ATK [ATK] ‘s GAU-23 cannon successfully completed testing as Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi and the Italian air force (ITAF) finish the first phase of ground and flight testing of the fully configured multi-mission MC-27J tactical transport aircraft.
The series of tests exceeded all test objectives and demonstrated the accuracy of ATK’s side-mounted GAU-23 30mm cannon, the company said July 16..
The ITAF MC-27J aircraft was modified with an
L-3 Wescam [LLL] MX-15Di Electro-Optical and Infrared Turret mounted under the nose of the aircraft to support multi-mission applications such as a gunship, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and search and rescue (SAR) missions. The aircraft also has various radio and data links and ATK’s Roll-On/Roll-Off (RORO) palletized gun and mission control systems.
ATK and Alenia Aermacchi said: “The completion of successful testing with the Italian Air Force further validates the capabilities of the RORO gun and mission systems and demonstrates that the program is ready for fielding.
This testing builds on previous gun accuracy flight tests done with the MC-27J at Eglin AFB, Fla., in 2013 and will provide the aircraft with a vital capability and a greater mission flexibility at an affordable cost.”
Photo: ATK
The MC-27J is an advanced multi-mission system jointly developed by ATK and Alenia Aermacchi, based on the C-27J, the state-of-the-art twin-engine turboprop tactical transport aircraft currently available on the market.
ATK and Alenia Aermacchi announced their intent to jointly develop and market the MC-27J multi-mission aircraft at the 2012 Farnborough Air Show. The internally funded test and development program successfully completed its first phase in the spring of 2013