May 19, 2009: The U.S. Navy is buying several hundred Israeli Mini-Typhoon 12.7mm remotely controlled machine-guns. These will be used to provide ships with more effective defenses against small boats, especially those carrying suicide bombers. The Israeli weapon is called the Mini-Typhoon. It is a 370 pound system that can be mounted on the deck just like a manned machine-gun. The Mini-Typhoon uses a day/night vidcam and a stabilizer. The remote operator has an automatic target tracker, and can easily hit small boats two kilometers away. The gun has 230 rounds available (giving the operator about 25 seconds of firing). The Mini-Typhoon can be mounted on warships in place of manned machine-guns, and can be operated from the bridge, or even below decks, or anywhere someone is always on duty. Operators with video game experience can be quickly trained to operate the weapon.
Israel has been using Mini-Typhoon for several years, and has been mounting it on its Protector USV (unmanned surface vessel). The U.S. Navy has been ordering the Mini-Typhoon system
