The US-based Dragonfly Pictures Inc company has used one of its prototype DP-5X vertical take-off and landing UAVs to demonstrate airborne live firing of a Metal Storm GE40 40mm grenade launching gun system.

Multiple live fire demonstrations were carried out on behalf of the US Defence Advanced Research 27-28 September at the US Air National Guard Warren Grove bombing range in New Jersey.

Metal Storm says in a statement released 6 October that the flight demonstrations included “firing from the hover position at various altitudes as well as forward flight ‘strafing’ runs…

“Initial tests were conducted from the DP-5X UAV in strap-down mode as well as untethered hover sighting shots. Hover shots from various altitudes were followed by a concluding forward speed flight with shots that targeted a vehicle on the firing range”.

Metal Storm senior vice president for US operations Peter Faulkner has told Flight Unmanned that the DP-5X UAV used in the demonstration was one of the aircraft built for the US Defence Advanced Projects Agency as its contender for the US Army’s Future Combat System Class III UAV requirement.

Dragonfly and Metal Storm previously demonstrated ground-based firing of a twin 40mm gun system aboard a Dragonfly DP-4X aircraft with rotors turning in May 2004. For that demonstration the Metal Storm guns were mounted on either side of the helicopter fuselage.

Source and more info: flightglobal