The RMK 30 (''Rückstoßfreie Maschinenkanone 30''; recoilless

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...

) is a

recoilless A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

30 mm caliber 30 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. Such ammunition includes NATO standard 30×113mmB and 30×173mm (STANAG 4624), Soviet 30×155mmB, 30×165mm, and 30×210mmB, Yugoslav 30×192mm, Anglo-Swiss 30×170mm, and ...

firing

caseless Caseless ammunition (CL), or rather caseless cartridge, is a configuration of weapon-cartridge that eliminates the cartridge case that typically holds the primer, propellant and projectile together as a unit. Instead, the propellant and primer ...

30 × 250 mm ammunition cartridges. The gun was developed by the German company

Mauser Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...

, which is now a subsidiary of the

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Its shares are traded on the Frankfurt stock exchange. History Rheinmetall was founded in 1889. Banker and investor Lorenz Zuckermandel L ...

group.

The German Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (BWB) required a new recoilless autocannon, therefore the development of the RMK 30 started in 1993. Unlike former recoilless weapons it is capable of firing salvos or in fully automatic mode without producing recoil. It is a three-chamber

revolver cannon A revolver cannon is a type of autocannon, commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses a cylinder with multiple chambers, like those of a revolver handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, to fur ...

; the revolver and firing mechanism are driven by an

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

, allowing variable rates of fire of up to 300 rounds/min. A fraction of the propellant gases is ejected to the rear of the cannon, compensating for the recoil and allowing lightweight and less rigid mounts. Though recoilless, the RMK 30 has a higher muzzle energy than conventional 30 mm autocannons. RMK 30 cannons have been proposed as upgrade for the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

's (German armed forces) Tiger UHT attack helicopters. The UHT version currently lacks a gun, since the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

was not happy with the

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

, accuracy and the range of the French

GIAT 30 The GIAT 30 is a series of 30 mm cannon developed to replace the DEFA 550 series weapons on French military aircraft. Introduced in the late 1980s, the GIAT 30 is a revolver cannon with electric ignition and automatic recocking. Unlike the DEFA ...

mm cannon which is fitted to other Tiger versions. In 1996 it was tested mounted on a

Wiesel AWC The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC) is a German light air-transportable armoured fighting vehicle, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier, produced by Rheinmetall. It is quite similar to historical scouting tankettes in size, ...

. An unusual study (Project MORAINE) suggests mounting an RMK 30 gun in a retractable mast on a

Type 212 submarine The German Type 212 class (German: U-Boot-Klasse 212 A), also Italian ''Todaro'' class, is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the German and Italian navies. It features diesel propulsion and an a ...

. Such masts would extend the capabilities of

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s, which currently lack appropriate means to fight small surface targets or just give warning shots. This study has directly led to the

Muraena ''Muraena'' is a genus of twelve species of large eels in the family Muraenidae. This genus is common in the Mediterranean, and is abundantly represented in tropical and subtropical seas, especially in rocky parts or on coral reefs. In the majo ...

concept.

Gallery

Image:MURAENA mast for RMK30 Project MORAINE.jpg, MURAENA mast for RMK30 (Project MORAINE) on TechDemo 2008

References

Manufacturer's page
30 mm artillery Aircraft guns Autocannon Caseless firearms Post–Cold War artillery of Germany RMK30 Post–Cold War weapons of Germany Military equipment introduced in the 1990s {{artillery-stub