I came across this in the news and figured it must qualify for the big bore forum. I was surprised to see flutes on this barrel and wondered how much experimenting the Army has done on the subject of fluting. I've seen several threads regarding this topic but have not seen it in a military application before.

I believe the Germans and Russians used fluted MG barrels in World War II.

George

I was a Bradley Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer in Germany in the mid-1990's. If my memory serves me correctly, we transitioned from unfluted barrels to fluted during that time. I think that the new (fluted) barrels were a little shorter, and the conventional wisdom was that they shot more accurately.

unfortunately I don't know anything about the development of the fluted barrel, but the change was part of a series of improvements as the Army moved from the M2A2 to the M2A3 or "ODS" Operation Desert Storm BF.

I looked in my 1996 vintage Bradley Gunnery Manual and saw no reference to the barrel either way, I would imagine there is some info in the turret maintenance manual.

One thing for sure - there is nothing more fun than shooting that 25mm Gun!

Matt Romagnuolo