Testing of a new .50 caliber gun for the HH-60G Pave Hawk began at Edwards AFB, Calif., last week. The GAU-21 is being considered to replace the helicopter’s current GAU-18 .50 caliber defensive weapon, which suffers from a low rate of fire and short barrel-life, according to a release. The 413th Flight Test Squadron Det. 1 from Nellis AFB, Nev., conducted baseline testing on the legacy weapon last February that will now be compared to the ballistic dispersion of the GAU-21, which began trials at Edwards, Jan. 5. The open-bolt GAU-21 approximately doubles the HH-60’s current rate of fire to roughly 1,100 rounds per minute, while nearly tripling barrel-life to approximately 10,000 rounds. The weapon is a derivative of the FN Herstal M3M currently flown on the Navy’s MH-60 Knighthawk, which is ?also lighter, generates less recoil, and is less prone to ammunition cook-off than Pave Hawk’s current weapon. The trials are part of Air Combat Command’s ongoing effort to upgrade the helicopter’s defensive weapons, according to a release.
After months of debate and sometimes public tension, the Space Force and Intelligence Community are making progress on establishing ways to work together, officials said this week—to the point where one predicted there will soon be “a sharing of data like we've never seen before.”