned to be a light cruiser design, being re-designated as heavy cruisers only after the hulls had been laid down in 1931.

Ships of the class were propelled by 4 screws, powered at 107,000 horsepower. This gave the ship a fairly standard top speed of 32 knots and a cruising range of 10,000 nautical miles.

Firepower was provided from 3 triple 8" guns in Mk. 14 turrets. This design was carried over from the previous ''Northampton'' class. These 280 ton turrets allowed a maximum of 41 degrees of elevation and 5 degrees of depression. The turrets were used in conjunction with the Mk.34 fire director system by, at the latest, 1945.

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==
''Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the ship;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the ship;''
* ''other literature.''

{{ShipManufacturer Bethlehem Steel}}
{{USA heavy cruisers}}

AH-64D

2020-04-04T02:42:24Z

U78562968: /* Offensive armament */

{{Specs-Card|code=ah_64d}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American attack helicopter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]].

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===
''Describe how the helicopter behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Characteristics
|-
! colspan="3" | ''Stock''
|-
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB
|-
| ___ || ___ || {{Specs|ceiling}}
|-
! colspan="3" | ''Upgraded''
|-
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB
|-
| ___ || ___ || {{Specs|ceiling}}
|-
|}

=== Survivability and Armour ===

==== MAW ====
''[Placeholder]''

* + 30 flares

==== IRCM ====
The infrared countermeasure (IRCM) increases difficult of enemy IR seekers to identify the helicopter.

* + 150 flares

== Armaments ==
=== Offensive armament ===
[[File:30mm HEDP.png|thumb|The 30mm x 173 GAU-8/A ammunition was among the most effective ammunition used in Operation Desert Storm with proven performance against all targets, including tanks, armored and light vehicles. The 30mm lightweight family of ammunition was developed to optimize the air-to-ground mission of the U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter. This ammunition family is also compatible with all 30mm x 113 gun systems.In December 2006 Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) received a contract from the U.S. Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, to provide 30mm air bursting ammunition for the U.S. Marine's Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Under terms of the contract, ATK will provide 1200 rounds within the next six months to the U.S. Navy for qualification tests. The contract contains three production options for deliveries of 30mm air bursting ammunition. This is the first ever production contract for air bursting ammunition and highlights ATK's role as a gun-system provider of choice.
"Air bursting technology is the future of medium-caliber ammunition and we are proud to be selected as the system provider of this important new warfighting capability," said Mark DeYoung, President, ATK Ammunition Systems Group. "Air bursting technology will extend the life of today's gun systems by significantly enhancing their effectiveness and it will play a central role in the gun systems of tomorrow such as the U.S. Army's Future Combat System."
ATK's air bursting technology is an affordable, operator-friendly design that can be scaled down and integrated into other medium-caliber gun systems such as the 25mm M242 Chain Gun. The M242 is currently deployed on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and Light Armored Vehicle-25.
Key components of the system include ATK's Mk44 Chain Gun, a gun control unit with an inductive fuze setter; a fire control system and the 30mm x 173mm Air Bursting Munition. Milliseconds before the round is chambered, the sophisticated fuze is programmed to explode at the precise range selected by the gunner -- who uses an advanced laser range finder to determine the distance. Once the round exits the gun, the ATK-designed fuze technology computes the projectile's revolutions and velocity to determine the exact moment of detonation.
The first platform scheduled to incorporate ATK's 30mm air bursting ammunition will be the U.S. Marines Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which is equipped with ATK's Mk44 Gun System. Other Mk44 platforms include the U.S. Navy's San Antonio Class LPD-17 amphibious ship, numerous NATO armored and ground combat vehicles, and potentially an up-gunned Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Work on the contract will be performed by ATK at facilities in Plymouth, Minnesota, Rocket Center, West Virginia, and Radford, Virginia.]]

==== 30mm Cannon ====
''The AH-64D has the most powerful primary weapon system on any helicopter. Suspended in a ball turret, the CCIP-enabled 30mm cannon fires a high-explosive dual-purpose (HEDP) round. Functionally, this round behaves like HEAT on ground targets and air-burst HE on air targets''<ref>https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/30mm.htm</ref>''.''

=== Suspended armament ===

==== AGM-114K Hellfire II ====
''[Placeholder]''

==== Hydra 70 M247 ====
''[Placeholder]''

==== AIM-92 Stinger ====
''[Placeholder]''

=== Radar ===
''[Placeholder]''

== Usage in battles ==
''Describe the tactics of playing in a helicopter, the features of using helicopter in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the helicopter in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the helicopter;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6638-development-ah-64-apache-the-rotary-chieftain-en|[Devblog] AH-64 Apache: The Rotary Chieftain]]

{{USA helicopters}}

AH-64D

2020-04-04T02:07:21Z

U78562968: /* Pros and cons */

{{Specs-Card|code=ah_64d}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American attack helicopter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]].

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===
''Describe how the helicopter behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Characteristics
|-
! colspan="3" | ''Stock''
|-
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB
|-
| ___ || ___ || {{Specs|ceiling}}
|-
! colspan="3" | ''Upgraded''
|-
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB
|-
| ___ || ___ || {{Specs|ceiling}}
|-
|}

=== Survivability and armour ===
''Examine the survivability of the helicopter. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical systems.''

== Armaments ==
=== Offensive armament ===
[[File:30mm HEDP.png|thumb|The 30mm x 173 GAU-8/A ammunition was among the most effective ammunition used in Operation Desert Storm with proven performance against all targets, including tanks, armored and light vehicles. The 30mm lightweight family of ammunition was developed to optimize the air-to-ground mission of the U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter. This ammunition family is also compatible with all 30mm x 113 gun systems.In December 2006 Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) received a contract from the U.S. Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, to provide 30mm air bursting ammunition for the U.S. Marine's Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Under terms of the contract, ATK will provide 1200 rounds within the next six months to the U.S. Navy for qualification tests. The contract contains three production options for deliveries of 30mm air bursting ammunition. This is the first ever production contract for air bursting ammunition and highlights ATK's role as a gun-system provider of choice.

"Air bursting technology is the future of medium-caliber ammunition and we are proud to be selected as the system provider of this important new warfighting capability," said Mark DeYoung, President, ATK Ammunition Systems Group. "Air bursting technology will extend the life of today's gun systems by significantly enhancing their effectiveness and it will play a central role in the gun systems of tomorrow such as the U.S. Army's Future Combat System."

ATK's air bursting technology is an affordable, operator-friendly design that can be scaled down and integrated into other medium-caliber gun systems such as the 25mm M242 Chain Gun. The M242 is currently deployed on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and Light Armored Vehicle-25.

Key components of the system include ATK's Mk44 Chain Gun, a gun control unit with an inductive fuze setter; a fire control system and the 30mm x 173mm Air Bursting Munition. Milliseconds before the round is chambered, the sophisticated fuze is programmed to explode at the precise range selected by the gunner -- who uses an advanced laser range finder to determine the distance. Once the round exits the gun, the ATK-designed fuze technology computes the projectile's revolutions and velocity to determine the exact moment of detonation.

The first platform scheduled to incorporate ATK's 30mm air bursting ammunition will be the U.S. Marines Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which is equipped with ATK's Mk44 Gun System. Other Mk44 platforms include the U.S. Navy's San Antonio Class LPD-17 amphibious ship, numerous NATO armored and ground combat vehicles, and potentially an up-gunned Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Work on the contract will be performed by ATK at facilities in Plymouth, Minnesota, Rocket Center, West Virginia, and Radford, Virginia.]]
''The AH-64D has the most powerful primary weapon system on any helicopter. Suspended in a ball turret, the CCIP-enabled 30mm cannon fires a high-explosive dual-purpose (HEDP) round. Functionally, this round behaves like HEAT, except''

=== Suspended armament ===
''Describe the aircraft's suspended armament: additional cannons under the wings, bombs, rockets and torpedoes. This section is especially important for bombers and attackers. If there is no suspended weaponry remove this subsection.''

=== Defensive armament ===
''Defensive armament with turret machine guns or cannons, crewed by gunners. Examine the number of gunners and what belts or drums are better to use. If defensive weaponry is not available, remove this subsection.''

== Usage in battles ==
''Describe the tactics of playing in a helicopter, the features of using helicopter in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the helicopter in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the helicopter;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6638-development-ah-64-apache-the-rotary-chieftain-en|[Devblog] AH-64 Apache: The Rotary Chieftain]]

{{USA helicopters}}

File:30mm HEDP.png

2020-04-04T02:04:57Z

U78562968:

The 30mm x 173 GAU-8/A ammunition was among the most effective ammunition used in Operation Desert Storm with proven performance against all targets, including tanks, armored and light vehicles. The 30mm lightweight family of ammunition was developed to optimize the air-to-ground mission of the U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter. This ammunition family is also compatible with all 30mm x 113 gun systems.

In December 2006 Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) received a contract from the U.S. Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, to provide 30mm air bursting ammunition for the U.S. Marine's Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Under terms of the contract, ATK will provide 1200 rounds within the next six months to the U.S. Navy for qualification tests. The contract contains three production options for deliveries of 30mm air bursting ammunition. This is the first ever production contract for air bursting ammunition and highlights ATK's role as a gun-system provider of choice.

"Air bursting technology is the future of medium-caliber ammunition and we are proud to be selected as the system provider of this important new warfighting capability," said Mark DeYoung, President, ATK Ammunition Systems Group. "Air bursting technology will extend the life of today's gun systems by significantly enhancing their effectiveness and it will play a central role in the gun systems of tomorrow such as the U.S. Army's Future Combat System."

ATK's air bursting technology is an affordable, operator-friendly design that can be scaled down and integrated into other medium-caliber gun systems such as the 25mm M242 Chain Gun. The M242 is currently deployed on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and Light Armored Vehicle-25.

Key components of the system include ATK's Mk44 Chain Gun, a gun control unit with an inductive fuze setter; a fire control system and the 30mm x 173mm Air Bursting Munition. Milliseconds before the round is chambered, the sophisticated fuze is programmed to explode at the precise range selected by the gunner -- who uses an advanced laser range finder to determine the distance. Once the round exits the gun, the ATK-designed fuze technology computes the projectile's revolutions and velocity to determine the exact moment of detonation.

The first platform scheduled to incorporate ATK's 30mm air bursting ammunition will be the U.S. Marines Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which is equipped with ATK's Mk44 Gun System. Other Mk44 platforms include the U.S. Navy's San Antonio Class LPD-17 amphibious ship, numerous NATO armored and ground combat vehicles, and potentially an up-gunned Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Work on the contract will be performed by ATK at facilities in Plymouth, Minnesota, Rocket Center, West Virginia, and Radford, Virginia.