The 57mm Bofors mk3, why aren't we putting it on EVERYTHING?

[Podmonkey]

---

I'm bored, politics suck, the holidays suck, the world sucks. Let's talk about yhe big boomers instead:

Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/70 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This thing can launch an 8lb or programable oprojectile at 3,400 fps and 220 rounds per minute. And its compact and remotely operated.
We should put this thing in AC130s, we should build a Self Propelled Anti Aircraft Gun. Remember SPAAGs aren't just anti air but anti EVERYTHING! The Russians learned this in Chechnya when their armor was nuked from the rooftops of tall buildings. Tanks and APCs couldn't elevate their weapons high enough to return fire but their SPAAGs could and with deadly effect.
In an AC130 Gunship the 57mm could blanket a large area with a wide variety of munitions and with the ability to hot swap between two in an instant. The 57mm could take over tge roles of the aged, tired 40mm Bogors L/60 and M102 howitzers and do the job better than either, could even engage armor from the top wear that armor is weak enough to get wrecked by a 57mm shell.
A 57mm SPAAG could turn ground combatants into paste from long range and uses all sorts of programable air bursting rounds to do it with. Such an SPAAG would be highly effective against helicopters and larger drones from a fairly long range and would be effective also against low flying aircraft. Basically could engage and destroy everything short of a main battle tank and even then 57mm AP could probably severely disable a tank from the side and definitely from the rear.

 

[dsdmmat]

I like the C-RAM. Angry R2D2 that kills anything in the air.

 

[Brawny71]

I like the C-RAM. Angry R2D2 that kills anything in the air.

Except when turned off….in hostile ports

 

[FP1201]

---

I'm bored, politics suck, the holidays suck, the world sucks. Let's talk about yhe big boomers instead:

View attachment 277439

Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/70 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This thing can launch an 8lb or programable oprojectile at 3,400 fps and 220 rounds per minute. And its compact and remotely operated.
We should put this thing in AC130s, we should build a Self Propelled Anti Aircraft Gun. Remember SPAAGs aren't just anti air but anti EVERYTHING! The Russians learned this in Chechnya when their armor was nuked from the rooftops of tall buildings. Tanks and APCs couldn't elevate their weapons high enough to return fire but their SPAAGs could and with deadly effect.
In an AC130 Gunship the 57mm could blanket a large area with a wide variety of munitions and with the ability to hot swap between two in an instant. The 57mm could take over tge roles of the aged, tired 40mm Bogors L/60 and M102 howitzers and do the job better than either, could even engage armor from the top wear that armor is weak enough to get wrecked by a 57mm shell.
A 57mm SPAAG could turn ground combatants into paste from long range and uses all sorts of programable air bursting rounds to do it with. Such an SPAAG would be highly effective against helicopters and larger drones from a fairly long range and would be effective also against low flying aircraft. Basically could engage and destroy everything short of a main battle tank and even then 57mm AP could probably severely disable a tank from the side and definitely from the rear.

With Programmable ammunition is approximately $1,000 per round, and HE is $500. and at 220 rounds per minute (I know that's just the speed and not how many are actually expended) get's expensive quick!

 

[dsdmmat]

With Programmable ammunition is approximately $1,000 per round, and HE is $500. and at 220 rounds per minute (I know that's just the speed and not how many are actually expended) get's expensive quick!

Ehh stopping the fraud in MN would cover it.

 

[Podmonkey]

With Programmable ammunition is approximately $1,000 per round, and HE is $500. and at 220 rounds per minute (I know that's just the speed and not how many are actually expended) get's expensive quick!

Cheaper than missiles though

 

[Podmonkey]

I like the C-RAM. Angry R2D2 that kills anything in the air.

20mm is kinda weedy though. Limited range, Limited shell payload. The Dutch Goalkeeper system based on the 30mm GAU-8 cannon is better. A mix of these systems would work well, SAMs for long range threats, 57mm for intermediate and 20/30mm for close in. 57mm would be excellent for anti pirate/waterborne drone defense too, air upswing fragmentation rounds and that range and rate of fire, nothing waterborne could get close. Similar for sea skimming missiles which by the time detected its probably too late for missiles interdictition but yhe 57 could engage decisively from beyond CIWS range. And from what I understand tge 20mm Phalanx CWIS is considered only marginally effective for most aerial threats at best again to the the short range and low lethality of the 20mm round. I think its long passed time to retire the 20x102 in favor of 25,mm 30mm or especially the 35x228 Oerlikon round which has 20mm class rate of fire with far greater range and lethality.

 

[Podmonkey]

Also, tangentially speaking, the Swedish Archer artillery system is an outstanding piece of kit and we should be fielding it to replace our very aged M-109 Paladins.