The term is sometimes used loosely to refer to guns of similar rates of fire and configuration, regardless of power source and caliber. The Minigun is used by several branches of the U.S. military. Versions are designated M134 and XM196 by the United States Army, and GAU-2/A and GAU-17/A by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.

The M134 GAU-17 “Vulcan” cannon is a six-barreled, air cooled, medium machine gun used primarily as a fire suppression weapon in aircraft for the U.S. military. The so-called “Gatling” design...

美国海军GAU-17/A型在UH-1 N、H-3和H-60型 直升飞机 上使用，提供给机组人员使用的是2000/4000发/每分钟两种可选择射击速率。 在UH-1 N配置中，速射机枪能在直升飞机前部固定并且被飞行员遥控射击。

GAU-17/A机枪系统一般在UH-1N、H-3和H-60等直升机上使用，由机组成员控制，电驱动，6根枪管，旋转动作，击发武器，最大射速可达每分钟6,000发。

2019年8月21日 · The General Electric GAU-17/A "minigun" represents the USAF/USN derivative of the U.S. Army's Vietnam War-era General Electric M134 Minigun vehicler-mounted weapon system. The GAU-17 operation follows the Gatling rotary-style munitions delivery arrangement pioneered by Dr. Richard J. Gatling during the 1880's.

The GAU-17/A gun system consist of a six-barrel rotary gun, a gun control assembly with electrical cables, gun drive motor unit, a delinking feeder, flexible ammunition feed chutes and an ammunition storage system.

2009年—《使命召唤：现代战争2》及重制版：型号为GAU-17/A。 战役模式之中安装在 悍马车 及 AH-6小鸟直升机 （英语：Boeing AH-6） 上，并由 美国陆军 第75游骑兵团 、 141特遣队 、 俄罗斯 极端民族主义 党武装力量及暗影连所使用。

The Minigun (also known as the M134, GAU-17/A, and Mk 25 Mod 0) is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute), employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source. …

M134 / GAU-17/A Minigun The Minigun is a 6-barrel electrically-operated gatling gun that is mounted on vehicles, helicopters and boats. The Army designation for the 7.62x51mm minigun is the M134 while the Air Force and Navy designate the system as the GAU-2/A (fixed mount) and the GAU-17/A (flexible mount).

M134 GAU-17采用北约组织的7.62毫米口径标准弹药，包括M59、M80实心弹（Bali）、M60高能试验弹（HP）、M6l穿甲弹（AP）、M62曳光弹、M63训练弹，M134型可靠性（MRBF）为25万发，寿命60万发，每根枪管寿命1万发，散布为6.5密位（80%的命中数）。