30 mm automatic cannon 2A42

This article is about the automatic cannon. For modular one-man turret that utilises it, see 2A42 Cobra.

2А42 on the Mil Mi-28 helicopter
Type	Autocannon
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1980
Used by	Russia
Production history
Designer	KBP
Designed	1970s
Manufacturer	Tula Machine-Building Plant
Produced	1980
Variants	2А72
Specifications
Weight	115 kilograms (254 lb)
Length	3.027 m (9 ft 11.2 in)
Cartridge	30 × 165
Caliber	30 mm
Barrels	1
Action	Gas-operated
Rate of fire	200 to 300 rds/min (low) 550 rds/min (high)
Effective firing range	4,000 metres (4,400 yd)
Feed system	Twin feed

The 30 mm automatic cannon 2A42, also known as the Shipunov 2A42, is a Soviet/Russian 30 mm automatic cannon. It is built by the Tulamashzavod Joint Stock Company.

Design

The 30 mm 2A42 cannon has a dual feed. One is for HE-T and the other for AP-T rounds. The gunner can select one of two rates of full automatic fire, low at 200 to 300 rds/min and high at 550 to 800 rds/min. According to the manufacturer, effective range when engaging ground targets such as light armoured vehicles is 1,500 m while soft-skinned targets can be engaged out to 4,000 m. Air targets can be engaged flying at low altitudes of up to 2,000 m at subsonic speeds and up to a slant range of 2,500 m. In addition to being installed in a two-person turret on the BMP-2 mechanised infantry combat vehicle, this gun is also fitted in the BMD-2 airborne combat vehicle, BMD-3 airborne combat vehicle and BTR-90 (or GAZ-5923) (8 × 8) armoured personnel carrier. A small number of these have now entered service. More recently, the 30 mm 2A42 cannon has been installed in a new turret and fitted onto the roof of the BTR-T heavy armoured personnel carrier based on a modified T-54/T-55 MBT chassis. The cannon is also the main armament of BMPT (Tank Support Fighting Vehicle). It is also used for various armament projects from various manufacturers. The design bureau for the 30 mm 2A42 cannon is the KBP Instrument Design Bureau. The 2A42 autocannon has also been used on the Bumerang-BM, an unmanned remote control turret on the Kurganets-25 and T-15.

Ammunition

The 2A42 fires 30x165 ammunition, a cartridge introduced in the 1970s in the Soviet Union to replace previous 30 mm autocannon cartridges. Other weapons using this size of cartridge case include the 2A38 and 2A72 autocannons for various vehicle, helicopter and air defence applications, as well as numerous single-, dual- and six-barrel naval and air force cannons. The 2A42, 2A38 and 2A72 fire percussion-primed ammunition; the naval and aerial cannons use electrical priming, and therefore their ammunition is not interchangeable with the land-based ammunition types, despite the same cartridge case size.

Originally three basic types of ammunition were developed in the Soviet Union for the land-based weapons: high-explosive incendiary, high-explosive fragmentation with tracer, and an armour-piercing ballistic capped with tracer. Later a sub-caliber armour-piercing round was introduced, and today also countries other than Soviet Union/Russia manufacture 30 x 165 percussion-primed ammunition. The main types of ammunition are summarized in the table below:

Designation	Type	Projectile Weight (g)	Bursting charge (g)	Muzzle Velocity (m/s)	Notes
3UOF8	HEI	389	49 g	960	A high-explosive incendiary round with A-670M nose fuze. The fuze produces a 0.15 millisecond delay on impact, and a self-destruct mechanism detonating the projectile after 7.5 to 14.5 seconds of flight (3900–5300 m distance from muzzle).
3UOR6	HE-T	385	11.5 g	960	Nose-fuzed high-explosive fragmentation tracer round, utilizing the same A-670M impact/self-destruct fuze as the 3UOF8. Tracer burn time 10 to 14 seconds.
3UBR6	APBC-T	400	none	970	Solid shot with blunt penetrator covered by a hollow windshield cap. Tracer burn time 3.5 seconds. Penetration: 20mm thick plate at 60 degree impact, 700 m range 14mm thick plate at 60 degree impact, 1500 m range 18mm thick plate at 60 degree impact, 1500 m range
3UBR8	APDS	304	none	1120	A sub-caliber discarding sabot. No tracer. Penetration: 25mm thick plate at 60 degree impact, 1500 m range
M929	APFSDS-T	?	none	?	A sub-caliber fin-stabilized discarding sabot round with tracer from Belgian Mecar, with tungsten alloy penetrator. Penetration: 55 mm steel at 1,000 m, 45 mm at 2,000 m range.

Platforms

Czech-made BMP-2 in Afghanistan, 2010.

The autocannon has been used since the 1980s on the following platforms:

Infantry fighting vehicles

• 2T Stalker
• BMP-2
• BMP-3
• BMD-2
• BMD-3
• BTR-80A
• BTR-82A
• BTR-90
• BTR-T
• BMPT
• Fahd 280-30
• MT-LB 6MB
• Boragh
• T-15 Armata
• Kurganets-25

Attack helicopters

• Mil Mi-28
• Kamov Ka-50
• Kamov Ka-52
• Kamov Ka-29

Similar 30mm autocannons

The 2A72 30mm autocannon, designed by KBP Instrument Design Bureau, is a lighter, less complex cousin of the 2A42. While the latter has 578 parts, 2A72 has only 349 parts, allowing it to weigh only 84 kg.Its rate of fire is 400 rd/min.

The 2A38 is a 30mm twin-barrel autocannon. It is mainly used on air defense vehicles like 2K22 Tunguska and Pantsir-S1. It weighs 195 kg and has a maximum rate of fire of 2500 rd/min.

Specifications

• Barrels: 1
• Length: 3,027 mm
• Weight: 115 kg
• Effective range
  • Light armor: 1,500 m
  • Air targets: 2,000 m
  • Ground: 4,000 m
• Type: Twin feed, gas operated mechanism
• Calibre: 30 × 165 mm
• Ammunition: APDS, AP-T, HE, HEI, HE-T, HETP-T, TP

Variants

• 2A42
• 2A72
  • ABM M30-M3 Modern platform made in Sevastopol Impuls 2, for Uran-9 or different armored vehicles .

See also

• List of Russian weaponry

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• 2A42 automatic cannon on KBP's official website
• 2A42 automatic cannon on Tulamashzavod's official website