YakB-12.7 machine gun
| Yak-B Gatling gun | |
|---|---|
 Yakushev-Borzov YakB-12.7 machine gun mounted on a Mi-24 helicopter (Museum of HuAF, Szolnok, Hungary) | |
| Type | Gatling gun |
| Place of origin |  Soviet Union |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Instrument Design Bureau |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 45kg, cartridge weight 0.130, bullet weight 0.048kg |
| Cartridge | 12.7x108 mm |
| Rate of fire | 4000-5000 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 810 m/s |
The Yakushev-Borzov YakB-12.7 mm is a remotely controlled 12.7x108mm caliber four-barrel gatling gun intended for the Mil-Mi-24 attack gunship and low-capacity troop transporter with 1470 rounds, but can also be mounted in GUV-8700 machine-gun pods with 750 rounds. It has a high rate of fire and is also one of the few self powered guns of the gatling type.
On Mi-24 it's mounted in VSPU-24 undernose turret, with a field of fire 60 degrees to each side, 20 degrees up, 60 degrees down. The gun is slaved to the KPS-53AV undernose sighting system with a reflector sight in the front cockpit.
It was replaced by larger caliber flexible GSh-23L or fixed chin-mounted GSh-30K in the late mark of the Mi-24 helicopters due to not doing enough damage to light armored targets that were not worth wasting rockets on.[1]
See also
GAU-19 a Western 12.7mm powered gattling gun