An M16A2 20mm Vulcan cannon is maintained prior to being mounted on a Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122 F/A-18C Hornet during Exercise Pitch Black 2016 at Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal, Australia, Aug. 5, 2016. The lightweight gun is used only in F/A-18s and the six rotating barrels minimize barrel erosion and heat generation, contributing to a long weapon life. Shooting 6,000 rounds per minute, the gun will replace a cannon in one of the squadron’s F/A-18C Hornets and will be used for ground targets during Pitch Black. The exercise affords Marines with VMFA-122 the opportunit

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An M16A2 20mm Vulcan cannon is maintained prior to being mounted on a Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122 F/A-18C Hornet during Exercise Pitch Black 2016 at Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal, Australia, Aug. 5, 2016. The lightweight gun is used only in F/A-18s and the six rotating barrels minimize barrel erosion and heat generation, contributing to a long weapon life. Shooting 6,000 rounds per minute, the gun will replace a cannon in one of the squadron’s F/A-18C Hornets and will be used for ground targets during Pitch Black. The exercise affords Marines with VMFA-122 the opportunity to integrate and increase interoperability with regional joint and coalition partners while developing operational concepts for conducting sustained combat operations. ( Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Nicole Zurbrugg)

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Size: 3568px × 4752px
Photo credit: © AB Forces News Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: /-18c, air, australian, aviation, beaufort, black, force, frontier, hornets, interoperability, iwakuni, level, mag-12, mag-31, mals-12, mcas, mwss-171, northern, ordnance, pitch, raaf, royal, southern, territory, tindal, training, udp, unit, vmfa-122, vmgr-152