GE Really Wants To Sell You A 30mm Cannon Pod In this Classic Marketing Reel

Published Feb 16, 2018 9:58 PM EST

Marketing reels for Cold War era weapons systems are incredibly entertaining to watch. It’s a little Madison Avenue, a little Hollywood, a little Pentagon E-ring, and a bit of Sham-Wow guy thrown in for good measure. This was a time before powerpoint, and print could only tell so much of the story, so contractors poured good money into these films even for smaller ancillary systems. And the best reels have a good pitch man, whether it be General Chuck Yeager , or in the case of the GPU-5 gun pod, a serious and clearly spoken fighter pilot-like dude that uses overtly clear hand gestures named Frank Adamski from GE’s Defense Systems Division.

The GPU-5, which contained a GAU-13 cannon—a truncated version of the A-10 Warthog’s massive GAU-8 Avenger cannon—has an interesting history. At one time it was used in an attempt to replace the A-10 with F-16s—an effort that failed for a number of reasons, including shaking the poor “electric jets” violently during firing. You can read all about this past saga in this previous feature of mine, in it I wrote:

“During what would be a turning point in the way the world looks at air power, the F/A-16s set out to prove their worth. The idea was to unleash continuous streams of precision fire from their big 30mm gun pods onto Saddam’s armor and material and to finally prove that the faster, shorter legged and more nimble F-16 could indeed become a low-level gunfighter like the A-10. The results were less than desirable. In fact, they were horrible. Within the first 48 hours of continuous combat operations the GEPOD30s were proven to be totally unable to satisfy their intended mission. Precision fire was almost impossible with the setup as the F-16s software had not been adequately modified for aiming, and the vibration was so bad when the gun was fired that software tweaks probably would have made little difference anyway and it wreaked havoc on the F-16’s sensitive electronics and mechanical components. The reality is that the system was so ill-suited to the aircraft that just firing the gun multiple times would tweak the pylon it is attached to and thus it would become skewed far off zero. Not to mention that in comparison to the low and slower flying A-10, in actual combat the F-16’s high speed made it hard to get a proper sight picture to aim during long strafing runs. Apparently maintainers and pilots had warned that the gun was ill-suited for the light fighter long before the deployment, but their mission was to try and make it work. After the first few mission evolutions during the opening of Desert Storm, it was clear that the GPU-5 was an area suppression weapon at best, and the 174th unbolted the heavy gun pods from their jet’s and went back to using cluster and general purpose bombs on targets. A practice they would continue to practice as they patrolled their kill boxes throughout the war.”

“During what would be a turning point in the way the world looks at air power, the F/A-16s set out to prove their worth. The idea was to unleash continuous streams of precision fire from their big 30mm gun pods onto Saddam’s armor and material and to finally prove that the faster, shorter legged and more nimble F-16 could indeed become a low-level gunfighter like the A-10.

The results were less than desirable. In fact, they were horrible. Within the first 48 hours of continuous combat operations the GEPOD30s were proven to be totally unable to satisfy their intended mission. Precision fire was almost impossible with the setup as the F-16s software had not been adequately modified for aiming, and the vibration was so bad when the gun was fired that software tweaks probably would have made little difference anyway and it wreaked havoc on the F-16’s sensitive electronics and mechanical components.

The reality is that the system was so ill-suited to the aircraft that just firing the gun multiple times would tweak the pylon it is attached to and thus it would become skewed far off zero. Not to mention that in comparison to the low and slower flying A-10, in actual combat the F-16’s high speed made it hard to get a proper sight picture to aim during long strafing runs. Apparently maintainers and pilots had warned that the gun was ill-suited for the light fighter long before the deployment, but their mission was to try and make it work.

After the first few mission evolutions during the opening of Desert Storm, it was clear that the GPU-5 was an area suppression weapon at best, and the 174th unbolted the heavy gun pods from their jet’s and went back to using cluster and general purpose bombs on targets. A practice they would continue to practice as they patrolled their kill boxes throughout the war.”

Although it wasn’t that successful, the pod was something of technological marvel, especially when it comes to how its big, coke bottle-sized 30mm ammunition was stored. A helical magazine surrounded the gun itself, holding 353 rounds of ammunition—good for 10 one second bursts according to our pitchman Frank. The gun’s drive system ran on compressed air stored in a composite 3200psi air bottle. The whole thing was ungainly yet at the same time amazingly compact.

“The GPU-5/A: Hight tech simplicity… To strike and survive!”

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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发布于2018年2月16日晚上9:58（美国东部时间）

冷战时期武器系统的宣传片真是妙趣横生。它们融合了麦迪逊大道、好莱坞、五角大楼E环以及一些“神奇抹布”广告人的风格，可谓包罗万象。那时还没有PPT，印刷文字也难以完整地展现产品信息，因此，即使是规模较小的辅助系统，承包商也会在这些宣传片上投入巨资。而最优秀的宣传片都少不了出色的推销员，比如查克·耶格尔将军，或者像GPU-5机炮吊舱的宣传片中那样，由通用电气国防系统部门的弗兰克·亚当斯基出演，他是一位严肃认真、言辞清晰、颇具战斗机飞行员风范的男士，还伴有非常明显的手势。

GPU-5 搭载了一门 GAU-13 机炮——它是 A-10“疣猪”攻击机巨型 GAU-8“复仇者”机炮的缩短版——它有着一段有趣的过往。它曾被用于尝试用 F-16 战斗机取代 A-10，但由于种种原因最终失败，其中包括 F-16 在射击时剧烈震动。你可以在我之前的文章中读到关于这段往事的详细描述，我在文中写道：

在世界对空中力量认知发生重大转折的时期，F/A-16 战机肩负起证明自身价值的重任。其设想是利用其 30 毫米机炮吊舱，对萨达姆的装甲和物资进行持续的精确火力打击，最终证明速度更快、航程更短、机动性更强的 F/A-16 战机确实能够像 A-10 攻击机一样成为低空炮击高手。然而，结果却远低于预期，甚至可以说是糟糕透顶。在连续作战行动的最初 48 小时内，GEPOD30 机炮吊舱就被证明完全无法完成其预定任务。由于 F/A-16 的软件没有针对瞄准进行充分的改进，因此使用这套系统几乎不可能实现精确射击。此外，机炮发射时的震动极其剧烈，即使对软件进行调整也无济于事，反而会对 F/A-16 的精密电子和机械部件造成严重损坏。事实上，这套系统与飞机的匹配度极低，仅仅是多次开火就会导致吊舱发生轻微的震动。由于挂载点位于目标上，因此其偏差会远远偏离零点。更不用说，与飞行高度低、速度慢的A-10相比，F-16在实战中的高速使得飞行员在长时间扫射时难以获得清晰的瞄准图像。显然，早在部署之前，维护人员和飞行员就警告说，这种机炮并不适合轻型战斗机，但他们的任务却是尝试让它发挥作用。在“沙漠风暴”行动初期的几次任务演练之后，很明显GPU-5充其量只能作为一种区域压制武器，因此第174战斗机联队拆除了重型机炮吊舱，重新使用集束炸弹和通用炸弹攻击目标。在整个战争期间，他们在巡逻杀伤区时一直沿用这种做法。

在世界看待空中力量方式即将发生转折的时期，F/A-16 战机开始证明自己的价值。其目标是利用其大型 30 毫米机炮吊舱，向萨达姆的装甲和物资倾泻持续不断的精确火力，并最终证明速度更快、航程更短、机动性更强的 F/A-16 战机确实可以像 A-10 战机一样成为低空火力战斗机。

结果令人失望，实际上糟透了。在连续作战行动的最初48小时内，GEPOD30导弹就被证明完全无法完成其预定任务。由于F-16的软件没有针对瞄准进行充分的修改，因此使用这套系统几乎不可能进行精确射击；而且，发射时产生的震动非常剧烈，即使进行软件调整也无济于事，反而会对F-16的精密电子设备和机械部件造成严重损坏。

事实上，这套系统与飞机的适配性极差，多次开火就会使挂架发生偏移，导致瞄准点严重偏离零点。更不用说，与飞行高度低、速度慢的A-10相比，F-16在实战中的高速飞行使得飞行员在长时间扫射时难以获得清晰的瞄准图像。显然，早在部署之前，维护人员和飞行员就已警告过这门机炮不适合这款轻型战斗机，但他们的任务却是尽力让它发挥作用。

在“沙漠风暴”行动初期几次任务演练之后，很明显GPU-5充其量只能起到区域压制作用，因此第174轰炸机联队卸下了重型机炮吊舱，重新使用集束炸弹和通用炸弹攻击目标。在整个战争期间，他们在巡逻杀伤区时一直沿用这种做法。

虽然这款弹舱并不算成功，但它的技术堪称奇迹，尤其是在其30毫米口径、可乐瓶大小的弹药储存方式上。一个螺旋弹匣环绕着枪身，可容纳353发子弹——据我们的推销员弗兰克说，足够进行10次一秒点射。枪的驱动系统使用储存在3200psi复合材料气瓶中的压缩空气。整个装置虽然笨重，但同时又极其紧凑。

“GPU-5/A：高科技的简洁……为了打击和生存！”

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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