[neverdem]

IIRC, it dates at least to the antiaircraft armament on the B29 bomber in World War II.

It's excerpted because I can't capture the links in the fourth and fifth paragraphs when I copied the text from the source code.

[xcamel]

"FREEZE!"

[Joiseydude]

The accuracy of the fire, and uncanny speed with which the CROWS gun moves so quickly and deliberately, is due to something few officers expected. The guys operating these systems grew up playing video games. They developed skills in operating systems (video games) very similar to the CROWS controls. This was important, because viewing the world around the vehicle via a vidcam is not as enlightening (although a lot safer) than having your head and chest exposed to the elements, and any firepower the enemy sends your way. But experienced video gamers are skilled at whipping that screen view around, and picking up any signs of danger. Iraqis are amazed at how observant CROWS is. Iraqis tend to just wrote this off as another example of American “magic.”

Many Iraqis, especially the bad guys, get distressed while watching a CROWS turret being exercised by some video game addict inside the vehicle. That’s because the most noticeable part of CROWS, as it swivels and “looks” around, is the machine-gun. Many Iraqis don’t even recognize the vidcam and other sensors. They think the machine-gun is, well, sort of R2D2 with a bad attitude and a license to kill.

[Stoat]

It would look SO good mounted on the stoatmobile....   "sigh"

 

[TXnMA]

A CROWS with one of these mounted in it

should be the right medicine for raghead terrorists -- and bass-thumpin' dummycars... '-)

[AmericanVictory]

bump!

[snippy_about_it]

Freedom Poster;Delta 21;mostly cajun ;archy; Gringo1; Matthew James; Fred Mertz; Squantos; colorado tanker; The Shrew; SLB; Darksheare; BCR #226; IDontLikeToPayTaxes; Imacatfish; Tailback; DCBryan1; Eaker; Archangelsk; gatorbait; river rat; Lee'sGhost; Dionysius; BlueLancer; Frohickey; GregB; leadpenny; skepsel; Proud Legions; King Prout; Professional Engineer; alfa6; bluelancer; Cannoneer No.4; An Old Man; hookman; DMZFrank; in the Arena; Bethbg79; neverdem; NWU Army ROTC; ma bell; MoJo2001; The Sailor; dcwusmc; dts32041; spectr17; Rockpile; Theophilus;humblegunner;Spktyr;snippy about it;samwolf


************



ON THE WAY!!!!. :-)

[rmlew]

We are getting many more than 15 a month, now that Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace plants in Norway and Pennsylvania are supplementing Recon Optical's plant in Illinois.

Of course, if we are looking at raw firepower, the Rafael Samson Remote Controlled Weapons Station seems king of the hil with a 30mm cannon, SPIKE ant-tank missile launcher, and smoke grenades.

[MrPiper]

I remember kids in Iraq throwing rocks at convoys. Looking at this, I'm thinking a kid with spray paint could take one out! Or a suicide paint gunner.

Our guys hate to shoot kids.

[Tailback]

Two questions.

Is it stabilized?

How vulnerable to small arms fire is all the whizbang gizmos?

If all it takes is one bullet in the right place to disable it, how is that any different than killing the gunner?

[ma bell]

Smile!

[wastedyears]

[Atlas Sneezed]

Word of advice:

If you ever face one of these manned by bad guys in your home town, aim your deer rifle for those shiny lenses. One hit and they are out of commission. Same as the armored windows of APCs. Slows the drivers down.

[GOPJ]

Many Iraqis, especially the bad guys, get distressed while watching a CROWS turret being exercised by some video game addict inside the vehicle. That's because the most noticeable part of CROWS, as it swivels and "looks" around, is the machine-gun. Many Iraqis don't even recognize the vidcam and other sensors. They think the machine-gun is, well, sort of R2D2 with a bad attitude and a license to kill.

Meanwhile, inside vehicles like the Stryker, the troops do feel like they are in another world. The Stryker is air conditioned, well equipped with electronics (including a sound system you can plug an iPod into) and a lot nicer than the nastiness outside.

Good God - the future is now...

[GOPJ]

Many Iraqis, especially the bad guys, get distressed while watching a CROWS turret being exercised by some video game addict inside the vehicle. That's because the most noticeable part of CROWS, as it swivels and "looks" around, is the machine-gun. Many Iraqis don't even recognize the vidcam and other sensors. They think the machine-gun is, well, sort of R2D2 with a bad attitude and a license to kill.

Meanwhile, inside vehicles like the Stryker, the troops do feel like they are in another world. The Stryker is air conditioned, well equipped with electronics (including a sound system you can plug an iPod into) and a lot nicer than the nastiness outside.

Good God - the future is now...

[PGalt]

Thanks for posting. GRRRRREAT stuff!

[wildbill]

the guns and viewing devices on tanks are protected by an armored turret.

I don’t know why the Crow’s armament and video camera is left vulnerable.

[Joe Brower]

Monday fun-day thread.

[Lee'sGhost]

SkyNet has awakened.

[ExSoldier]

When my outfit was testing the FAVs (Fast Attack Vehicles) in the early 1980s, long before special forces or the SEALs ever got them, we were able to remote either an M2HB or an M60 above the vehicle commander/gunner. The trouble was that to take out the gun on a dune buggy, you just had to aim a bit lower because they buggy driver and passenger had nothing to hide behind. Speed is considered "security" and considering they'd do about 120mph, cross country that was enough....went the thinking. We eventually mounted MK 19s and TOW missiles on those things. Tried a 30mm chain gun until we looked at the tires and realized the gun weight had flattened them.....We came up with a great way to transport them: Roll one into the belly of a C141 and then lift the nose so you can put the rear of the next under, keep doing that until the ramp ends. When it's time to offload the first roars off the ramp as the next driver jumps inside his and roars off letting the nose of the next car thump down as a driver leaps inside. It works like dominoes. Looked really cool, too.

[Tribune7]

Just wait until Cyberdyne invents Skynet.