New machine gun capable of firing 1 million rounds a minute

www.wired.com ^ | Sept. 28, 2001 | Stewart Taggart

[techcor]

Aw, come on ScreamingFist, how about my "Metal Tornado" idea to have a more accurate (albeit slower) form of a missile? Sure, it's a one shot item that should explode afterwards but it should be able to take our a camp. Or skim along a canyon to take out a cave of terrorists.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Until there is an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) interference somewhere nearby .... or the battery goes dead, or a mortar shell blows up the transmitter, or the receiver, or the wire between the two, or the guy trying to light it off,

Then neither us nor the target can shoot the thing.

I wish they'd just try to design weapons that would simply WORK under all circumstances of dirt, mud, blood, rain, battle, confusion, darkness, power, and lack of power......

[Jefferson Adams]

WOW!!!

[b4its2late]

Tens of thousands of students at Pakistan's 6,000 militant Muslim madrassas say they plan to go to Afghanistan to fight U.S. soldiers, attack bases in Pakistan that may host American forces, or conduct suicide bomb attacks against U.S. targets if President Bush launches military action against bin Laden and the ruling Taliban militia in Afghanistan <----- now they would make an ideal testing range.....

[Dakmar]

It looks like it would be very effective against tailgaters. Is there a hardware kit to mount it on a Mustang? :-)

[Izzy Dunne]

I want to borrow this puppy come November.
I'm gonna BAG that twelve pointer, for SURE!

[AppyPappy]

I've already got one.

[Don Myers]

"I wish they'd just try to design weapons that would simply WORK under all circumstances of dirt, mud, blood, rain, battle, confusion, darkness, power, and lack of power......"

Yes, they probably have a few bugs to work out. I imagine that ammo companies are hoping that it works out.

[B4Ranch]

I was thinking of a situation where the enemy uses a satellite to test for the weapon before sending their troops into an area.

[Skel]

If you had them on the hovercraft, and it spun while firing them off, you'd have a "metal tornado".

Oooh! Like a true Death Blossom from the terrible movie The Last Starfighter. Cool!

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

For those really tight places.

>

[CubicleGuy]

"The technology offers... increased lethality..."

Ya think?

[CubicleGuy]

It looks like it would be very effective against tailgaters. Is there a hardware kit to mount it on a Mustang?

And all along I had thought that only Ford Pintos were hazardous in rear-end collisions...

[Don Myers]

"I was thinking of a situation where the enemy uses a satellite to test for the weapon before sending their troops into an area. "

I am sure that wars of the future will be fought with "amazing" technology. It might be best not to have wars in the future.

[Dakmar]

Putting one of these things on the back of a Pinto would make me back way the heck off. Of course you couldn't drive it because the front wheels would be four inches off the ground and the gas tank would scrape.

[The KG9 Kid]

"...This is a toy with no practical application."

Robotic perimeter defense?

[NMC EXP]

OTOH, you might have a point...one of my instructors insists that high-cap mags are only good for helping you miss faster...

No matter where you shoot, there's always more air than meat.

Regards

J.R.

[Charles Martel]

Yes, they probably have a few bugs to work out. I imagine that ammo companies are hoping that it works out.

Well, *one* ammo company, for sure - the one who gets the contract to pre-load all those barrels. The "stacked charge" idea has been around since the days of the matchlock. With those multi-shot, single-barrel muzzle-loaders, the lock was on a sliding mechanism that positioned it first at the frontmost charge, then the next - and so on. Unfortunately, the ignition of the front charge often set off the other charges stacked beneath it. The design was abandoned, obviously.

I'd really like to know how this fellow has solved the chain-firing detonation problems, but only out of pure curiousity. I'd never own a firearm that required you to buy a new barrel with each ammo resupply. Much like the more conventional (but little-loved) caseless ammunition designs, there would be no ammunition selection. Only the manufacturer - or the government - would be able to produce ammunition. Quite a clever gun-control tactic.