GAU-12/U (25 mm)

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• ▄AV-8B Plus (Suspended)

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

• Default: SAPHEI-T* · HEI

Default belt with a 50/50 composition of SAPHEI-T* and HEI. Very effective against air targets due to every round having HE.

• Air targets: SAPHEI-T* · HEI · HEI · HEI

Air target belt which is similar to the default belt but with more HEI rounds. Far more lethal against aircraft but less dangerous against ground targets due to a lower amount of SAPHEI-T* rounds.

• Ground targets: SAPHEI-T* · HVAP · HVAP · HVAP

Belt suited for ground targets. The HVAP round has more than 60 mm of penetration which is more than enough to go through the roofs and engine decks of many tanks. Weak against air targets.

• Stealth: HVAP · HEI · HVAP · HEI

Similar to the default belt but all the SAPHEI-T* rounds are replaced by HVAP rounds. As the name implies no tracer rounds are used so players have no assistance in figuring out lead against an enemy aircraft. It does provide a good mix between attacking ground and air targets.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEI	7	6	4	3	3	3
SAPHEI-T*	24	22	15	10	6	4
HVAP	66	65	60	55	50	45

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEI	1,100	0.18	0.2	0.1	34.56	79°	80°	81°
SAPHEI-T*	1,100	0.19	1.2	9	20.48	79°	80°	81°
HVAP	1,036	0.21	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°

Comparison with analogues

There aren't many air platforms with a 25 mm cannon. The Harrier GR.7 does have a 25 mm suspended pod but the gun has inferior fire rate. However, it does have similar velocities for each round. The GAU-12/U can best be characterized as a more powerful M61 Vulcan cannon.

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High fire rate (3,600 rounds per minute)
• Good variety in ammunition types and belts
• Excellent velocity (~1,100 m/s)

Cons:

• Can go through ammunition very quickly due to the RoF
• Recoil is quite significant

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.