Osama, someone's at the door!
Posted on 12/12/2004 4:20:42 PM PST by stockpirate
The Technology
Introduction
Metal Storm's technology provides a means whereby objects, such as bullets that have been tightly grouped in multiple tube containers such as barrels, can be stored, transported in and electrically fired from those same containers. These containers or barrels can be grouped in any configuration, to meet any particular application.
The technology has no known equivalent, and can provide an electronically variable burst rate of fire, from conventionally slow to previously unobtainable rates, in excess of one million rounds per minute.
The technology was originally inspired by a desire to try to reduce the number of mechanical steps required to load, fire, eject and reload weapons. In a quantum leap Metal Storm takes ballistics from nineteenth century mechanical operations into the new millennium.
The Concept
Metal Storm's technology achieves its unparalleled performance through the concept of numerous bullets stacked in a barrel, with each bullet separated by a propellant load, such that the leading propellant can be reliably ignited to fire the bullet, without the resulting high pressure and temperature causing unplanned blowby ignition of the trailing propellant load, and without collapse of the projectile column in the barrel.
This unique concept has been accomplished through the invention of a bullet which on the one hand expands and locks in the barrel in response to high pressure immediately in front of the bullet. As a consequence, each bullet in turn can be fired in sequence from the barrel, and an individual barrel tube, loaded with numerous rounds and exclusive of any ammunition feed or ejection system, breech opening, or any mechanical operation whatsoever, when provided with an electric priming system is, in effect, a complete weapon.
Barrels can be grouped in any configuration required for a particular application, while remaining simple and compact, and have no moving parts, no separate magazine, no ammunition feed or ejection system. Excluding consideration of appropriate ancillary systems such as recoil control systems, target acquisition systems and turreting systems, the only moving parts in Metal Storm's barrel technology are the bullets.
Use of the Technology
As an effective military weapon system, the technology offers the safety of 100% electronic keying capabilities, the advantage of on-board selection of a non-lethal response capability, and in another form, the potential to provide an area denial capability without the use of conventional landmines.
The technology also has potential application in a range of diverse commercial areas, including fire fighting, fireworks, precision agricultural chemical distribution, fastening systems for use in the construction industry, and seismic surveying for minerals and oil.
The US has something like that already. 50# smart bomb. I think they're small enough so
that 8 can be configured in place of a 2000 pounder.
And, iirc, the B2 can carry 80 of them.
I don't have any problem understanding the system. I am curious about how easy you seem to think this would be to use.
Since you seem to know a lot about this please correct me if I am on the wrong track. The "box" you describe would hold how many 40mm grenades? Forty or fifty thousand? The weight will be how many tons? Changing boxes would seem to require major hoisting capacity. At the advertised rate of fire the box would be emptied in about one twentieth of a second. This wouldn't seem to allow time to traverse or change elevation so this isn't even spray and pray. If they get in a fire fight the crew will be pretty busy changing boxes.
How many 155mm rounds will the box hold or will it require a bigger box. I suppose a bigger crane will be required to change this box.
I want one
Yes, I am right you do not understand the system. The rate of fire is controlled by the computer operator. So he could have it fire one round an hour if he choose to. The units are are hoisted into place on the aircraft much the same way a bomber is loaded. The firing is a lot more accurate than what we are presently using.
It appears to be fairly easy to use. As a matter of fact they just signed a deal to determine if the system can be used against torpedo's fired at a ship.
The system has no moving parts for loading and firing the rounds as the rounds are stacked in the barrel, so a barrel amy have 20 projectiles.
Gee, yeah, pretty exciting--but what if the attackers in an "over-run situation" were strung out in echelon--or in a two hundred yard by 4 miles formation? Suppose there were two waves--how long does it take to reload--several hours?
Let's think about reloading the 36 barrels. You probably couldn't get more than a couple of guys working on it at a time--plus of course all the ammo bearers lined up for a mile behind them with the million rounds. ...(I'd like to see that Big Boy) ... I've seen the video. Lots of flame and fury. BUT I'm trying to think how this weapon would be integrated into the forces we have. One per army? ...
THe ammo is stacked in the tubes.... so 1 tube has 6-8-12 how ever many the design call for they are held in crates that can hold 20-60 barrels...once again it depends on how many you chose..then... each round is electronically fired (no firing pins) it's based on the ink jet technology... so sometimes you put down a volley of all the tubes at once and get 20 -60 tubes firing one round in a pattern.. for say antipersonnel or anti vehicle rounds..that will cover a grid. There is no reload, the next round is in the barrel. That's what's so neat about the concept. For guns instead of a magazine the barrels will hold 6-8 rounds and can fire 1 or all 6-8 rounds at once in a pray and spray pattern. The electronics can be configured any way that the chip in the gun desires. Neat huh? you just replace the barrel with another that has 6-8 rounds or have a gun like the old derringers with 6 barrels and then you're talking about a lot of firepower.
I really think that this is as close to a change between the musket with musket ball and powder to the self contained bullet in the machine gun. It will revolutionize the way "guns" are designed and fired.
I just don't think that the stock is a good buy.... the tech stuff is great.
Remember that just because it can fire 1 million rounds per minute doesn't mean you will or it will.
Well, that explains why I didn't understand it. This will have to compete with a lot of other weapon systems that can fire one round an hour.
...so a barrel amy have 20 projectiles...
Earlier it was fifty but that doesn't make too much difference at one an hour. Would make a difference at a higher rate.
We still didn't get around to discussing the weight of a loaded "unit."
It would have to display an uncanny level of reliability for anyone to actually consider equipping cops or soldiers with Metalstorm's designs, though. Consider what happens if a charge fails to fire. Not only that round, but all the rounds stacked underneath it, are useless.
Then there's Metalstorm's "Variable Lethality" handgun design. Like a Star Trek phaser, it has setting for "stun" and "kill". The shooter can either launch a beanbag round, or switch to conventional projectiles (and I could swear that I recall reading somewhere that the pistol actually *speaks* when switched to "Lethal" mode, as a warning to fleeing criminals, I suppose. "Danger, Will Robinson!!") Y'know, the camera analogy still holds true. There was a Minolta camera back in the '80s called the "Talker", which spat out instructions in a female voice (with a heavy Japanese accent): "Too dark! Use frash!"
Metalstorm just keeps popping up every year or so, without much (if any) new information added. Things that make you go: "Hmmmm..."
First I am not an expert in the system. The number of rounds in a barrel depends on the length of the barrel and the size of the rounds.
The fire rate is controlled by a human, so the rate can vary as needed.
I did not read everything on the site so I don't know if it list weight per unit.
I did watch several of the video demo's on the site and found them to be very interesting.
They show a video of an unmanned aircraft (UAV)with 6 box configuration under each wing. The speaker says it carries 14,400 40 mm granades and can lay a fire path of 21 granades 100 yards wide for two miles. This is only one UAV. 2,100 barrel tubes. the firing is computer controlled in that it is only fired into the target area, using a grid system if the plane flys over an area will firing that is not inthe firing gris rounds are nt fired into that area, only the grid area.
I also do not own any of the company stock.
PDF required.
And they went the wrong way. Then the detective muttered: Dum Dums! LOL
Probably illegal for deer hunting in Connecticut. *sigh*
Youse guys know anything about this?
Osama, someone's at the door!
I think 155s would be a reach.
They are making a unit just for that purpose, it will only fire 750,000 per minute and have an alarm to warn you if the police are nearby......... :-)
No not at all. The units are configured in boxes with the barrels touching each other side by side. The use of stacked rounds and charges is what allows for rapid fire, there are no moving parts in the firing mode. There is no loading going on as the unit is firing.
It'll only get better!
Each round will weigh about 100 pounds. I would have to see this work to believe it.
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