The R-23M automatic cannon of 23 mm caliber installed on the Soviet orbital space station Salyut-3 (Almaz-2) was the only weapon ever launched into space, says The Drive.
The American edition drew attention to the report on the February visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the Reutov Scientific and Production Association (NPO) of mechanical engineering, “representing the best view of the Russian secret space gun.”
The Drive notes that with the help of the secret R-23M, based on the aircraft automatic cannon of the Aron Richter system, the USSR planned to keep the Salyut-3 defense in case of an attack by American spaceships.
The publication writes that the tests of the R-23M in space took place 46 years ago, on the last day of the Soviet station in near-earth orbit. The details of the tests, according to the publication, are unknown. It also notes that in order to compensate for the recoil arising from a cannon shot, Salyut-3 used jet engines.
In February, Oleg Korablev, Deputy Director of the Institute of Space Research (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recalled that in the 2000-2010s, a Russian-European-American mission was being worked out, which involved sending to Europe, one from the moons of Jupiter, the interplanetary space station Europa Jupiter System Mission. The specialist noted that within the framework of the project, the Russian side was responsible for creating the Laplace landing station. “We have spent many years on this project, but it turned out that there is no chance with the radiation resistance of electronic components that we could count on,” the scientist said.