Futuristic military systems get plenty of attention—and funding. Despite all the high-profile warplanes and combat ships, however, the current theater of urban environments and guerrilla enemies makes the development of new weapons for troops on the ground a pressing need. When the Pentagon recently tweaked its Future Combat Systems initiative, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made noise about fielding weapons to infantrymen who need them now, rather than planning for hypothetical dogfights and sea battles. But there's been some slow progress in bringing new squad-level weapons to foot soldiers. Here, then, are the most innovative systems currently in development—or already on the battlefield.
SCAR-Light
| Developer | FNH USA (USA) |
| Caliber | 5.56mm |
| Features | More accurate and less prone to jamming than the standard-issue M16 and M4 rifles, the SCAR uses quick-change barrels that can be swapped using a minimal number of tools. |
| Progress | The manufacturer had initially expected the weapon to be deployed in 2006, but after a limited production run last year, there's hope for the SCAR. |
The effort to replace the M-16 rifle, as well as its more compact variant, the M4, has been a long, epic and largely tragic tale. One attempt would have created a modular weapon system, called the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW),
with an integrated grenade launcher and laser-rangefinder. That
all-in-one system was scrapped because of excessive weight, and
subsequent attempts to salvage the core of that weapon—the XM8 assault
rifle—have also failed, highlighting some of the worst aspects of the
weapons procurement process.
Fed up with the rest of military's inability to replace the M-16 and M4,
and apparently uninterested in an OICW-type multipurpose weapon, the
Special Operations Command (SOCOM) held a competition for a new assault
rifle, to be deployed with special forces personnel. Having passed
muster as a more accurate and reliable weapon than the M4, FNH USA
landed the contract with its FN SCAR, which comes in two calibers—5.56
for the SCAR-Light, and 7.62 for the SCAR-Heavy. The weapon also meets
SOCOM's requirements for quick changes in the field. Within a few
minutes, a SCAR-Light's 18-in.-long, precision-fire barrel can be
replaced with a standard-length 14-in. barrel, or a shorter, 10-in.
barrel for use in cramped, urban environments. Although the SCAR-Light
is likely to be more common than the more powerful SCAR-Heavy, the two
weapons share 99 percent of the same parts, making field repairs easier
and streamlining the overall logistics.
XM -25
| Developer | Alliance Techsystems (USA) |
| Caliber | 25mm |
| Features | A computer-aided targeting system that allows the user to quickly aim at a target and to adjust the range of the air-bursting round. |
| Progress | The XM-25 is still in development, but in this industry—and particularly for a system that survived the OICW debacle—that amounts to very good news. |
As the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW)
program withered on the vine, the system's most revolutionary
element—microchip-embedded explosive rounds that could be detonated at
precise ranges, raining fragmentation down on enemies hiding in foxholes
or behind barricades—has managed to put down roots. Once envisioned as
an under-the-barrel weapon attached to an assault rifle, the
self-contained XM-25 is an entirely new take on the grenade launcher.
Using the on board ballistic computer and laser rangefinder, the firer
can quick set the exact range at which the 25mm round will explode.
This is precision-guided munitions for infantry, with the goal of
negating nearly any kind of cover a target could find, particularly in
urban environments. Rounds could be set to go off, in midair, just past
the corner of building, just inside a sniper's window, or directly above
a group of hostiles hunched behind a concrete barrier. Alliance
Techsystems, which is developing the XM-25, credits overhead air bursts
with the potential for five times greater lethality, compared with the
current M203 grenade launcher, because shrapnel will be more likely to
drop onto the target's head. It's a ghoulish point of pride, but, as
with other precision munitions, a more precise grenadier could also mean
fewer civilian casualties.
SAR 21
| Developer | Singapore Technologies Kinetics (Singapore) |
| Caliber | 5.56mm |
| Features | Integrated visible/ infrared laser sight and 1.5x optical scope, translucent ammo magazines. |
| Progress | The SAR 21 became standard issue for Singapore's armed forces in 1999, but there are no plans for adoption elsewhere. |
While the United States
has repeatedly—and spectacularly—failed to replace the aging M-16,
Singapore has been using a newer and possibly better-performing assault
rifle since 1999. The SAR 21 replaced Singapore's licensed version of
the M-16, and has gained a reputation among gun experts as one of the
best "bull pup" assault rifles—where the action and magazine are behind
the trigger—on the market. It has a smaller overall profile than the
M-16, without sacrificing barrel length (the shorter the barrel, the
less accuracy at longer ranges) and significantly more manageable
recoil, due in part to the weapon's center of balance. The recoil tends
to drive directly back against the firer, instead of pushing the barrel
upwards.
All of this is useful in an assault rifle, but particularly for urban
warfare, where more compact weapons are crucial to maneuvering indoors,
and where close-range, fully-automatic fire is more common. The SAR 21
has a Kevlar cheek plate to deal with chamber explosions occurring next
to the user's face, a regular safety issue for pullup weapons. It's also
one of the few assault rifles in the world equipped with an integrated
laser aiming device.
Corner Shot Launcher
| Developer | Corner Shot (Israel), Dynamit Nobel Defence (Germany) |
| Caliber | 60mm |
| Features | A collapsible firing-post, which is fitted with a camera and video screen, attaches to a disposable, one-shot 60 mm grenade launcher. Rounds can be fired at a 90 degree angle—other Corner Shot devices fire at up to 60 degrees. |
| Progress | Unveiled in 2004, the system does not appear to have been deployed yet. |
The Corner Shot is
a brutally simple contraption: a modified gun that, thanks to a hinged
frame, under-the-barrel camera and handy video screen, allows the user
to shoot around corners. Currently, there are three versions available,
each with a different weapon at the business end of the frame—a pistol, a
compact assault rifle or a 40mm grenade launcher. The device is
designed for urban environments, where the ability to peek around
corners with impunity is useful, but being able to open fire while
behind cover is even better.
With the Corner Shot Launcher, the concept is the same, but the result
is less subtle. Essentially a sideways-firing rocket launcher, it allows
the user to aim with the same kind of integrated camera and video
screen, and fire a massive 60mm round into an enemy vehicle or
reinforced position, such as a bunker. This device, which could be an
overwhelming weapon in urban engagements, is a collaboration between
Israeli and German defense firms.
FMG9 Folding Machine Gun
| Developer | Magpie Industries (USA) |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Features | Spring-loaded design transitions from box to gun with a single button-push, with a 31-round Glock 18 magazine loaded and ready to fire. |
| Progress | Non firing semiautomatic prototype shown in March 2008. No word yet on when a firing model—much less a fully automatic one—might be available. |
0 comments:
Post a Comment