Does this mean that the Vulcan is on its way to becoming obsolete?
www.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/06/26/australia.metalstorm/index.html
Gip Winecoff
Wow, that sounds like an electonic rail gun but I haven’t read the details yet. Let’s go browse…[:p]
Well, that’s not what I expected but it’s definitely a novel design. They say it’s accurate but I find that hard to belive from the bullet stack design. It seems like that would hinder the accuracy but what do I know???[:D]
Eric
It’s nice to carry out the death penalty with one of those. At least you’ll die fast…
They would see limited use most likely. An EMP would render it useless. There is no dependaple replacement for the mechanical gun yet and it’s not likely they will be replaced any time soon.
In an a/c, your still limited by weight of gun and rounds. You’ll just run out quicker. Any guarantee of better accuracy? Thing would be great on a ship to protect against cruise missles. Steel curtain defense?
What about barrel wear and heating problems?
Looks like great potential for mobile AAA weaponry. I’ll be following this one closely.
what barrel?? seriously, what’s the use of it? it’s just a waste of bullets, I think. You know how many bullets would be in the air before the target got hit? let’s see, it shoots about 16500 rounds a second say its shoots 5000 feet per second(very optimistic) the targets a mile away, theres 16500 bullets in the air. when 1000 would easily bring a missile down. As I stated before, A WASTE OF BULLETS. But it is cool[;)]
Talk about havin the quickest gun in the west!!!.[:p][:p][:p].
What will they think of next???
Flaps up, Mike
Sounds novel, but as an anti-personal weapon it is pretty useless. If you are getting charged, you end up using all your ammo just to take down the first 3 or 4 people. Still, I guess it is the posibilities from this that are important.
here’s their website
http://www.metalstorm.com/
the movies are pretty impressive!!!
It’s a huge waste of bullet. Why not just invent a powerful laser gun that generates the same amount of energy per second as one million bullets if they think they are so smart… Stop coming up with things that sounds novel and cool yet complete useless and stupid practically.
Just what we need. Another weapon capable of turning the average human into a fine red mist. It would be good in short bursts for missile defense, though. I can see the Navy drooling over it.
demono69
If it is such “a waste of bullits” then why is the petagon so interested in it.
I see that the first thing this will go in to is a AC-130 gunship.
Besides they will never stop looking for a new toy.
One day the vulcan will be replaced ,if not by this then something else.
Saturday, the History Channel ran a show on the history of the bullet. They showed this gun and how it worked. Tehy also fired it at a target. When it is discharged, it sounds like a zipper being pulled. No muzzle flash and it didn’t like any recoil.
Whats the point of firing so many rounds of ammunition, when improving accuracy works much better?
Or how about not even needing the weapon in the first place?
I think it’s called “spray 'n pray”.
Gip Winecoff
You wold nedd a 100 tuck convoy just to supply one gun for one hour.
One problem with that theory, altitude is a HEAVILY limiting factor on weapons when they’re being fired on the ground. You have to factor altitude as distance. So, a gun that could fire a mile away, if it’s 2,250 feet in the air, will only fire about 2,250 feet forward(altitude+distance when aimed at the ground). Also, the AC-130 is used almost strictly for heavy troop support, and rapid retaliation. Heavy troop support means anti-tank(thus the AC-130’s howitzer) and anti-human wave tactics(hence the cannons and vulcans). Both of which, the metal storm is ineffective at(the bullets are too close together to hit lots of troops, and more likely than not could never even THINK about piercing modern tank armor).
If the metal storm ever sees use, it will be as perimeter defense for fixed bases, and anti-missle defense for ships.
(both of which can be done[cheaper] by a CIWS equipped Vulcan-Phalanx). Thus, it is merely a novelty.
I find that hard to believe. The gatling is as accurate and reliable as any other gun, but has a much higher lethality rate, and is theoretically more bullet-efficient.
Remember, more than 500 years of firearms has yet to replace the blade as a weapon on the battlefield(and for good reason! When was the last time you had to reload a bayonet? Or when did you open a letter with your rifle? The blade/bayonet is PARAMOUNT to the success of a soldier!). Thus, I don’t think something like the gatling will be replaced. It will probably even show up in some form when armies are using laser guns(multiple lenses means less lens damage, as well as upped survivability, and an ability to hit multiple targets, hence the need for a gatling-laser.)
I think what they’re trying to sell there is the technology. When they said that it could fire “one million rounds per minute” it does’nt even mean that such a rate would be necessary in actual applications if you factor in “accuracy” among other things. I believe that the rate of fire is only one of the factors that must be considered. (Example: The Crusader Program was critized on putting much focus on rate of fire rather than accuracy.) Accuracy, mobility, serviceability are among the others.
Defense agencies may put interest on this weapon because of the countless possibilities that this rather new technology can offer.
But I agree with most of the guys here, it may take some time before we can see this thing in the battlefield.