The 30 mm automatic cannon 2A42, also known as the Shipunov 2A42, is a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

/Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n 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 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 2,500 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

BMP-2

The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s....

 mechanised infantry combat vehicle, this gun is also fitted in the BMD-2

BMD-2

The BMD-2 is a Soviet airborne infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1985. It is a variant of BMD-1 with a new turret and some changes done to the hull. BMD stands for Boyevaya Mashina Desanta...

 airborne combat vehicle, BMD-3 airborne combat vehicle and BTR-90

BTR-90

BTR-90 is an 8×8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier developed in Russia, designed in 1993 and first shown publicly in 1994. It is a larger version of the BTR-80 vehicle, fitted with a BMP-2 turret...

 (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

BTR-T

The BTR-T is a Russian heavy infantry combat vehicle, designed by the Design Bureau of Transport Machine-Building state-run production association.-Description:It is based on the hull of the T-55 tank and answers the need for a heavy, well protected and well armed...

 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.

Ammunition

The 2A42 fires 30x165 ammunition, a cartridge introduced in the 1970s in the Soviet Union to replace previous 30mm 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 30x165 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

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

Infantry fighting vehicles

• 2T Stalker
  2T Stalker
  -Fire Control System:The vehicle incorporates a multi-channel day/night optical electronic suit.-Weapons:The weapon set of the 2T Stalker comprises a stabilized 30 mm caliber automatic cannon, a coaxial machine gun, an automatic grenade launcher, as well as four ready missiles; two anti-aircraft...
  
  
• BMP-2
  BMP-2
  The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s....
  
  
• BMD-2
  BMD-2
  The BMD-2 is a Soviet airborne infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1985. It is a variant of BMD-1 with a new turret and some changes done to the hull. BMD stands for Boyevaya Mashina Desanta...
  
  
• BMD-3
• BTR-80A
  BTR-80
  BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in the Soviet Union. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet army. -Description:The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC...
  
  
• BTR-90
  BTR-90
  BTR-90 is an 8×8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier developed in Russia, designed in 1993 and first shown publicly in 1994. It is a larger version of the BTR-80 vehicle, fitted with a BMP-2 turret...
  
  
• BTR-T
  BTR-T
  The BTR-T is a Russian heavy infantry combat vehicle, designed by the Design Bureau of Transport Machine-Building state-run production association.-Description:It is based on the hull of the T-55 tank and answers the need for a heavy, well protected and well armed...
  
  
• BMPT
  BMPT
  The BMPT "Ramka" is a new Russian armored vehicle designed to support tank and infantry operations, primarily in urban areas.This vehicle is sometimes nicknamed the "Terminator"...
  
  
• Fahd 280-30
• MT-LB 6MB
  MT-LB
  The MT-LB is a Soviet multi-purpose fully amphibious auxiliary armoured vehicle which was first introduced in the late 1960s...
  
  

Attack helicopters

• Mil Mi-28
  Mil Mi-28
  The Mil Mi-28 is a Russian all-weather day-night military tandem two-seat anti-armour attack helicopter. It is a dedicated attack helicopter with no intended secondary transport capability, better optimized than the Mil Mi-24 for the role...
  
  
• Kamov Ka-50
  Kamov Ka-50
  The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" is a single-seat Russian attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the Kamov design bureau. It was designed in the 1980s and adopted for service in the Russian army in 1995...
  
  
• Kamov Ka-52

Specifications

• Barrels: 1
• Length: 3,027 mm
• Weight: 115 kg
• Rate of fire (sustained): 300 r/min
• Rate of fire (max): 600 r/min
• Armor penetration (60° sloping at 1,000 m): 18mm – 25 mm
• Muzzle velocity : 880 m/s (AP-T) - 1,120 m/s (APDS)
• Effective range
  • Light armor: 1,500 m
  • Air targets: 3,000 m
  • Ground: 2,500 m
• Type: Twin feed, gas operated mechanism
• Calibre: 30 x 165 mm
• Ammunition: APDS, AP-T, HE, HEI, HE-T, HETP-T, TP