Though popular in the Vietnam War, the mounted mini-gun had fallen out of favor with the US military by the mid-80s. Spares for these 1960s weapons had ceased to be produced since 1975, meaning that by the early ’90s, the military was in possession of a huge stockpile of antiquated weapons that were unreliable and impossible to maintain. The mounted mini-gun could have gone the way of the dodo, had Dillon Aero, an Arizona-based arms manufacturer, not acquired a large number of these defunct guns at knock-down prices. Instead of putting them into storage, they decided to recondition them and see if they could manufacture new parts for them and make them more reliable. Out of that decision came the Dillon M134 Gatling gun, and a legend was born.
First certified by the military in 2003, the M134 fires a devastating 3000 rounds per minute (or 50 rounds per second). The gun is made from a low-density titanium alloy making it much easier to control in combat situations. It is a multi-platform heavy machine gun, that can be mounted on ground vehicles, helicopters and also deployed at sea. Firing all types of .762 mm ammunition from tracers to armor-piercing shells to incendiaries, this lethal weapon affords the military a tactical advantages both in the air and on the ground.
Oh, and it juts happens to look pretty damn cool when fired at night. Check it out:
