The GAU-17/A utilized on the UH-1N, H-3, and H-60 aircraft, is a crew served, electrically driven, 6 barreled, rotary action, percussion fired weapon, with a maxi-mum rate of fire of 6000 rounds per minute. In the current crew served application the rate of fire is selectable at either 2000 or 4000 rounds per minute. In the UH-1N DAS configuration the gun can be fixed forward and remotely fired by the pilot. The components that make up the GAU-17/A gun system consist of a gun control assembly with electrical cables, gun drive motor, a MAU-201/A or a MAU-56 delinking feeder, flexible ammunition feed chutes and an ammunition storage system. The ammunition storage system has a capacity of 4000 rounds of linked 7.62mm percussion primed ammunition.
The M134 minigun was used on the M21, M27, XM50, and Emerson MINI-TAT on the UH-1 "Huey", OH-6A Cayuse, and OH-58A Kiowa, XM18E1, M28 series, and XM64 on the AH-1G and MOD AH-1S "Huey" Cobra, XM53 on the AH-56A Cheyenne, and on a wide variety of U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force light fixed-wing aircraft. The M134 is also used on a number U.S. Army special operations aircraft.
Components of the M134 minigun are the rotor assembly, six bolt assemblies, six removable bolt tracks, gun housing assembly, rear gun support, six barrels, barrel clamp assembly, safing sector, housing cover, and two quick-release pins. As the rotor turns within the stationary housing cover, the bolt assembly rollers follow the main cam path of the housing cover, causing the bolt assemblies to move along the accommodating tracks. Each barrel is mounted in the barrel clamp assembly, in a fixed position, in alignment with a bolt assembly.
