M134 Minigun questions

I am looking for more information on the type/style/Mk of the mount used to install a M134 minigun on vehicles.

Is there a standard type of magazine/ammo feed?

A portable power source like a battery pack or something?

Any feedback is appreciated.

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Hummm…
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The primary contractors for the M134 are Dillon Aero and Garwood Industries, both out of Scottsdale, AZ. They service and upgrade the M134s made by General Electric, which the US military bought 10,000 units during the 1960s. Dillon upgraded the internal systems of the weapons, including the de-linker assemblies. Dillon also bought several thousand second-hand units from “foreign sources” and upgraded these as well.

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Power is provided by a 24-volt battery pack and is fed through boxes with up to 4000 rounds each.

3D render (from Legend) of the helicopter configured M-134D with a 4000 round ammo box and battery pack.

3D render (also from Legend) of a vehicular mounted M-134 with the addition of a flexible feed chute M1913 rail mount fitted with a Surefire Hellfighter light and an Aimpoint CompM4S red dot.

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Oh, I need to be held! :heart_eyes:

:beer: :cowboy_hat_face:

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SF Operator manning an M-134D mounted on an M1165A1 ECV Humvee

M134D mounted on an M1245A1 SOCOM M-ATV.

M134Ds mounted on a 160th SOAR MH-60 Helicopter.

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Here’s one on a French Army Technamm VPS2

On a Panhard VPS

On a Defender 110 PATSAS (Commandos Marine)

H.P.

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From beltfeds.com:

M134D Minigun 24-Volt Power pack.

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IMG_5262
IMG_5261

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Or if you’re feeling technical :joy:

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DIllon Aero’s MCAS 500 weapons platform fitted to a Hughes 530D helicopter.

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Thanks everyone for your feedback, I found a catalog that mentions part numbers and stock numbers, I will work with those.

I converted the catalog to images so as to share it here:








































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In general, and very loosely based, special operations forces (SOFs) use the minigun on ground combat vehicles whereas conventional forces use the machine gun. That is generally how it’s usually been as SOFs use a minigun for large amounts of fast suppressive fire since they normally operate alone and without close reinforcements on the ground.

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Live-Resin has some very nice minigun sets.

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Can they be man-portable, or is that only in Hollywood? :wink:
:smiley: :canada:

Only if you are Arnold “The Governator”

Or Jesse “The Body”

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God bless Texas. From a shoot I attended earlier this year.

Or “The Rock”.

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I KNOW i am not the only one who has the Tiger Models Panhard VBL in the stash (both of them in fact) and saw the pics above and thought…

…“iiiiiiiinteresting”

Lose the MILAN launcher and kitbash a 3D printed aftermarket M134? Ooh you saucy thing. Touch me.

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There is also this guy

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Yes, the M134 7.62mm minigun can be handheld, but the recoil will most likely throw the user’s balance and aim off.

I read that it can be handheld in the Jane’s weapons hardcover books back in the 1990s at my college library. Those books cost several hundred U.S. dollars each. The M134 entry had a photo of the man-portable version with backpack. The backpack contains two cassettes of linked ammo although I don’t remember how many rounds the backpack contains.

On the other hand, the 5.56mm XM556 microgun is a better choice for man-portable minigun firepower.

The XM556 has been shown at AUSA and Defense expos mounted on the side of MRZRs and SOF unarmored and open vehicles. In an emergency or vehicle evacuation, the XM556 can be dismounted from the side of the SOF vehicle and carried with the Operator although I have not seen the ammo backpack designed for it.

https://www.emptyshell.us/xm556-microgun

I have not seen any SOF use either miniguns in a man-portable configuration in real life.