US deploys 'game-changer' weapon to Afghanistan - Yahoo! News
The gun's stats are formidable: it fires 25mm air-bursting shells up to 2,300 feet (700 meters), well past the range of most rifles used by today's soldiers, and programs them to explode at a precise distance, allowing troops to neutralize insurgents hiding behind walls, rocks or trenches or inside buildings.
"This is the first time we're putting smart technology into the hands of the individual soldier," Lehner told AFP in a telephone interview.
"It's giving them the edge," he said, in the harsh Afghan landscape where Islamist extremists have vexed US troops using centuries-old techniques of popping up from behind cover to engage.
"You get behind something when someone is shooting at you, and that sort of cover has protected people for thousands of years," Lehner said.
"Now we're taking that away from the enemy forever."
And, as the article noted, saving people’s lives - sometimes.Well, here's to finding better ways of killing people, I guess.
Before that, we'll need a ton more miniaturization, not to mention totally new developments in weapons systems...Sci-Fi movie clip
*crosses arms*
*crosses arms*
Before that, we'll need a ton more miniaturization, not to mention totally new developments in weapons systems...
I mean, each of those initial "replay" rounds has GOT to be a tiny (and highly maneuverable ) missile - unless the first round somehow highly magnetizes the damn target...but no, that wouldn't work, it would just attract the rounds in the magazine…
And further, the flame and ice weaponry is just pointless, I think - the number of times it would be useful would be far too few to merit its probable weight/power costs.
I can see the potential uses of the arrow system for stealth purposes, but the capture net probably falls in the same category as the flame/ice weapons – too bulky/weight intensive for its usefulness.
Far better to have the flame/ice/net devices as attachments that can be used to modify the weapon if necessary…Or even better, as totally separate weapon systems (especially in the case of the net)…
What?If I were a moderator, this sort of post would be a bannable offense.
Original source: AFP
Beautiful... absolutely beautiful. The timing couldn't be better.
Sorry, I'm somewhat unempressed. It's a nice, expensive toy. It is not a game changer, or a war winner. I'd have settled for an infantry rifle that wouldn't jam as much and is much more lethal than the one we have now. For that matter our boys could use some sensible rules of engagement policies that make sense. As it is this is just some expensive equipment that will enrich the defence industry at the expense of the american taxpayer.
1. how heavy is it
2. how heavy is the ammo
3. how often and easily does it break
4. does it require batteries
1. how heavy is it
2. how heavy is the ammo
3. how often and easily does it break
4. does it require batteries
1: 14 pounds
2: It's a 25 X 40 grenade, the weight is pretty standard for those. Not sure the exact weight.
3: Unsure but know that reliability has been a big part of the testing process
4: Yes, both for fusing and laser range finder.
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