Objective Individual Combat Weapons System ("No place to hide" weapon)

Heckler & Koch ^

[mhking]

Goaled to revolutionize the infantry battlefield, the OICW consolidates the needs of the U.S. Armed Forces into one rifle that will selectively replace the M16/M4 carbine and the M203 grenade launcher and accessories.

The OICW integrates these capabilities and adds other functions currently available only as modular units. Capable of firing either the high explosive (HE) 20mm air bursting ammunition or NATO standard kinetic energy (KE) 5.56 mm ammunition, this rifle will substantially increase lethality and survivability on the battlefield. The modular Fire Control System (FCS) will range to the target (with day or night optics) and automatically communicates the range to the ammunition fuzing system. Using advanced turns count fuze arming technology, the ammunition proceeds to the target and bursts precisely overhead. The system goals are to precisely deliver airburst rounds in MOUT and rural terrains that are five times more lethal at greater than twice the range of the M203. The 20mm HE fuze function features include point detonation (P.D.) delay, self-destruct, and a "window mode. "Heckler and Koch (HK) is responsible for the development of the combined 5.56mm and 20mm weapon. Alliant Techsystems (ATK), Hopkins, MN, is the prime contractor, responsible for system integration, testing, 20mm High Explosive ammunition development, training, and support definition. Brashear LP of Pittsburgh, PA, is responsible for the development of the fire control system.

[Brett66]

Right here:

Birdman Weapons Systems

It's the ultimate "hold muh beer" system. ;)

[Britton J Wingfield]

Personally, I prefer the "Home Boy Nite Sites".

[Tailback]

Here's my problems with this behemoth. What does it weigh? Why are the ergonomics of the thing so bad? How many rounds can the average soldier carry for it? How many batteries does it go through in a day? Does it have backup iron sights?

All this gizmo stuff is great but the Army STILL hasn't come out with a decent small, light, encrypted radio with good range. Why is it that combat soldiers go out and buy their own Motorola Talkabout radios with earbud microphones? It's because the Army's radios have sucked, do suck, and probably will continue to suck. Commo can mean life or death, especially when you need fire support (If of course you have it which the 10th Mtn didn't in Afghanistan) Why the Army cant come up with a nice small, lightweight, encrypted radio system that can be used as a squad intercom also is beyond my comprehension. Good grief, they have televisions on watches now for God's sake!
rant off

[Crazymonarch]

Agreed to some extent the movies reflect the future for example the new camo suit with thousands of translucent scales was as a result of a General watching the movie Predator and saying 'I want one',tendancy is to have the squaddies as sort of extensions of a video game,perhaps eventually like extensions from a cpu,this does two things 1.make headquarters or the op centre a major target and 2.hastens the development of these sorts of toys...after which you need Sun Tzu not Bill Gates.

[Ajnin]

I wonder how susceptable to ECM it is.

[null and void]

Note the open fork flash suppressor. Ideal for snagging every vine and twig. Just like the early M-16's in SE Asia...

[Crazymonarch]

The combat efficiency report on the SLR-fn derivitive was even better than the M1 M16(beast had some problems early with jams) at the Battle of Long Tan- 108 vs 5000 in mud pelting rain 24 hrs constant combat-of course the Aussie Govt scrapped these and bought those plastic 5.56mm,at the recent local show the army had its recruitment stand and requisite toys, my Uncle a Buna,Finchafen WW2 and Korean veteren told the nice young soldier you'd split the damn thing if you ever hit anyone over the head with it,he got a look of derision from the soldier and the response,'you never get that close',all my Uncle said was,'Jesus we're in for trouble in the next big one'.

[Vidalia]

How about just back to the basics of physical and mental fitness, not the games played these days to socialize the military?

I've not served, but I know crazy stunts we made up and did as kids just for fun in the country (that drove our mothers crazy when bones were broken, etc.) were far more strenuous than what we now know the military has been socialized to.

This isn't Israel. Show the females the door. Kick the nancy-boys out. Get back to "mean".

Get these piss-ants who destroy the military out of Washington.

McCain must have more "damage" than shows on his medical records...

[doug from upland]

Hard to get a concealed weapon permit for that sucker.

[Shooter 2.5]

"M-1 Garands for sure,"

You have got to be kidding. I can name at least half a dozen battle rifles that I would take before I would even consider using that antiquated relic.

[Shooter 2.5]

The OICW is featured in the computer game, Delta Force, Land Warrior. Using it is almost like cheating.

[Crazymonarch]

I think many of the services still have training fitness requirements close to whats necessary,yes some specifically the army haved toned down,a part of thats societies fault in the thirties,forties and fifties you still had many guys used to living on the smell of an oily rag,chopped their own wood,worked in foundries as vs press buttons etc,people hard enough you can relatively quickly introduce to a pretty tough regimen,now you have to be introduced to what the body is capable of first,then take it from there,to possibly within striking range of what your talking about.

Its keeping them there thats the problem,its the fact one year later your allowed to have a big gut thats the problem.As for women well in certain roles the Vietnamese and Russians both used them effectively,albeit the second in context of a meatgrinder as for common grunt; not unless their name is Bev Francis and they can carry 220lb deadweight over undulating terrain and look like a male.

[Bobibutu]

Semper Fi dude - and YES - you are correct!

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

Correct me if I am misremembering, but isn't the new infantry rifle the British have (you know, the one that is failing miserably in Afghanistan, yet the Brit Army and H&K are blaming the problems on "improper field cleaning") made by Hechler & Koch? I like H&K handguns, but I don't have to roll through the mud before I fire mine...

[Vidalia]

Sir, I have a grand-daughter in the Marines.

No brag, just fact when I say that she beat the snot out of every female and a few of the "men" presented in the "one-on-one" exercises.

She is no lesbo-on-steriods butchy.

What she did not do is sit on her butt, eating fries, burgers and pizza in front of the TV.

What she did do is hit the surf, jog, enjoy physical activities that would make the urban gang boys sick from over-exertion.

I still do not think women should be in the armed forces front lines (even though she is also more than a "pretty good shot").

[Bobibutu]

Wow - thanks blam - we are never too old to learn.

I knew Yellowstone was/is a big one but .... caramba

[supercat]

Looks rather a lot like that big monstrous thing Zorg had in Fifth Element.

[Fixit]

Correct me if I am misremembering, but isn't the new infantry rifle the British [use] made by Hechler & Koch?

I found some good info on this from another thread:

The modified SA-80 has to be cleaned five times a day, according to Royal Marines officers The original SA-80, produced by Royal Ordnance, jammed repeatedly under fire in Sierra Leone and the Balkans. As a result, Heckler and Koch was paid £92 million to modify the weapon.

But defence sources said the modifications had made the weapon virtually unusable in many combat situations. Now it is thought likely that ministers will decide that they must cut their losses and go for the Heckler and Koch G36 assault rifle.

MoD under pressure to abandon SA-80 rifle

[Travis McGee]

Here we go again....

First prove out the new 20mm as a stand alone weapon like the old M-79 40mm grenade launcher. Debug it 110%, then put one "20mm grenadier" per squad, and only then talk about a combined rifle/20mm.

Frankly, I'd love to field test this OICW thing. This is what I'd do.

I'd drag it behind a humvee through sand, gravel, mud and salt water for starters. I'd freeze it and drop it and bake it and bury it.

Then I'd hand it to the Army General in charge of the program and make him fire the 20mm rapid fire after giving him 5 minutes to clean and prepare it under field conditions while tossing artillery simulaters at him for realism. Then I'd get behind a strong wall and watch him fire off the mag of 20mm, if he dared.

[11B3]

I'd like to take the engineers who designed this POS, and put them in a light free room with the pieces of that thing along with the pieces of an AK and an M-16. Then shut the door and turn on a vacuum pump to vacate the room. Tell them that they've got how little time to get the rifle back together before their air runs out and their blood boils. Then see how well they like this.

Should they pass this test, then I'd like to see them put a bayonnet on the end of it, and go up against someone with an M1A or FN/FAL with a bayonnet. The Germans have forgotten Leningrad and Stalingrad evidently - the enemy is quite often within arm's reach, not always out there where you have time to play a video game through your optics. War is hell - for a reason. By making it a fun video game, we've just set our soldiers up for some horrific defeats against camelhumpers carrying Mausers.