wmartin@ALMSA-1.ARPA (Will Martin -- AMXAL-RI) (01/25/89)
Just got the Dec/Jan 88/89 issue of Armada International in the mail today -- page 80 has a report on the new goodies shown at the October Assn of the US Army exhibit. A few small arms to lust for: The new Stoner Ares Advanced Combat Rifle. Fires a unique cartridge encapsulated in a plastic sheath with a metal base but no extraction rim. Breech mechanism is a vertical sliding block; the succeeding cartridge loaded into the chamber forces the empty plastic case from the preceeding round forward and ejects it that way. Bullpup design with a 50-round magazine that feeds with disposable metal links or a plastic belt. There's a photo but no drawings explaining just how that case-ejection system works and no explanation on how you unload unfired rounds. Photo looks like an AUG with an 8-month pregnancy -- that magazine is really bulgy! (Other differences from an AUG are that the grip looks like an FAL with a regular trigger guard, and there's no carrying handle/sight unit -- instead there is an optical sight that looks like the British one on their bullpup. The barrel is shrouded up to the muzzle brake/flash hider. What looks like a folded-down front sight is at the end of the shroud. Photo is of the right side, and there's no sign of a cocking handle on that side.) The new H&K MP2000 blowback (NOT roller-locked!) submachinegun. Similar cosmetics to the standard line of HK sub-guns. Has a special control lever which allows the user to bleed off gas from higher-velocity ammo to reduce the muzzle velocity to subsonic, thus allowing a smaller suppressor to be used with standard ammo. If subsonic ammo is available, the gas bleeding can be shut off. Usual HK modular construction. McDonnell Douglas Scorpion Multipurpose Individual Munition (improved). This is a pre-loaded one-shot light rocket launcher, which can be carried separately and clipped under the handguard/barrel of an M16 when used. Weighs 4.08 kg and is 775 mm long, so it sticks out beyond the M16 muzzle when attached. Rocket is the full length of the launcher, and it is claimed this can be fired from an enclosed space. (I'll let somebody else try that first before I do... :-) Supposed to defeat 200 mm of reinforced concrete or "lightly armoured vehicles" with a 300 m range. Olin Rifle-launched Anti-Armor Munition. (Half the time "armor" is spelled that way, the other half in the British "armour" fashion. How schizophenic!) This appears like a big rifle grenade, but is really a rocket launched from the muzzle of a rifle (M16 shown) with a special muzzle adapter fitted. The adapter has an angled slot in it that causes the rocket to spin as it takes off. The rocket nozzles are at the front of this missile, so it is pulled and not pushed by the thrust. The text says it is "launched by firing a (presumably) blank cartridge." That may be the case; I know I have read of some rifle-grenade developments that will allow a regular ball cartridge to be fired to launch the grenade. Considering the explosive charge is behind the motor assembly and right where the bullet would hit if a ball cartridge were used, I think I'd prefer a grenade-launching blank myself... Claimed to "defeat better than 400 mm of armour". Other stuff are the usual boring missiles and artillery and suchlike -- I'm a small-arms buff myself, so I'll leave any comments on those to others. Another item, in the new-products section: Sig-Sauer will introduce their new P228 in the Spring. This is a compact 9mm which normally uses a 13-round magazine, but will accept the P226 15- or 20-round mags. A variety of sighting systems will be available: "contrast sights, SIG-Lite luminous sights and Millet Target microsights." Steyr has an ad featuring the AUG that also lists some other military small arms they make. One listed is a 9mm carbine version of the AUG. I hadn't heard of that before; Steyr ads I'd seen in the past had a fairly standard submachinegun as their 9mm shoulder arm. I guess they've taken a leaf out of Colt's book and decided to market an AUG family like the AR15/M16 family. (Speaking of Colt, did you know they lost the new M16 contract to FN? THAT is a bit of a surprise...) And, lastly, in a story on a Greek arms expo (Defendory International, October, in Piraeus), there is a photo, but no descriptive text, of a REALLY weird new bullpup 5.7mm rifle from FN Herstal. The thing is fully ambidextrous and looks to be only 20" long or so. Looks like the (plastic?) magazine lays flat on top of the receiver, open end to the rear, with a turntable at that point to rotate the cartridges 90 degrees to feed down into the mechanism. (I recall some sub-gun with that design from 10 years or so ago -- forget the name...) Must hold 50-70 rounds. The body of the rifle is plastic and appears to be two clamshell halves screwed together. There are cocking handles on each side above the trigger, only a few inches back from the muzzle (I guess a longer barrel could be fitted). The whole main body of the rifle is sort of rounded and has a thumbhole-like cutout to form the grip. Looks like a pretzel from the side. The trigger guard appears to act as the forward handgrip, with a downward protrusion in front of that to keep the firer's off-hand from sliding up in front of the muzzle [Ouch! That could ruin your whole day!]. There's a Falcon-like tunnel sight mounted on a bridge over the magazine. Model designation is the "P90". Regards, Will Martin [mod. note: Don't these companies realize that they're supposed to send advance specimens of these weapons to the editors of important military journals for review ? I mean, Jerry Pournelle gets free computers; certainly Stoner could spare the odd assault rifle, right ? Just for a few thousand rounds... aw, I don't get no respect. 8-) - Bill ]
mmccann@hubcap.UUCP (Mike McCann) (01/26/89)
From: mmccann@hubcap.UUCP (Mike McCann) Has anyone heard anything about H&K's SMG (I forget the model numder) that fired the caseless rounds? If so, is it in use and what is the reliability and performance of the SMG and the caseless round itself. Thanks, -- Mike McCann Internet = mmccann@hubcap.clemson.edu Poole Computer Center (Box P-21) UUCP = gatech!hubcap!mmccann Clemson University Bitnet = mmccann@clemson.bitnet Clemson, S.C. 29634-2803 DISCLAIMER = I speak only for myself.