US military unveils 'smart gun'

[Sectoid]

It means the weapon can be used to target insurgents hiding behind walls or in ditches without the need to call in air strikes.

Story

[Brian]

Saw that on Future Weapons a couple years ago. Pretty cool.

[Turtle]

Wasn't this originally part of the XM-8 rifle?

I guess they made it into its own thing and have been working on it since the XM-8 was cancelled.

Seems like a good bit of military tech, especially in this day and age where fighting inside a city means you can't really call on air support quite as much.

[Arcanis]

Wasn't this originally part of the XM-8 rifle?

I guess they made it into its own thing and have been working on it since the XM-8 was cancelled.

Seems like a good bit of military tech, especially in this day and age where fighting inside a city means you can't really call on air support quite as much.

I think the biggest advantage this will provide in an urban scenario is the "hornets nest" possibility. By that I mean the ability to replace the HE round with a nonlethal round that can be used in close proximity to civilians, likely a round filled with rubber balls like a "hornets nest" grenade (painful as hell and likely to disable the target for a fair bit of time but not likely to kill). Such a weapon would be very useful in hostage rescue scenarios.

edit: I also wanted to include other variant rounds such as gas grenades and anything else that can be dispersed with a small explosive in the 25mm round.

[Sectoid]

Wasn't this originally part of the XM-8 rifle?

I guess they made it into its own thing and have been working on it since the XM-8 was cancelled.

Seems like a good bit of military tech, especially in this day and age where fighting inside a city means you can't really call on air support quite as much.

Well, you could call on air-support but it wouldn't make you very popular.

[LawBeefaroni]

Wasn't this originally part of the XM-8 rifle?

I guess they made it into its own thing and have been working on it since the XM-8 was cancelled.

I thought a similar system was discussed here but I can't find anything ATM.

[SpaceLord]

I'm waiting for a Bop Gun.

[Pyperkub]

I'm reminded of an Oingo Boingo song:

Aren't you glad we got smart bombs,
It's a good thing our bombs are clever
It's a shame that our kids are dumb,
But our bombs are smart, what a lucky thing now

[DD*]

I'm waiting for this technology to make it into use:

http://www.metalstorm.com/component/opt ... Itemid,79/" target="_blank

Some incredible videos on their website - a 40mm grenade launcher system that fires 3000 rpm, just nuts stuff. Go back to some of the proof of concept stuff in the 2000 time frame. Crazy.

[Isgrimnur]

"Please let us keep them and send more!"

cnet

Soldiers who have used the Army's XM-25 grenade launcher in Afghanistan want more of the futuristic weapon, which can fire rounds that explode at a predetermined distance, defeating barriers that protect enemies.

The Army wants to acquire 36 more XM-25s, according to a report on army.mil. The first batch might be deployed in a year, but funding has to be secured and the weapons and rounds, which apparently cost some $25,000 and $1,000 apiece, respectively, are still being made by hand.

Mass production won't happen until 2013 at the earliest, according to the report. The site previously said the Army would buy more than 12,500 XM-25s beginning in 2012.
...
Troops who used the five prototype XM-25s that went to Afghanistan were impressed by its ability to explode right over the heads of protected enemies, and asked to keep the weapons in their units. They were used on nine operations beginning in December, and helped end firefights in minutes.

"The kids are calling it 'the Punisher,'" Brig. Gen. Peter N. Fuller was quoted as saying. "I don't know what we're going to title this product, but it seems to be game-changing. You no longer can shoot at American forces and then hide behind something. We're going to reach out and touch you."

[Daehawk]

Give'm hell boys. DFA

[Odin]

That's really awesome. I wonder how long it's been since there was a "game changer" in small arms.

[Kasey Chang]

Oh, phooey. They've been promising this forEVER (since the 90's!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objective_ ... on_program" target="_blank

[Kasey Chang]

I think the biggest advantage this will provide in an urban scenario is the "hornets nest" possibility. By that I mean the ability to replace the HE round with a nonlethal round that can be used in close proximity to civilians, likely a round filled with rubber balls like a "hornets nest" grenade (painful as hell and likely to disable the target for a fair bit of time but not likely to kill). Such a weapon would be very useful in hostage rescue scenarios.
edit: I also wanted to include other variant rounds such as gas grenades and anything else that can be dispersed with a small explosive in the 25mm round.

I think it's called Sting grenades.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/02 ... eeks-stin/" target="_blank

One more variant: Sonic grenades... Rechargeable.
http://www.mide.com/technology/mig44.php" target="_blank

25mm is a bit small, but if they want a relatively flat trajectory 40mm ain't gonna do it.

[Doomboy]

25 MM is fine for when you don't have to punch through cover, you only want to kill who you are shooting at, and you don't need to destroy the baby milk factory he is hiding in.

Didn't the first Ghost Recon have this? I swear I remember a round that you fired, then pulled the secondary trigger to explode when it got where you wanted it.

[Paingod]

Friggin' awesome - precision detonation.

Do they have to set the distance, or do they get to use a laser range-finder to set it? Like tag the corner of a building or top of a wall with a laser and the rounds explode 2 feet past that?

[Arcanis]

Friggin' awesome - precision detonation.

Do they have to set the distance, or do they get to use a laser range-finder to set it? Like tag the corner of a building or top of a wall with a laser and the rounds explode 2 feet past that?

They laser it. When I saw it on future weapons they used a laser range finder and it defaulted to detonating 3 feet past it IIRC.

[Jeff V]

Sounds like it'd make a neat varmint gun -- those buggers are always hiding in the walls. The NRA should sue to get them dispensed at Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart, and 7-11. No man, women or child should ever be without one.

[Trey]

25 MM is fine for when you don't have to punch through cover, you only want to kill who you are shooting at, and you don't need to destroy the baby milk factory he is hiding in.

Didn't the first Ghost Recon have this? I swear I remember a round that you fired, then pulled the secondary trigger to explode when it got where you wanted it.

The first Ghost Recon had the OICW, which was the combination rifle (from HK) and grenade launcher. Unfortunately they sort of half-assed the way it worked in-game, it was just a regular grenade launcher that detonated on impact.

The OICW was still overpowered because it was the best rifle and the best grenade launcher all in one package. The GL had a 6 shot capacity that you could spam out in seconds as opposed to the one-by-one reload of other GLs.

[Fretmute]

They laser it. When I saw it on future weapons they used a laser range finder and it defaulted to detonating 3 feet past it IIRC.

That sort of plan works really well until you accidentally lase the wall you're hiding behind.

[Paingod]

They laser it. When I saw it on future weapons they used a laser range finder and it defaulted to detonating 3 feet past it IIRC.

That sort of plan works really well until you accidentally lase the wall you're hiding behind.

One would *really* hope the military would build in safeguards like "cannot detonate within 20 feet of firing" ...

[Brian]

The 40mm grenade has to make a certain number of rotations before arming and that takes at least 20' to do so.

I see no reason why the 25mm grenade wouldn't be the same.

[LawBeefaroni]

The 40mm grenade has to make a certain number of rotations before arming and that takes at least 20' to do so.

I see no reason why the 25mm grenade wouldn't be the same.

I'm pretty sure the "smart gun" grenade uses rotation to calculate distance anyway so it would make sense it has the same safeguard in place.

[Arcanis]

I could also see some kind of radio system between the gun and round to more accurately track its distance from the gun.

[Kasey Chang]

Either that, or go THROUGH the cover... With a 50 cal. That was in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW).