The Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II was designed for close air support of ground troops and . . . that’s it. It’s slow, it’s ugly (they call it the ‘warthog’) and it’s a devastatingly effective way to silence enemy ground forces.
To that end the jet’s nose is equipped with General Electric Aircraft Armament Subsystem A/A49E-6: a 30mm gatling gun mechanism, double-ended linkless ammunition feed, storage assembly and a hydraulic drive system.
Shooting some 3,900 rounds of armor shredding depleted uranium rounds each minute, the mini-gun’s characteristic brrraaapppp sound means that someone somewhere is in a heap of trouble. Now, though, plane itself is in peril. The Air Force is looking to cut all their A-10s from the fleet. Meanwhile, this flying gun’s getting it done.