MetalStorm? Anybody seen this?

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Been covered here before, but we can hash over my opinions again, if you'd like.

Not a new concept.
Might have a use in short range missile interdiction for boats.
Reloading is a bear.
Area denial system might have promise if integrated with a sufficiently advanced radar warning system.

Won't get into the use of the design in small arms because the concept is just downright silly.
 
Looks and sounds like something my cousins used in Vietnam;
Called it a "Claymore Mine".
What is the rate of fire on a Claymore?
Understand the c-4 explosive has a rate of burn of about 24,000fps.
 
I seem them talking about this on tech TV. Pretty neat idea. They talked about the application to handguns in that they could hold different types of ammo for different purposes, kind of like setting phasers to stun or kill. Of course the whole thing was basically a hand held computer that discharged projectiles and is a platform for smart guns. What that would lead into, who knows?
 
Metal Storm has been around a while and it's nice to see it finally crawl out of the lab and onto the proving grounds. O'Dwyer certainly seems the type to believe in 'peace through superior firepower'. :) More seriously, I can see Metal Storm weapons ending up occupying a number of niche roles.

The first role is that of CIWS. The system certainly has the rate of fire to be used on either ships or tanks, depending on caliber. I wouldn't want to be near a tank firing a Metal Storm CIWS though. As a CIWS it has the benefit that the individual barrels seem simple to soldierproof and to swap.

The second role is that of fast area denial. A Metal Storm filled with grenades could rapidly scatter them through several hectares. If some barrels are swapped for 80mm barrels, things become even nastier for anyone unlucky to be caught in the open. Think of an oversized claymore filled with giant exploding buckshot pellets when comtemplating the effect.

Now what I would like to see is a 10 barrel cluster filled with 00 buckshot firing together or sequentially.

Cheers,
ErikM :evil:
 
1,000,000 rounds a minute, 16,666 rounds a second. How many seconds until the barrells are dribbling all over the ground in a molten mess?
 
Strange, coming from a country that doesn't want anybody having a gun, but, I guess governments are different. Still, interesting little booger.

Link
 
but who gets to reload the sucker under fire?
Click to expand...
The ammunition is stacked in the barrel and electrically fired. To reload, you have to get new barrels. I doubt anyone would be recharging a barrel under fire. Heck, I don't even know what it takes to refill a barrel. Wonder if they'll get Dillon to produce a MetalStorm RL550 or something. Or maybe you'd just use a ramrod? Don't know.
Plus, each bullet travels a different distance down the barrel, so each load would have to have a different charge to get a similar velocity. Imagine having to load a magazine in a certain order, and screwing up means each load would have a different velocity. That'd be a reality with this.
isin't it pretty much a single shot shotgun
Click to expand...
If you mean a shotgun capable of firing each pellet seperately, I guess that's a decent analogy. It can fire 'em about as quick as a shotgun, but you have the option of firing single pellets.

It's a cute technology, and I love the idea of multiple projectiles stacked in a single barrel ... for fireworks.
 
Neat Concept ...

But I think it's just cool technology that is never going to find a home. What can it do that you can't already do with the wide choice of standoff weapons that we already have? Modern weapons are being designed to do more damage to the enemy from farther and farther away. I'm guessing that a weapon that still requires you to be within "small to medium calibre" range to nail your opponent is going to have a somewhat limited range of usages. Still pretty cool though ... :)
 
Rediscovered time and again,
Click to expand...

"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done there is nothing new under the sun" (ECC 1:9)
:D
 
Read John Ringo's sci-fi book series on the War Against the Posleen, starts with "A Hymn Before Battle" for an interesting description of the effects on the crew of an M1 Abrams converted to a 105MM (!!!) Metalstorm carrier. Sort of like being inside a blender in a hurricane while riding out a 7.8 Richter earthquake!:what:
There's also a neat 16 inch naval gun mounted tank called Bun Bun that considers Abrams to be 'crunchies'!
 
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