The U.S. Army has awarded a contract to Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC, part of Northrop Grumman, to deliver 30mm automatic chain guns and bevel gears.
The contract, from U.S. Army Contracting Command and announced by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $8 million.
According to a statement issued Friday, Alliant Techsystems Operations was awarded an $8 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of the M230 30mm automatic gun and the bevel gear.
The U.S. Department of Defense also noted that work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 19, 2024.
The M230 chain gun is a 30mm, single-barrel automatic cannon developed by Hughes and now manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It is an electrically operated chain gun, a weapon that uses external electrical power (as opposed to recoil or expanding gas generated by the firing cartridge) to cycle the weapon between shots.
A 30mm automatic M230 chain gun is located under the fuselage. It provides a rate of fire of 625 rounds a minute. The helicopter has a capacity for up to 1,200 rounds of ammunition.
The gun has a positive cook-off safety for open bolt clearing and double ram prevention. Spent casings are ejected overboard through the bottom of the gun.
