[Jiles111]

http://www.metalstorm.com/latest_videos.html

Look at the videos on the top link.
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Inductively Fired. No in-barrel connections.

Multi-Shot Cartridge Reload.

96 x 40mm grenade capacity.

Direct and Indirect Fire.

Low Maintenance, Non-mechanical weapon.

Pull-down Menu-based computer operating system.

Network Ready. Plug and Perform

Rates of Fire from 1- 450,000 rpm

Rifled and smoothbore.

Available to load with multiple ammunition types. Fire HE, smoke, illumination, LTL, from the one weapon.

Each 12 brl pod section is 44.5cm long, 40.5cm high and 33cm wide.

Program Loaded weight budget, in metal: 48Kg

Ongoing development is planned to incorporate extended-range 40mm grenades, including ring airfoils.
http://www.metalstorm.com/pics/20_oct_2003_pod.jpg

[Andrew Wyatt]

PAGING JOHN RINGO

[DougCxx]

I do not understand the point of this thing, except to find a fool and his money.
.....
The only thing it can do better than conventional arms is fire dozens or hundreds of bullets in a very short time--such as, a second or less. Every other aspect of it seems to be to be considerably worse than the conventional light-medium-heavy guns we already have, and there are no easy solutions to its problems: the overall bulk, or the slow reloading process, or the complex firing mechanisms involved. It is the very epitome of "spray and pray". It is no great leap of anything; if you had told a weapons engineer to build you a roman candle that fired bullets, they wouldn't have had any problem doing so, but would have wondered why you would want such a thing.
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Initially the metalstorm creators tried to sell it as a space-based anti-missile/anti-satellite weapon, but the US military had already moved well into high-energy lasers for that purpose. So now they are trying to sell it as some sort of replacement for conventional weaponry--and it's no good for that either.
~

[Fly320s]

I think it would very effective if used at a slower firing rate, three in a group, and had elevation and directional controlability.

Mount three units on a truck or trailer. Have one unit firing slowly, about one round per second, while being aimed by the gunner. While that unit is firing the other units can be reloaded by a crew. If the firing rate is slow enough the crew would be able to keep up the cycle.

If the need arose, the gunner could go to mass-fire and empty all the tubes at once to engage a large target.

[280PLUS]

F-150 that it would look quite nice mounted on,,,

:D

[Grey54956]

I looked into this metalstorm stuff a few months ago. This is one of Rummy's current favorites. Now, I am a critic of Rumsfeld, so I tend to be a little harsh, but this is just over the top stupidity. Money that could have been put toward the Crusader program. Granted, the Crusader was over budget, but it promised to be the best artillery system ever (Ever!). Rummy decided that the Crusader just didn't fit with his idea of how the military would fight in the future. Instead he favors this kind of garbage.

[4v50 Gary]

When does the domestic version of it come out?

[UnknownSailor]

I'm with DougCxx on this one. Why replace current systems with Firestorm systems, when high rate of fire isn't needed?
Use this type of thing where it does the most good, which is anti-missle applications, whether sea or land based.

[Andrew Wyatt]

it has its uses. like an anti- infantry CIWS for tanks.

[Cosmoline]

Yeah, if our M1-A2 Tanks get charged by massed infantry formations this will prove its worth. Or if a unit has to deal with the Light Brigade or something.

[Andrew Wyatt]

you could put a four barrel on a powered turret that weighs practically nill, and cover the dead space between the tank and where the machine guns can depress.


you could also suppress ATGM teams with this thing.

it might have some utility as a way to remotely clear minefields.


also, it costs less per barrel than a mark 19.


you could put one on every truck in a column, and when an RPG gunner exposes himself, use IVIS to put in a call for fire, and have them automagically put a bazillion 40mm grenades into the approximate area of the gunner.

[Stinkyshoe]

I wonder, whats to keep the detonation shock of the first grenades to set off the rest coming behind them and blowing of the grenades in mid air. Maybe it shoots them far enough from the launcher....but I just get these bad flashbacks as a kid shooting lighter fluid into a campfire, and then....;)
Ss

[raz-0]

When does the domestic version of it come out?

Well, you can ask the NJIT smartgun research program. The metalstorm folks are a big proponent of smartguns, and jsut teamed up within the past couple months with NJIT here in NJ. SO yeah.. gotta love metalstorm. They want a smartgun civilian version that you would ahve to ship to the factory to reload. Real fun.

It's a completley assinine design even apart form their politics, especially scaled down to a man portable device. no two projectiles ahve the exact same ballistics because they are launched from different barrels and effectively from different length barrels.

[TheLastBoyScout]

This seems like a solution looking for a problem.... its as if someone wired together a couple dozen muzzle loaders and suggested it as a replacement for anything between a SAW and a MK-19.


Yeah you get one huge burst of fire... then you gotta swap out every barrel in the cell to reload. The only thing that MIGHT make sense is to use a variant firing solid slugs to replace the Phalanx, but even then you could come up short. What if you run out of metalstorm barrels before the other guy ran out of missiles? Keeping enough metalstorm barrels ready to use in order to have the same defensive capabilities as a CIWS with a full ammo load would eat up a lot of space.

[hillbilly]

I can think of plenty of applications where a huge volume of fire without pin-point accuracy might come in handy.

Uh, can anyone else imagine an light, portable 4-barreled unit like this on a trail ambush?

How about rigged up to a perimeter trip wire just behind your claymores?

How about set up along a roadside as a self-triggering vehicle ambush tool?

Anti-missle uses.

Or, for static bases, the ultimate in anti-sniper suppression? An entire gob full of 40mm grenades landing in the general area of a suspected sniper! Baboom-bablooey!

Or, full of rubber projectiles, or tear gas cannisters, or pepper spray projectiles, can you imagine what this baby would do to a full scale street riot from the top of a vehicle of some sort?

Yikes.....................

hillbilly

[TheLastBoyScout]

My responses in are in red...

I can think of plenty of applications where a huge volume of fire without pin-point accuracy might come in handy.

Uh, can anyone else imagine an light, portable 4-barreled unit like this on a trail ambush?
Would it really be that much of an improvement over a claymore/ machine gun/ MK 19 (Depending on the Metal Storm model involved)?
How about rigged up to a perimeter trip wire just behind your claymores?
Good idea
How about set up along a roadside as a self-triggering vehicle ambush tool?
Maybe.
Anti-missle uses.
I can see that.
Or, for static bases, the ultimate in anti-sniper suppression? An entire gob full of 40mm grenades landing in the general area of a suspected sniper! Baboom-bablooey!
Yes, but would this be anything a MK 19 or mortar volley couldn't do?
Or, full of rubber projectiles, or tear gas cannisters, or pepper spray projectiles, can you imagine what this baby would do to a full scale street riot from the top of a vehicle of some sort? Couldn't this be accomplished by a sustained burst from one or two Mk 19s? Remember although the per barrel cost for a metalstorm might be lower than a Mk19, with a 19 you need one barrel per weapon, with a metalstorm you need a barrel for every few rounds

I admit, you have convinced me that a MetalStorm with explosive projectiles might be useful and in a few situations it may improve on the current weapons. My problem was that I was thinking of it as a substitute for a Mk 19, when if any comparisons are valid between it and current weapons, the MetalStorm would be more of a "Claymore on Crack".

[hillbilly]

Yeah, anything a Claymore could do.

The Metalstorm would be basically a bigger, reloadable Claymore which you could put a lot more different types of ammo into.

Instead of a a whole lot of Claymores, a static base could have a few Metalstorms and a ton of reloads.

And here's an idea on the road or vehicle ambush. You could put two or three of these things on a ridge line several hundred yards away from the target area and hook them up to some sort of motion sensor or other remote triggering device.

Voila......like having 30 or 40 mortar teams or small artillery pieces on constant ambush watch with no sleep or eat breaks required. When something big enough moved in the target area, blammo.


hillbilly

[Andrew Wyatt]

you chould use it to lcunch a bunch of these. (http://technetcast.ddj.com/tnc_play_stream.html?stream_id=233) (robots with sensors on them)


or mines.


or upgrade them to 105mm high velocity APFSDS rounds and use them as AAA.

[DougCxx]

The apropriate question is not "what could it be used for?", but "is this thing enough of an improvement for any task than what is currently used to justify the added hassles of fielding it?"
~

[Chipperman]

...but where's the bayonet lug? :p

[roscoe]

How big is a box of 450,000 grenades?

[Gordon]

how about one of these every mile , mounted say 1000meters back from a 20ft razor wire fence EXTENDING ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN (AND NORTHERN BORDERS) . Just a few helicopters to maintain the computors and warning signs around installations. No more smugglers or invaders, no not one =0! I'd rather spend my 87 billion on this than Iraq's sewers!:evil: :evil: :evil: :fire: :fire: