I was playing Ghost Recon and this gun is the most effective gun on there so I decided to look this weapon up on the net and it seems pretty incredible. The things it is supposed to do seem pretty amazing. I had read on one site that this gun is supposed to replace the M-16 as the primary all purpose rifle for the US Army pretty soon.
I am curious if anyone has actually seen one in real life or held one and can describe the weight or firing process of the explosive rounds.
Any other info or trivia about this gun is also welcome. I am not into guns but this thing seems really badass.
Do you think it will really become the standard gun for US Mil?
Also, how the heck does someone defend against a group of infantry packing these babies? It can supposedly detonate the grenade rounds at a set distance, effectively destroying any hope of any cover a solider could have.
The thing seems bad as hell, but it makes you wonder, what happens when we start giving them away to countries that need to “defend” themselves from oppressors and then turn and use them on us? Isn’t that what Afgahnistan is doing now?
No, it was just a segment. It did show it in action, though; but I don’t recall them showing the explosive rounds. (They may have shown them, but I don’t remember.)
<hijack grumble> Being a Marine, I can promise you the Corps won’t see them until approximately 2054, if we ever do. Until that time, we’ll just keep on tap-rack-banging! </hijack>
I recall this from Tales of the Gun. The HE shell aspect was the most intriguing. You set the range just beyond whatever cover they’re using, fire to one side, and it explodes behind the cover!
Amazing technology, so ingenious and creative that I’ve never even seen it in fiction. This is the type of advance that will totally change the nature of infantry fighting. You can’t hide behind a tree, or a rock, or in a foxhole.
First of all Stinkpalm, rock on for playing Ghost Recon. Between that and Splinter Cell I get little to no sleep. Mrs.Phlosphr loathes the day she bought me the X-Box.
As for the Gun, they do show it in action on the Future of Warfare on the Discovery Channel. The smart Bullets, also do some other interesting things including one type of round that homes in on a painted target, enabling a soldier to paint a target with some sort of laser, then fire the round just in the general vicinity of the subject. The round then follows the target and nails it. Pretty interesting stuff.
Also, in this months National Geographic, it shows future Camouflage allowing marines to blend into the environment around them. Some how the fabrice transmits light in such a way the Soldier completely disappears. You can read more about it here . HAve you ever seen Preditor?
One of the things I can’t find on any of the websites is talk about battery life, or power supply life. If the battery goes dead on this computer-with-a-dash-of-gun then what happens? They whip out the giant Rambo knife bayonet from the front and CHARGE!! Or drop the thing in a lake for a minute or so. Does the computer go SKEE-BOORRRR and shut down? I would like to see this thing in testing.
They are not like regular infantry rifles at all. IIRC, they require a crew of two people to move, set up, and fire. You don’t just throw them up to your shoulder and shoot. The gun itself is mounted on a tripod and there are lots of electronics to go along with it. The accuracy of the rifle, lazer, computer, smart-bullet combo is amazing. You basically just tell the gun what you want to kill and it takes care of the rest. It figures at factors like distance to target, wind etc. and aims it perfectly every time. When the bullet is fired, the gun sets it to go off perfectly above or beside the target. The thing is bad-ass if it always works like it is designed to.
Only problem is that the thing weighs something like 35lbs and runs everything on batteries. When the batteries go dead, so does the weapon. Then you are left with a side arm and a 35lb paperweight.
I was watching “Future guns” on the Discovery channel over the weekend and they had a segment on that gun. It is actually two guns which can be detached and used individually. This show said it would be the next standard issue weapon.
They also featured a working rail gun and a destructive laser…very cool.
This site has some nice pics of the OICW and some concept art stuff. I have seen some videos of the OICW in action on the internet, but google hasn’t yielded any results yet. I’ll keep looking…
Current versions are too heavy, understandable for a weapon still in development. Its target weight is still nearly 150% that of the M16 its supposed replace anyway.
Its also expensive. Non-infantry troops will still have M-16s.
And, as other people mentioned, when the batteries go out, you’re screwed. We’ll have to see how this plays out.