The Phalanx Gun System is a 20 mm computer controlled anti-missile gatling gun primarily used on surface ships. Practically every US warship has one, affectionately known as "R2-D2" to Navy personnel, and the gun is continually updated by Raytheon for more capability. The gun system does it all, search, detection, evaluates threats, tracks, engages, and assesses the damage after killing the threat. Humans have finally been let in on the action with an upgrade that allows users to observe and identify targets before engagement.
The system has also crawled onto land and into a truck. The gun system has been mounted in an Oshkosh HEMIT A3 (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) and was tested at the Yuma Proving Grounds and has passed all tests, according to sources in Raytheon, by tracking, engaging and killing 9 mortar rounds. The land based Phalanx had been proven in Iraq, where at least 20 of the gun systems were mounted on trailers for some mobility. The Iraq system was known as the Centurion, and the new truck mounted system is the MLPWS or Mobile Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System. This system aids in the US Army's Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar Initiative.
The truck itself is pretty cool, with eight wheel drive and weighing 10 tons. Equipped with a diesel electric powertrain, it gets 20% more mileage than it's diesel only counterpart, can climb a 60% grade and can go 65 mph over bad roads. It boasts an armored cab, A/C, an onboard generator that can produce 100 amps of military grade AC power and can be transported in a C-130 aircraft.
