30 mm/54 AK-630 (30 mm)

AK-630 on MPK Pr.12412

Description

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Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• MPK Pr.12412
• MPK Pr.12412P
• MPK Pr.1331M

General info

The AK-630 is an up-calibred equivalent to the M61 (20 mm) Vulcan. With a similar performance to the AK-230 (30 mm), the AK-630 is doubtless the father of all low calibre AAA systems. As seen in the AK-230, the dual purpose of the gun leaves nothing to be expected: a fast firing, multi-purpose weapon with devastating ammunition, strong against surface vessels and positively annihilating against airborne threats. The main downside of the AK-630 compared to the AK-230 or the M61 are the lack of changeable ammo belts but still very capable of decimating enemies.

Available ammunition

The AK-630 has access to the same HEF-T* and HEF-I* rounds but not AP-T. Be aware as the ammunition carried in the AK-630 is the same as in the AK-230, 2,000 rounds only. Compared to the AK-230, the AK-630 can monstrously eat through those 2,000 rounds within seconds. Compared to other anti-air systems seen at the battle rating, the AK-630 has nothing we have not seen before. It is actually inside the "underpowered" anti-air systems compared to other 30 mm and rotary cannons. However, it compensates the lack of ammo belts with a rate of fire of ~5,000 RPM. Remember, compared to the M61 Vulcan, the AK-630 might lack penetration, but it is still a 30 mm, meaning a heavier round which flies much faster causing much more damage per round compared to the 20 mm. However, due to both systems's rate of dire, the damage done by them is nearly exactly the same as it is a matter of "how many rounds can be put into the enemy" instead of "how much damage can each round inflict".

• Universal: HEF-T* · HEF-I* · HEF-I* · HEF-I* · HEF-I* · HEF-I*

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Universal	3	3	3	3	3	3

Comparison with analogues

Compared to AK-230:

The main difference between both systems is the fact one is a six barrel rotary cannon and the other, two individual cannons. There is not much significant difference between them usage-wise (with the exception of the AK-630 having the ability to be used as a CIWS). However, the increased rate of fire but the lack of AP-T make this system have a different approach when fighting. While it is able to turn lightly armoured vessels in two seconds into Swiss cheese, the lack of penetration and post-penetration effects make this system not very reliable against heavier targets. The rate of fire and use of tracers make this gun much easier to use in the anti-air role compared to the AK-230, however, the tracers also provide a really clear warning for the pilots who are being engaged.

Compared to the M61 Vulcan:

While both being rotary cannons, the increase in calibre gives the AK-630 the upper hand despite the lack of AP-T and AP-I belts, belts the M61 has access to. The rate of fire and fast targetting capabilities make the AK-630 a much more effective AAA but gives the winning stand to the M61 when it comes to penetrating medium armour.

Usage in battles

The AK-630 has very similar handling to the AK-230 mixed with the M61, a quick firing multi-purpose gun capable of destroying surface targets and annihilating airborne targets. The gun has two different engagement modes which will be described further:

"Long range" engagements

The fact the gun has a low dispersion and high muzzle velocity, meaning it has a high accuracy, makes it very good at long range engagements. However, remember the gun has only 3 mm of penetration, meaning you will do absolutely nothing that has a thicker armour. The "long range" engagements of this system for surface targets should not exceed ~4 km (and that is stretching the numbers really high) unless it is a very lightly armoured surface target (sub-chaser, MTB, PT boat, etc etc). Make sure to not hold down the trigger for long, not only because the low amount of ammunition make engagements much complicated but also becasue the gun overheats really fast.

Airborne engagements:

It is pretty straight forward: detect, designate, track, engage. However, again try to avoid trigger happiness. The amount of rounds the AK-630 can put in the air is nowhere near comparable to other AAA systems, but be aware of the overheating and how the enemy plane reacts. A recommended tactic to use while while engaging enemy airborne threats (including bombs and missiles) is fire for seconds in a range of 2-4 seconds. Example: enemy bomber spotted at 8 km - tracking radar locks - engagement begins - trigger is pressed for 1 second - rounds miss and enemy starts to manoeuvre - reaims - trigger is pressed for 2 seconds - aircraft is destroyed. The use of tracking radar makes plane hunting easier, but sometimes tracking radars tend to display a somewhat awkward lead indicator. Use it as a guide but do not solely rely on it. It is really not recommended to utilize the AK-630 in ranges past 5 km, especially because other higher calibre AAA systems will perform much better at long range engagements (especially those with proximity fuze) than a simple 30 mm HE.

Close range engagements

The story completely changes in this matter! The "happy trigger" here is, while important to consider, close range is exactly where this weapon excels at. The fact it has a high rate of fire, a tremendous guidance speed (60°/s for horizontal drive) make this gun fool-proof. Detect, designate, track, engage. As long as these steps are followed the AK-630 will have absolutely no problems in turning Swiss cheese anything you fight as long as it is not heavily armoured. Fire at discretion. Be aware! If the gun keeps firing for long, it will overheat!

Airborne engagements:

This is where the AK-630 shines! The fact it has CIWS use make this a very capable and potent weapon system compared to other systems. Be aware, it is not as simple as it seems to be used as a CIWS, radar must be used (or cannot be used but then it turns things much harder) if accuracy is to be achieved with ease. While search radars can detect all sorts of flying objects (including ship shells), the tracking radars can only track aircraft, bombs, missiles and rockets. This must be considered as the AK-630 is unable to destroy incoming enemy shells, but is capable of destroying incoming rockets, missiles, and bombs (and obviously aircraft). The ease of destroying the airborne threats varies on a lot of factors: the distance between you and the threat, the speed of the threat, clutter between you and the threat (when more than one radio signals are detected, the tracking radar will have issues locking into one, the distance between the object and the surface, etc) and the reaction time of the user. While the AI will automatically engage enemy aircraft (as long as that option is active), it will not engage bombs, rockets or missiles, this is something the user must do. The smaller the object is, the harder it is to hit; a 100 kg bomb will be harder to hit than a 5,000 kg bomb, same goes for rockets and missiles. However, they are still deadly for the user and it must be careful when one is dropped. Thanks to the AK-630 having an elevation of -12°/+88°, there are no blind spots for the AK-630 (rotation angles effectiveness depend on mount, the MPK Pr.12412 has a full 360° rotation) but the elevation is blocked by the bridge and it is not able to counter threats comming in a ~90° frontal arc (45° per side).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Extremely high rate of fire
• Powerful ammunition due to calibre
• Extremely accurate and fast guidance speed

Cons:

• Low ammunition count
• Easy to overheat
• Can eat through ammunition within seconds

History

Design of the AK-630 (A-213) gun system started in 1963. The first prototype was made in 1964 and trials were conducted until 1966. The trials of the complete system with radar and controls went on until 1976 when the system was accepted for service. Production started in 1969 in Tula, with a modified AK-630M (A-213M) system accepted into service in 1979. These systems are the main close-in defense systems on modern Russian ships.

The gun itself is a 6 barrel Gatling gun designated as AO-18. The barrels are in a single block, having exhaust-driven joint automatics. They are belt fed with a flat magazine in the AK-630 and a drum magazine in the AK-630M. These weapons form a part of a complete self-defense system called A-213-Vympel-A, which includes gun, radar, optical and TV control systems. A single MP-123 Vympel system can control two 30 mm guns or one 30 mm and one 57 mm gun. This system can engage air targets at ranges up to 4,000 m (4,400 yards) and surface targets at ranges up to 5,000 m (5,500 yards). The TV control system can detect MTB sized ships at the distance of 75 km (40 nm) and the fighter-size air targets at 7,000 m (7,600 yards). This system is completely automatic and does not require human supervision although it can be directed from optical control posts in case of damage or for firing on shore targets.

The AK-306 (A-219) system was a modification of the AK-630 (A-213) system for use on light ships, like air cushion craft, ekranoplanes and small displacement motor boats. Externally, there was no difference between AK-306 and AK-630 guns, but internally instead of using the exhaust to power the automatics, the AK-306 (A-219) used electricity. This version also lacked radar control, being only optically guided, hence making it less of a anti-missile weapon and more of a surface-to-surface weapon. The design started in 1974 and the system was accepted into service in 1980. By 1986, 125 systems were in service.

In 1983 a decision to modify the AK-630 systems was made and the design of the AK-630M1-2 "Roy" system started. This weapon uses two AO-18 six barrel blocks, placed one above the other, and its size and weight allowed it to be placed in existing AK-630 positions. The system was tested from 1984 to 1989, but, due to the appearance of the gun-missile systems, it was not put into production. The single example remains installed on the P-44 (Pr. 206.6) missile boat.

In the end of the 1970s the design of the gun-missile system 3M87 "Kortik" was started. This model uses two AO-18 six-barrel blocks and eight 9M311 missile launchers. Unlike the AK-630, the ammunition is not stored under the mount, but in drums next to the barrels. The Kortik control system can control from one to six mounts and has both radar and optical-TV controls. The missiles are supposed to engage targets from 1,500 to 8,000 m (1,600 to 8,750 yards) with the guns taking over at shorter ranges. The missiles weighs 43.6 kg (96 lbs.) each and have a lethal radius of 5 m (16 feet). The trials of the mount started in 1983 and the weapon was accepted into production in 1989 and was installed until 1994. At first, it was intended to replace all of the AK-630 mounts with 3M87 mounts, but the 3M87 was significantly larger and taller than the AK-630 which limited its use to ships that could handle the extra mass.

In the 1990s a new system was started using two AO-18KD six-barrel blocks and eight missiles. It was at different times called Palash or Palma and is currently offered for export sales. This system can use any type of small heat-seeking missiles such as Strela-10, Igla, Stinger and Mistral. It can also use the hyper-velocity laser guided Sosna R missiles. However, with the current state of the Russian economy, it is unknown if the system will ever go into production.

At this moment there are many modernization projects for AK-630, 630M and 306 systems pending, mostly by adding missiles to the sides of the systems. These are aimed for export sales.

Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
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External links

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USSR naval cannons
20 mm	ShVAK
25 mm	2M-3
30 mm	AK-230 · 30 mm/54 AK-630 · 30 mm/54 AK-630M · BP "Plamya"
37 mm	37 mm/67 70-K · V-11
45 mm	45 mm/46 21-K · 45 mm/68 21-KM · 45 mm/89 SM-20-ZIF · 45 mm/89 SM-21-ZIF
57 mm	AK-725
75 mm	75 mm/50 Canet patt.1892
76 mm	34-K · 39-K · 76 mm/60 AK-176M · AK-726 · D-56TS · F-34 · Lender AA gun, pattern 1914/15
85 mm	85 mm/52 92-K · 85 mm/54.6 ZIS-C-53 · 90-K
100 mm	100 mm/56 B-34 · 100 mm/70 SM-5-1 · Minizini
102 mm	Pattern 1911
120 mm	120 mm/50 pattern 1905
130 mm	130 mm/55 pattern 1913 · 130 mm/58 SM-2-1 · B-13
152 mm	152 mm/57 B-38
180 mm	180 mm/57 B-1-P · 180 mm/60 B-1-K
305 mm	12-inch/52 pattern 1907 · 305 mm/54 B-50
356 mm	14-inch/52 pattern 1913 (356 mm)
	Foreign:
40 mm	2pdr QF Mk.IIc (Britain) · Skoda (Czechoslovakia)
47 mm	3 pdr QF Hotchkiss (Britain)
76 mm	76 mm/40 Ansaldo mod.1917 (Italy)
88 mm	SK C/30 (Germany)
120 mm	120 mm/50 Mk.4 Bofors M1924 (Sweden) · 120 mm/50 O.T.O. Mod.1933 (Italy)
152 mm	152/53 mm O.T.O. Mod.1929 (Italy)
320 mm	320 mm/44 Ansaldo model 1934 (Italy)