| EX-17 Heligun | |
| Origin: | United States |
| Type: | Machine gun |
| Is Ranged: | YES |
| Manufacturer: | Hughes Aircraft Company |
| Weight: | 13,6– 15 kg |
| Length: | 760 mm |
| Cartridge: | 7.62×51mm NATO |
| Caliber: | 7.62 mm |
| Barrels: | 2 |
| Action: | Gas operated |
| Rate: | 4000-6000 rpm |
| Feed: | Belt |
| Sights: | 7 |
The Hughes EX-17 "Heligun" is a double-barrel 7.62 mm calibre machine gun.[1] [2] [3] The weapon is gas-operated and was developed by Hughes Aircraft for use in the OH-6 recon helicopter.[1]
The Heligun was developed by Hughes Aircraft as part of a complete package for the OH-6 recon helicopter. It offered a number of significant advantages over the M134 Minigun – it weighs less, it was self-powered (not electrically driven),and a 6000RPM firing rate. Ultimately, it was not adopted because the reliability (mean time between stoppages) could not be brought up to par, and US Army officials decided that it did not offer enough improvement over the already adopted M134 Minigun to be worth the switch.