In the few years of its existence, Qual-A-Tec developed a reputation as one of the most innovative developers of suppressors. Very little was written about their products since they were almost exclusively sold to the U.S. Military and the majority of those went to the Navy. The shield of secrecy was tightly held between the media and the user. I will not violate that shield and will instead try to describe the technologies that were developed.

Let me digress for a few moments to relate how I became involved in the Qual-A-Tec saga. Unlike many silencer designers, my involvement in suppressors came as a result of my job and not from some personal desire to build suppressors for myself. As a mechanical engineer working for the Naval Weapons Support Center, Crane, Indiana, I was assigned to work with the Joint Service Small Arms Program (JSSAP). Major David Baskett has to take the blame (or credit) for getting me involved in suppressors. He worked for JSSAP at Picatinny Arsenal and had become involved with trying to support the Special Operations Forces with special small arms developments. We worked together to establish a group within JSSAP whose job it would be to perform special developments for low demand weapon systems (including, of course, suppressors). We traveled the country searching out suppressors that could be useful for these special military operators. This effort started in the late 1970’s and to those who remember, there was not a lot of suppressor development going on in this country at that time. I recall that the 22 caliber Suppressors that we looked at were all 1.38 to 1.75 inch diameter cans with flat washer baffles. While they were relatively quiet, they were large, heavy and bulky. Looking back, there has been a tremendous amount of improvement made in suppressor technology in the last 20 years. I will try to relate my experiences throughout this “golden age” of suppressor development. I am not a historian, and did not do a good job of documenting the suppressors I evaluated so my look at this history is from the technological developments.

The suppressors of the 1970’s were primarily of two styles. The Navy was using the S&W pistols with the “Hush Puppy” wipe style of suppressors. This System had been developed by the Navy at White Oak and had inserts made with polyurethane wipes and special subsonic ammunition. The problem with the system was that the chamber pressure of the cartridges was quite high (loaded by Super-El) and that led to problems with ejecting the round after unlocking the slide. The other problem was that the terminal effects were poor. I recall a report from a SEAL who had the task to take out the “guard goose” at a Village in Vietnam. He shot the goose twice with the Hush Puppy and only succeeded in making the goose mad and very noisy. Obviously, this lack of lethality led to the guns being left behind during “real” missions. The other suppressors were a mixture of rather simplistic flat washer type baffles in rather large diameter tubes. Many were made from aluminum to keep the weight down and almost universally were not well suited to the real life missions of the military user. What was clearly needed was a real system. Unfortunately that approach was not to become a reality for quite a few years.

The advent of limited partnerships and capital write-offs for R&D expenses lead to some creative funding for a serious development of suppressors. Charles A. (Mickey) Finn met tax attorney Frederick R. Schumacher who set up these limited partnerships to fund development of suppressors specifically for military customers. Qual-A-Tec was the corporation formed to perform this effort. As one of the military customers, Crane took advantage of the offers from Mickey Finn to try and develop new technologies. This happened simultaneously with Richard Marcinko forming up his “Mob Six.” So here was a user in need of new good hardware and a developer in need of a project. Each needed and used the other. This was far from a marriage. It was more a case of consensual intercourse. When Maj. Baskett and I first tested Mickey Finn’s suppressors they were quieter than anything else we had found. At that time he was using simple flat washer baffles spaced at approximately .25 inches. The rear baffles usually had four holes near the outer edge that helped keep the decibel reading lower, but the real key to the suppressor’s performance was keeping the bore though the suppressor to an absolute minimum in relation to the projectile diameter. The 20 or more baffles of course added a lot of weight to the system. While I was still at Crane, Maj. Baskett arranged for me to take one of these to Washington for a demonstration to some clandestine operators. Being young and naive I put through the travel orders and carried the suppressed .22 Ruger pistol to Washington National. I met Dave at the entrance to the Pentagon and we proceeded to go inside to conduct a demo in one of the vaulted rooms. Phone books were gathered and used as the target. I remember everyone present was duly impressed. After the test I packed the gun and ammo into a tote bag and out the door we went. Dave and I repeated the tests later that night at the hotel room and the next day I was back in Indiana. Looking back, I see how utterly stupid one young engineer can be. I guess that by that time I was hooked. Not so much on the desire to develop suppressors but to try and help the Special Operations users. There was so much clandestine paranoia that the user simply would not go out and find the best suppressors available. That has changed a lot in the last 15 years due to the formation of USSOCOM. Back in the 70’s and early 80’s each Special Operations Group choose its own sources for specialized hardware and these sources were closely guarded secrets. Each group wanted the ability to claim that they were better equipped to handle a specific task than another group. This rivalry really held the total development process back. Things have greatly improved. Today there is open competition and users writing well thought out requirement documents. Today’s Special Forces operators are getting much better equipment than those in years past and more will come home from their missions because of it.

Mickey was able to get a few small contracts with Crane. One of the first involved was a .50 caliber Suppressor for a SS41 German rifle that came from the Aberdeen Museum. Crane took an accuracy barrel and sent it to Mickey along with a drawing. Mickey had located a lathe that could form the dual start course pitched metric thread. This weapon was used to establish the base line characteristics for a .50 cal. sniper rifle. Mickey built a suppressor that was used for the proof of concept. This suppressor was a large aluminum affair with titanium flat washer baffles. The first time we tried to mount this suppressor to the rifle happened at the SEAL’S Desert facility. The threads for the suppressor had not been machined properly, but because it was hard to tell whether it was fully seated on the weapon or not we decided to test it. The first shot was fired by myself and it launched the suppressor 20 to 30 feet down range. Needless to say the recoil was quite severe. The suppressor was only a little worse for the error and by the next day was properly mounted and successfully tested. This was probably the first successful .50 cal suppressor ever built.

Mickey also got another contract to improve suppressors for Ingram MAC 10s and the Hush Puppy’s that Mob Six needed. The Ingram suppressors were taken apart and the aluminum spiral cut baffles were replaced with flat washers and spacers. Testing showed that the sound pressure level reduction was improved by six to eight decibels. For the Hush Puppies a baffle was added behind the wipe unit and that improved its reduction by three decibels. The problems happened when the users started using the guns hard and didn’t keep the suppressors locked on the guns tight enough. To anyone who has handled an Ingram much it is easily seen that the alignment goes to heck very rapidly when the suppressor gets loose. The original spiral baffles had a tubular bore from one end of the suppressor to the other. This guided the bullet out of the suppressor whether the suppressor was tight to the weapon or not. The washer type baffles did not do this and eventually a round exited the side of one of the cans. The first of many lessons I learned about the SEALS is that they do not take particularly good care of their weapons. To many who look at their machine guns as investments or objects to study, realizing that the SEALS look at them as disposable tools, made to be used and abused as necessary is a revelation. To SEALS, there are two types of tools, shit and good shit. Shit tools have to be carried, cleaned, maintained and still don’t work right. Good shit needs minimal cleaning and maintenance and does its job, as advertised, every time. Good shit doesn’t get in the way of “Miller Time”. Once this got properly engraved into my mind I started looking at suppressors (and other weapons) from a different light. What must this tool become to be truly useful to these users? That became the driving force behind all of my future suppressor designs.

I had my mid-life crisis, resigned from Crane and went to work for Mickey Finn at Qual-A-Tec. This was not a financially advantageous move on my part and I owe a lot to my family for supporting this choice. I have to look at this as another educational experience on my part. Because Qual-A-Tec didn’t have to show a profit, we were able to devote a lot of time and money to improving suppressor design. Mickey is a very talented man and had a good analytical mind that understood the goals of improving the workings of suppressors. We were able to build and test two or three different designs a day for a couple of years. All of this resulted in a very good suppressor education for me. I mostly documented what was accomplished and had input into the development experiments. I also helped prepare and proofread all of the patent applications. Bob McDonald came to the company a little earlier than I did. Bob ran the shop and built most of the experimental hardware. He also provided input into the design but primarily brought forth new manufacturing techniques. Other people were involved but this was the core of the design effort. The first big breakthrough was the thicker flat baffle with the angled hole through the center. This baffle proved so effective that the diameter of the suppressor tubes were able to be dramatically reduced. I think that each baffle design has an optimum diameter associated with it for each caliber. It became apparent to us that this new baffle had to have higher gas pressure behind it to optimize its performance.

Let me digress a bit here to discuss some of the physics that makes a suppressor work. The measure of the sound from a suppressor is a measure of peak pressure at the muzzle exit caused by the escaping gas and projectile. A suppressor’s job, then, is to keep the pressure at the muzzle at a minimum. The first applicable physics equation is: pv=RT ; also known as the ideal gas law. In that equation p is pressure, v is volume per unit weight of the gas, R is a gas constant, and T is temperature in Degrees Rankin (degrees Fahrenheit plus 459.69). We are obviously not dealing with an ideal gas but some generalities can be made from this equation. First is that if you lower the temperature of the gas you lower the pressure. Likewise if you increase the volume in which the gas resides you also lower the pressure. The next thing that physics will show you is that turbulence causes flow to be reduced. Thus two things that a suppressor must do well are to take the temperature out of the gas and to restrict gas flow by causing turbulence. More efficient suppressors (in terms of decibel reduction) will get hotter in fewer shots than inefficient suppressors. This of course can lead to problems in suppressors for full automatic firearms. That is why material choices for suppressors are so important. They must absorb the heat from intimate contact with the gas as it travels through the suppressor yet conduct that heat rapidly to the outside of the suppressor. There are a few suppressor designers who think and even have patented suppressors based upon other concepts such as noise cancellation. I believe that the performance of their suppressors can be better explained with the physics of temperature reduction and turbulence creation. By the way, this education took several years to sink into this thick skull of mine. Of course knowing this will not make you a good suppressor designer. Applying these physical principals to hardware is still difficult. Looking at suppressors from this aspect will, however, lead the designer to better suppression concepts.

The suppressors which were developed at Qual-A-Tec began to shrink in total volume as the slant face baffles were improved. The spacers between the baffles also have a direct bearing on the efficiency of the suppressor. Like everyone else we started with simple tubular spacers of various lengths. The next generation we fondly called the “crank shaft” because the spacers were welded to the baffles and were undersize tubes with a single port that aligned with the output flow from the slanted baffle. The baffles were sometimes rotated 90 degrees at each baffle thus the crank shaft shape. These suppressors worked well in rifle calibers and some were built in 9mm as well. The next big step forward was the addition of a deep cut into the thickness of the baffle. This cut was joined with cuts from the back along the sides of the angled central bore. Three holes were then drilled to allow the gas which got compressed into this chamber to flow downward along the angled central bore. These baffles had some structural problems, which were eventually cured by adding strips of tubing between the two walls. We again went to the spacer design to gain some more sound pressure reduction. The final choice was a cone that was machined directly on the end of the baffle. This proved to be very quiet but lacked the structural strength to prevent the baffle from collapsing on itself when the pressures or temperatures of the suppressor got too high. This baffle was licensed to H&K and people familiar with their products from the mid to late 1980’s will recognize this baffle.

Qual-A-Tec made some significant advances in the state of the art of suppressors in the few years it was in existence. It probably built less than 500 suppressors and most of those went to military customers. Very few of these suppressors ever made it into private hands except as products built under license by H&K and AWC Systems Technology. It obviously takes a lot of business savvy to make a profit in the suppressor market and unfortunately that was not present in the Qual-A-Tec organization. It was an interesting period of time and I learned a lot from my involvement. Hopefully the military users of the suppressors that have their lineage through the Qual-A-Tec years have gotten superior hardware as a result of this company’s existence.

“The PLA (People’s Liberation Army of Communist China) is also exploring satellite jammers, kinetic energy weapons, high-powered lasers, high-powered microwave weapons, particle beam weapons, and electromagnetic pulse weapons for counterspace application.” US Department of Defense, Annual Report to Congress: Military Power of the People’s Republic of China, 2008. The Chinese have already demonstrated their mastery of directed energy weapons (DEW) as a strategic spacewar capability by killing spy satellites in orbit. The PLA, aided by cynically mercenary experts from a catalog of nations including some US “allies,” is accelerating its program to develop and field ever more powerful and versatile DEW that are suitable for both strategic and tactical employment.

Same for the Russians – said by the Defense Intelligence Agency to have used vehicle mounted lethal power lasers in their Afghanistan debacle – who have been vigorously pushing the frontiers of science for decades in building efficient particle beam, laser and microwave weapons.

Serious discussion and planning throughout the US Department of Defense points to an official certainty that a range of advanced weapons beyond traditional kinetic energy types (hard projectile pushers) will be used by all combatant forces on the battlefields of the near future.

“Death Rays” Revealed

A useful introduction to the three major classes of DEW is provided here, courtesy of the Chinese themselves, who are clearly watching what’s being done in the West to parallel their own efforts.

“Directed energy weapons are new-generation weapons developed on the basis of the new concept of replacing conventional bullets with high-energy beams. Technically, directed energy weapons can be divided into three branches, namely (1) laser weapons, which can destroy or destabilize targets by using electromagnetic radiation energy beams with a wavelength of less than 1 millimeter; (2) radio-frequency weapons, which can destroy or destabilize targets with electromagnetic energy within the radio spectrum range (wavelength is more than 1 millimeter and radio frequency less than 300 gigahertz); (3) particle beam weapons, which are capable of destroying or destabilizing targets with neutral high-energy atomic particle beams (usually hydrogen, deuterium and tritium) or charged high-energy atomic or subatomic particle beams.” Zhang Yaping, Peoples Republic of China Astronautics and Missilery

As laser and microwave systems are most prominent among presently workable DEWs, it is essential to understand that both types are electromagnetic radiation but are different in their wavelength.

We’ll dispense with the scientific explanations and just say that many types of laser emissions are visible to the human eye but microwaves are not. Lasers begin burning the outside of an object while microwaves “cook” from the inside. More detailed information may be found in the resources listed at the end of this feature.

DEW Proliferation

China and Russia are not alone among America’s likely adversaries with current or emerging DEW capabilities. Numerous US government, military and industry documents that are readily available to anyone on the internet confirm the obvious.

A case in point is the December 2007 report to the US Secretary of Defense by the Defense Science Board Task Force on Directed Energy Weapons. Even after being carefully scrubbed of classified information, its chapter on current and emerging threats reveals a chilling likelihood. Addressing vulnerabilities recognized in sophisticated electronic command and control systems – extending from orbiting satellites to tactical team individual radios – the task force zeroes in on the threat posed by laser systems and high power microwave technologies: “They are particularly susceptible to the types of directed energy systems that are believed to be feasible for a wide range of potential adversaries … including non-state actors.” (Emphasis added)

Translated from typically overcautious bureaucratese, this means that all levels of the US-Allied “digital battlefield” can be too easily rendered blind, deaf and mute by devices available now to many countries and their terrorist surrogates (non-state actors). Just one example of this may be found in Iran, which buys high tech weapons from Russia, China and elsewhere, then funnels them to al Qaeda and other “insurgent” forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What is going to happen when the free world’s many enemies begin employing DEW not only against US and Allied C3I (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence), but its soldiers as well?

Laser Sniping

We don’t need to wait until fully lethal DE weapons become widely available. Just enough power and range to blind will work just fine for those with no regard for the so-called laws of warfare and the civilized world’s condemnation.

This fits quite well the long-standing military maxim that inflicting incapacitating wounds is more tactically useful than killing the enemy because evacuating and caring for a badly wounded soldier distracts more of his fighting comrades from their primary battlefield mission.

Frying eyes with surprisingly low-powered lasers is a capability that is real and right now, a sobering thought for anyone whose job includes peering through weapon scopes, binoculars, AFV periscopes, and other optical devices.

The ZM-87, China’s Portable Laser Disturber, is a tripod-mounted weapon that can be carried and used by a crew of two. Its utility as a blinding weapon has been demonstrated in documented attacks.

Similarly, a laser “range finder” aboard the Russian spy ship Kapitan Man is known to have caused retina burns on a US Navy officer aboard an allied maritime surveillance helicopter in 1997.

The Federation of American Scientists reports that, “during the Iran-Iraq War, Iranian soldiers suffered over 4,000 documented eye casualties from Iraqi laser systems….” The injuries were described as retinal burns and hemorrhages, most of which were likely caused by deliberate antipersonnel use of the laser rangefinders in Saddam Hussein’s Communist-bloc tanks.

But that’s just the beginning. Ever popped corn in a microwave? Or used a magnifying glass to start a fire? Directed energy weapons are poppers and burners on a massive scale.

Uncle Sam’s DEW Programs

We are relieved to note that the United States and a few allies are well along the way in energy beam weapons programs, some dating back to the 1970s. Countering the very real threat of the Soviet Union’s massive arsenal of thermonuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles drove both high power laser and particle beam development. These reached a degree of practicality that readily transitioned in the 1980s to the Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly known as “Star Wars.”

In the decades that have followed, the strategic and tactical capabilities of these and other DE technologies have accelerated in work by a veritable alphabet soup of government and military programs. Just a sampling of these includes DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), SMDC (Space and Missile Defense Command), AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory), and ONR (Office of Naval Research). Their many partners in the defense industry and academic institutions extend the roster of DEW players to virtually every state in the union.

Astronomical funding levels have paid off with astonishing capabilities. DEW in various forms are tracking and killing not only massive intercontinental ballistic missiles, but also multiple mortar rounds in flight. They’re melting electronic brains in the smartest of “smart weapons.” Shipborne DE systems can zap sea-skimming missiles. Airborne lasers can instantaneously fry individual terrorists with surgical precision that eliminates the usual “collateral damage” imagery that Al Jazeera and others delight in broadcasting.

Lasers

There are several different ways that the photon beams of lasers are generated in DEW, with major categories being chemical, free electron, bundled optical fiber, and solid state. This last is the simplest, typified by the battery powered pointer-illuminators now clamped to just about every M4 carbine in Uncle Sam’s military and extending to some experimental vehicle-mounted anti-materiel systems.

Included in the grouping of relatively low powered lasers are “dazzlers,” so called for their ability to distract and disorient their human targets using carefully controlled beam intensity that won’t cause lasting eye damage.

AFRL’s ScorpWorks has built a particularly novel dazzler with a name that invokes memories of the science fiction television series Star Trek. Their PHaSR (Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response) is a rifle-sized, non-lethal device in a futuristic housing. It projects two laser wavelengths with an effect “temporarily impairing individuals and their ability to see the laser source.”

Ground vehicle mounted systems are the next step up, quickly gaining in power and tactical potential. ZEUS, SMDC’s high energy solid state laser riding on a HMMWV, has been successfully field tested as a killer of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) in Afghanistan. Effectiveness of this and similar pilot program systems has spurred development of more powerful and tactically mobile High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrators. These are already showing the ability to counter a wide variety of battlefield threats including rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds.

A Bolt from the Blue

There is plenty of evidence that the demand for DEW is increasing throughout the US Armed Forces, driven in particular by current operational realities in the Global War on Terror. A compelling example of this may be found in US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) Technology Development Objectives, briefed at NDIA’s Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict symposium in 2008.

Among other eyebrow-raising requirements is their intention to “pursue a greater variety of integrated, tunable weapons – non-lethal weapons with a tunable destructive potential – to accommodate a broad variety of missions while limiting collateral damage and casualties.”

Keep your eye on that part about “tunable destructive potential” because that’s the most exciting possibility for DEW of the near future. And some possibilities are already flying.

When vastly more power is needed for destructive lasing to greater range and effect, scientists have devised some supremely clever ways to create and hurl man-made “lightning bolts.” Particularly dramatic evidence of the progress of this weaponry may be found in the US Air Force’s Airborne Laser, flying now in a modified 747. Its megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) has repeatedly demonstrated the air-to-air capability of destroying ballistic missiles in flight.

This success has inspired US Special Operations Command to order an air-to-ground version, called the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL), with an eye toward eventually replacing its fleet of aging AC-130 Spectre and Spooky gunships. Their conventional kinetic-energy weapons will be supplemented at first by a COIL, then completely replaced, enabling engagement of a variety of ground and air targets with previously unattainable precision and instantaneous effect. If the project stays on track, first operational use of the new ATL may occur before the end of 2009.

An apparently authentic Coalition Forces (CF) document, widely circulated on the internet, touts the many desirable characteristics of the ATL under its USMC name Precision Airborne Standoff Directed Energy Weapon (PASDEW). These include “application of graduated effects” (tuning the beam to less-lethal or selectively aiming the full power beam) for such important tasks as stopping vehicles by flash melting the tires.

It also predicts mind-boggling PSYOPS (psychological operations) advantages of the ATL and similar beam devices in uncharacteristically graphic terms:

“In an anti-personnel mode, DEWs can be compared to long range blow torches or precision flame throwers …. A precision engagement of a PID (positively identified) insurgent by a DEW will be a highly surgical and impressively violent event. Target effects will include instantaneous burst-combustion of insurgent clothing, a rapid death through violent trauma, and more probably a morbid combination of both. It is estimated that the aftermath of a sub-second engagement … will also be an observable event leaving an impression of terrifyingly precise CF attribution in the minds of all witnesses.”

Microwaves

While microwaves – radio waves of extremely short length – have been around since WWII, their use in weapons has only recently emerged. Unmatched in their ability to penetrate deep inside even heavily shielded electronic devices, microwaves can melt circuits and instantly turn a multimillion dollar gadget into a great big smoking box of junk.

And just as your ordinary microwave oven heats food, a tunable military HPM (high powered microwave) emitter can readily “dial-an-effect” on various targets ranging from tingling to toasting.

The tingling end of this range is of particular interest to DoD’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate for applications where the objective is to disrupt and disperse hostile crowds without resorting to messy traditional means like tear gas, rubber bullets and the like.

This alternative is nicely realized in Air Force Research Laboratory’s Active Denial System (ADS), a counter-personnel, non-lethal, directed energy weapon that projects a focused beam of millimeter waves toward a designated individual or group. An invisible beam, traveling at the speed of light, penetrates clothing and reaches a skin depth of about 1/64th of an inch, the equivalent of three sheets of ordinary copy paper. Test subjects report that an intense heat sensation results, growing intolerable within seconds and forcing the targets to instinctively flee.

Although another desirable attribute is not usually listed in ADS program promotional materials, the invisible internal effects of the invisible microwave beam actively deny hostile media the inflammatory video imagery that is their stock in trade. And don’t forget its tunable/scalable capability that just might tempt the on-site commander to fry the electronic circuitry of all video equipment anywhere in range.

The first mobile configuration ADS is characterized by a large octagonal antenna mounted on a sturdy HMMWV that carries its power and microwave generating apparatus. Development has matured to the point of deployment with USAF Security Forces and prime contractor Raytheon has recently delivered ADS II, a more powerful, enhanced and ruggedized version mounted on the massive HEMETT vehicle.

DE at JSSAP?

The Joint Service Small Arms Program (JSSAP), part of the Army’s enormous Armaments Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), identifies and develops cutting edge concepts in weapons and ammunition to the point of transition leading to large scale fielding. In other words, these are the “go to guys” to find out what’s currently on conveyor belts that run ten years or more into the future.

JSSAP recently published a solicitation that welcomes “non-traditional technology” for next generation small arms systems. The following excerpt shows that serious proposals from the DE community are apparently welcome:

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS SUPPORTING FUNDED R&D EFFORTS FOR LETHALITY AND ADVANCED FIRE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY CONCENTRATIONS FY 2008 – 2010 W15QKN-08-R-0449 

2.7.9. New Concepts & Applications. This research area includes non traditional technology leading to leaps in capability, such as (1) non kinetic energy lethality mechanisms or energy systems that can be scaled from lethal to less than lethal; (2) warheads or projectiles that can offer lethal and less than lethal capability; and (3) systems that automate the target acquisition and take weapon aiming out of the hands of the soldier. Unique and untried approaches to defeating targets in defilade also fit within this technology/research area.

Joel Goldman heads up JSSAP, so we asked him to let us know what’s going on there with DEW. He pointed us in two directions, first to a fascinating working group that JSSAP had recently convened and then to another component of ARDEC that is specifically involved in such things.

Before moving on we spoke at some length with Goldman, who told us he’s been closely following developments in directed energy for quite some time. And his well-informed opinion on the central question of this feature: When will the first fully scalable, hand-held DEW be fielded?

“Based on the periodic technology assessments that JSSAP has conducted,” the 63 year old, government gun guru with 38 years service declared, “not in my lifetime.”

The Fusion of Science and Science Fiction 

In part of its search for far-reaching concepts that are worthy of serious consideration, JSSAP has periodically convened meetings to survey the state of the art of a broad range of technologies that might have relevance to small arms. Beginning in the mid-1980s, JSSAP has consistently involved science fiction writers in these brainstorming and assessment activities. The latest instance of this decidedly unconventional approach occurred as the first of a two-part activity held in March and early May 2008 in support of “Future Small Arms Technology Plan Development” efforts. In the first meeting, JSSAP brought together a select group of nine prominent science fiction writers to brainstorm the frontier of scientific possibilities. Their mission was to propose “leap-ahead technologies” and – with the help of select representatives from industry, academia, the national laboratories, and government – to assess their possible practical potential. 74 concepts resulted, sorted into five categories; intelligence gathering, human factors, survivability, battlefield impact, and firepower.

Their ideas, one of which called for tapping energy from the quantum vacuum, were then given a hard, cold look by a team of science, engineering and military experts during the second meeting. While at this writing the report is still in preparation and its specifics not available for release, Goldman told us that at least twenty concepts have emerged.

“These are viable, relevant and will find a place,” Goldman explained, “in a technology investment strategy for small arms systems capable of overwhelmingly defeating any enemy combatant of the future.”

As SAR is most interested in firepower, we tracked down a couple of participants who, in our opinion, bring particular credibility based on their professional work outside of sci-fi.

John Hemry, a retired US Navy lieutenant commander, is the author of the notable STARK’S WAR series and, under the pen name Jack Campbell, the LOST FLEET series. Speaking of his working group, he reports that “no one thought there would be huge or dramatic breakthroughs in small arms in the near future.”

Instead, Hemry’s own suggestions to JSSAP centered on target recognition and engagement. “The best way to enhance weapon effectiveness in the near future,” he believes, “is to improve the ability of the shooter to identify and target the enemy.”

Doctor Arlan Andrews, Sr., another member of the group, suggests a different track. Notable not only for service in the White House Science Office, Sandia National laboratories and more, Andrews founded an eclectic group of sci-fi writers comprising the SIGMA group. Now well into its second decade of advising government agencies and the military on what the future may hold, SIGMA is most recently known for work with the Department of Homeland Security on innovative ways to combat terrorism.

Andrews enthusiastically responded to SAR’s request for input on his suggestions to JSSAP, sending us a copy of his elaborate PowerPoint presentation to the working group. Entitled “Nanotech-Enabled Weaponry and Features,” it is worthy of a full article in itself. Alas, since it concerns devilishly smart kinetic energy weapons and variable power ammo – but no beam devices in sight – we’ll defer elaboration and go right for the reply he sent us in response to the title question of this article.

The good Doctor Andrews, refreshingly unconcerned it seems with diplomatic sensitivities and likely influenced by conversations with personal contacts in the academic branches of DEW, pulls no punches in his prediction on the US military’s first full-featured ray gun for individual soldiers:

“I would estimate that it will be a pulsed-energy weapon, probably powered by a backpack power system, looking much like today’s flame throwers. After successful small-scale operational tests by special operations forces in occupied Iran (the non-radioactive areas) ca. 2011, they will be more massively deployed by our troops along the perimeter of conflict between the USA and the irregular forces of the secessionist northern Mexican provinces, which is to say between Corpus Christi and the cartel-occupied cities of Laredo and Brownsville,” Andrews replied.

AEAD

Among ARDEC’s many components is one that Goldman advised was particularly relevant to this feature. He kindly assisted our journey back through official channels to contact his counterpart Ben Lagasca, head of Advanced Energy Armaments Division (AEAD).

Because SAR is fully supportive of the cautious process that keeps classified information away from freedom’s many foes, we offered to submit our questions via email. This was accepted and replies came back in kind. Some relevant excerpts:

SAR: At NDIA’s Small Arms Conference in 2000, ARDEC’s Harry Moore gave a presentation on the impressive potential of the Pulsed Impulsive Kill Laser (PIKL). Is this being applied to current DEW projects at AEAD?

AEAD: The Army SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program/effort started in FY05 with Stellar Photonics was intended to build from the PIKL effort. With the advancement of solid state lasers it was believed that the potential existed to improve the PIKL technology known as Laser Supported Detonation (LSD) or Dynamic Pulse Detonation (DPD). Stellar was tasked to investigate the optimal parameters for creating LSD or DPD that could be useful for military applications. The study was unsuccessful (but) did evolve into possibly using the technology as a non-lethal visual deterrent. This effort is congressionally funded at approximately $1 million per year (out) to 2010, basic research to look at the potential of Synchronized Photopulse Detonation…. Stellar has constructed a prototype device and demonstrated their technology only in a lab environment. The Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) has shown interest in this technology as a potential part of their non-lethal weapons program; however the effectiveness of the system has yet to be determined by Government or Independent evaluators.

SAR: Applied Energetics recently announced a $4.5 million contract with ARDEC for development and advancement of its proprietary Laser Guided Energy (LGE), “a transformational weapon technology by which a controllable high voltage electric charge can be precisely guided by a laser through the atmosphere to produce a range of controllable effects against a variety of potential military and security targets.” Comment on this being used to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and any other applications.

AEAD: Applied Energetics has a lab demo scheduled for March 2009 developing DE technologies to defeat anti-material targets. AE has the patent on certain aspects of this technology and much of this work is classified.

SAR: ARDEC’s official web page linked at www.pica.army.mil lists an impressive range of “advanced technologies” said to be used in its DEW work. While most are self-explanatory, please comment on work with acoustics and nanotechnology.

AEAD: ARDEC works a wide range of advanced energy weapon systems across (its) many departments. (We) can only comment on the efforts of the Advanced Energy Armaments Division (which includes the Directed Energy Branch) to say that AEAD has no ongoing efforts in nanotechnology. In addition, any acoustic work performed by AEAD is on evaluating non-lethal Commercial Off-the-Shelf devices that are considered to be “hailing and warning devices” and are not considered as “weapons.” Examples include the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), etc.

SAR: What is Mr. Lagasca’s prediction on the first fielding of a scalable non-lethal to lethal DE weapon that can be carried and used by one man?

Lagasca: “Hand held Non-Lethal Laser Dazzlers have already been fielded and are currently available. These systems are mainly used as a non-lethal means to ‘warn’ and/or get the attention of people. These lasers are not considered weapons. Weaponization of lasers for lethal applications into a ‘hand-held’ form factor are a long way away. Currently there are no laser technologies or programs that I am aware of that could be weaponized into hand held size within say 10 years. Breakthroughs in laser and power source technologies would be required to realize laser weapons in this class. It should also be noted that all lethal laser development programs are focused on counter materiel applications and not counter personnel (at least the ones that I am aware of). Any laser weapon designed for lethal and/or non-lethal counter personnel use would have to undergo considerable legal policy review to assure conformance with applicable international treaties such as prohibition on blinding weapons.”

Electric Ships

The United States Navy’s future surface warships are under development right now and they represent the nearly ideal mobile platforms for utilizing all types of directed energy weaponry. These massive, oceangoing, all-electric vessels will have plenty of room on board for complicated apparatus and vast reserves of energy from the latest generation high-yield nuclear power plants.

Office of Naval Research (ONR) has long been interested in the potential of directed energy weapons for shipboard defense at the speed of light and, among other initiatives, is well underway with perfecting the “high average power infrared free electron laser.” FEL for short, it provides particularly intense beams that can be tuned to atmosphere-penetrating wavelengths. This tuning is an essential capability in conditions of thick fog, heavy rain and snow, making FEL weapons lethal in all weather against threat aircraft, watercraft, sea skimming missiles, and more.

And the practicality of including specialized kinetic energy weaponry on these future warships hasn’t been overlooked. Because there are times when slinging steel is the best solution to specific situations, the ONR is also hard at work on EMRGs (electromagnetic railguns). These exotic projectile pushers dispense with traditional chemical propellants or rocket motors in favor an electrically generated magnetic field that “levitates” a specialized metallic slug, launching it down track-like rails at previously unattainable speed.

Successful test firings have been conducted, with one demonstrating a mind-boggling muzzle velocity of 1.56 miles per second. With anticipated fielding some 15 years away, the Navy expects its EMRGs to fire 6 to 10 internally guided projectiles per minute with astonishing precision at ranges in excess of 200 nautical miles, about the distance from New York City to Boston.

KE/DE Combo

In retrospect, it was a bit unfair to ask the experts to predict fielding of an individual weapon using only directed energy to provide fully tunable effects from dazzle to death. Most respondents were quick to point out that a combination of a standard kinetic energy (KE) assault rifle, coupled with a “scalable effects” less-lethal directed energy (DE) device, is the most practical and logical interim step.

Indeed, when one takes into account such possible couplings as XADS’ Stun Strike Close Quarters Shock Rifle clamped to an M4 carbine, we’re getting there now.

More exotic hardware is in the works that promises to extend the reach of the DE module’s less lethal but incapacitating effects to eventually approximate the effective range of the decidedly lethal KE host weapon. The AEWS/Stellar Photonics’ “Synchronized Photo-pulse Detonation” may be one of these, said to employ two synchronized lasers that project an atmospheric shock wave of superheated plasma.

Lest one be tempted to dismiss this and similar efforts as quantum quackery, their development is being fueled by millions of defense dollars, awarded only after rigorous scientific review has validated their potential. Many firms have ongoing contracts and are working on classified counter-IED and other projects under supervision of various Department of Defense entities.

Because these will certainly get smaller, lighter and more powerful in the near future, your individual-issue ray gun seems inevitable. Thus, if Doctor Andrews’ startlingly bold prediction proves right, the first of USSOCOM’s elite warriors will be combat testing their one-man-portable “non-lethal weapons with a tunable destructive potential” in about three years.

The E-Bomb

“After more than two decades of research, the United States is on the verge of deploying a new generation of weapons that discharge light-wave energy, the same spectrum of energy found in your microwave, or in your TV remote control. They’re called ‘directed-energy weapons’ – lasers, high-powered microwaves, and particle beams – and they signal a revolution in weaponry, perhaps more profound than the atomic bomb.” (E-Bomb book jacket notes)

Published in 2005, this fascinating book carries the bold subtitle, “How America’s new directed energy weapons will change the way future wars are fought.” It has served quite well as our primary reference source for this feature, detailing the scientific concepts and evolving hardware of DE. While including plenty of formulas and diagrams for the more scientific-minded readers, these are accompanied by simple explanations and straightforward presentations, making it easily understood by the rest of us.

Its author, a retired USAF Colonel with a Doctorate in Physics, has particular credibility as a result of more than thirty years of experience, from conducting basic research to directing applied-science programs and formulating national policy. J. Douglas Beason’s last active duty assignment was Deputy Director for Directed Energy at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

He is currently the Associate Laboratory Director for Threat Reduction at Los Alamos National Laboratory, responsible for programs that reduce the global threat of weapons of mass destruction.

Doctor Beason graciously responded to our request for a prediction on the first fielding of a scalable non-lethal to lethal DE weapon that can be carried and used by one man. It is presented here in its entirety:

“Small arms Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) will provide the warfighter with the best of all worlds – speed of light engagement, little (if any) collateral damage, near-infinite precision, the ability to induce “graduated” effects (dial-an-effect), and best of all, not be constrained by ballistics or windage. In the near future, as technology matures and DEWs become smaller and capable of being fielded by individuals, a revolution will occur as DEWs move from strategic to tactical applications.

“The first use of small arms DEWs has been in the form of non-lethal weapons, for example dazzlers. As power supplies shrink and sub-THz (teraHertz) sources become more efficient, hand-held active denial units the size of back packs will become available.

“Because of technology limitations, it will take much longer to field a small arms lethal laser capability; but until then, the tactics and doctrine of using DEWs on the battlefield – and most importantly, the evolution of a national DEW policy – will mature.”

Find Out More

The following internet links are listed in their order of presentation in this feature:

Report: Defense Science Board Task Force on Directed Energy Weapons www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2007-12-Directed_Energy_Report.pdf

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: www.darpa.mil

US Army Space and Missile Defense Command: www.smdc.army.mil

US Air Force Research Laboratory: www.afrl.af.mil

US Navy Office of Naval Research: www.onr.navy.mil

Department of Defense Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate: https://www.jnlwp.com

US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center: www.pica.army.mil

FBI Academy Advanced Weapons Subject Bibliography: http://fbilibrary.fbiacademy.edu/bibliographies/advancedweapons.htm

Book: The E-Bomb www.dougbeason.com

(Editor’s Note: SAR is taking a different approach this year in presenting coverage of the National Defense Industrial Association’s annual Joint Services Small Arms Systems Symposium. This prestigious gathering of top names in weaponry from industry, government, military, and law enforcement offers up so much information and hardware that an entire issue would be required to do it justice.

Military Affairs Correspondent Robert Bruce’s assignment was to find and report on what’s new and exciting then shoot as many photos as possible covering all aspects of the event. The pictures appearing here have been carefully selected from more than 160 submitted.)

“Achieving a secure environment for the American people requires a strong resolve in the diplomatic arena and a stronger fortitude to back it up. Facing terrorist forces from MOUT to the open battlefield, American forces, both military and law enforcement alike, require the best equipment available. Only through the efforts of government and industry focusing together on the immediate needs of current operations and ‘lessons learned’ and applying the emerging advanced technology and system integration approaches will the tools necessary to support our warriors now and in the future will be realized.” Objective Statement – NDIA Joint Services Small Arms Systems 2007 Annual Symposium, Exhibition and Firing Demonstration

It’s all here for “warriors now and in the future.” NDIA Small Arms Systems is once again hosting what is arguably the most exciting, most exclusive and most important annual gathering for those whose purpose in professional life is to arm the free world’s defenders with the best that men can build and money can buy. Technical presentations, hardware exhibits and thundering live fire demonstrations are jam-packed into three days at the Virginia Beach Convention Center and on the ranges at Blackwater USA.

Symposium Schoolhouse

Formal presentations are essential to the event, providing an opportunity for hundreds of attendees to get the latest information on major government initiatives, military want lists and industry solutions.

Briefings by members of the Joint Services Small Arms Synchronization Team were perfectly scheduled to kick off the first day’s symposium. JSSAT’s mission is to harmonize as much as possible the often divergent needs of all five branches of the US Armed Forces as well as Special Operations Command.

When these men talk, everyone listens closely. Some even rush outside to call the office with breaking news.

We learned that the Army still officially loves the M4 carbine, further dampening the hopes of advocates of piston-driven upper kits, SCARs, XM8s and such. Big Army is well along in improving reliability of the M249 SAW, lightening the M240, moving toward a QCB M2HB, and has been directed by Congress to “green” its ammo. This presumably so that the environment outside enemy bodies will not be contaminated by lead.

Oh, and it may field a better handgun and/or Personal Defense Weapon in the next few years. For more on this go right to the USAF section. The Navy is phasing out obsolete M14s in favor of more M16s, as well as sometimes troublesome Miniguns in favor of twin-mounted M240s. The crunch in full scale range real estate is driving a move to use of more electronic simulators, supplemented by live fire training on shorter ranges with reduced-power ammo.

Its partner, the Marine Corps, is leading the charge toward an Infantry Automatic Rifle, lighter than the current M249 SAW and holding the line until LSAT (see sidebar) is fielded. The Corps, considered by many to be the most serious about cutting red tape to put good stuff in the hands of grunts, is also looking for new Long Range Sniper weapons and solutions to “emerging requirements TBA.”

Alternative caliber and weapon advocates leaned way forward to catch each word about the Leatherneck leadership’s plans to “evaluate alternatives to 5.56mm ammunition and weapons.”

Don’t make the mistake of looking at the Coast Guard as harbor cops. Coasties are America’s first line of defense against seaborne terrorism at home and many places abroad. Armament upgrades continue, most notably in transition to new .50 cal Barretts and 7.62mm MK11s from Knight’s. They don’t need a new handgun because almost all their puny 9mm Berettas are overboard now, replaced by hard-hitting .40 S&W SIGs.

Airmen are directly involved in more ground combat than ever before. USAF Security Forces are growing by leaps and bounds in weapon requirements and quantities, filled mostly by Army standard hardware like M16 rifles, M240 machine guns and M9 pistols. However, the AF apparently takes sidearms seriously and now has the lead in the search for JSSAP’s on-again, off-again Future Handgun program.

Colonel Charles Beck explained that the program is funded and underway now, looking for an off-the-shelf pistol chambered for a “readily available military cartridge” that is “non-expanding” but yielding a “wound channel increase.” So, the race is on again for all those hopeful manufacturers who had lined up last year for the USSOCOM trials that never happened.

SAR’s readers can sit in free at this and other notable presentations by accessing proceedings on Defense Technical Information Center’s website at www.dtic.mil/ndia/2007smallarms/2007smallarms.html where slides from most of the briefings are posted.

All are organized in chronological order and grouped by specific themes including Individual Weapons, Ammunition, Joint Services Small Arms Program (JSSAP) Update, Activities in NATO, Crew Served Weapons, Modeling and Simulation, as well as Less Than Lethal Systems.

Exhibits

The opportunity to pick up and examine cutting edge hardware is essential to the conference mix and more than 80 exhibitors were on hand with the latest in guns, gear and ammo. In stark contrast to the more commercial trade shows, NDIA Small Arms is where attendees will most often find the men and women who are directly responsible for creating what’s on display.

Curious about the new barrel coupling system for the Army’s new M110 Semiauto Sniper Rifle? Talk to Dave Lutz at the Knight’s Armament booth. Tantalized by just a sneak peek at Magpul’s Masada rifle at SHOT? Rich Fitzpatrick and Drake Clark were giving muzzle to butt plate tours.

What’s with that trailer toting a big and heavily armored weapons station replicating that of a US Navy warship? Special Tactical Services’ Jerry Hurd will explain how the firm supplies full spectrum training and innovative hardware support for maritime and ground combat operations.

How about the latest hardware in use by Navy SEALs and others in Special Operations Command? Talk to NAVSEA Crane’s Barry Gatewood about Miniature Day/Night Sight developments or Jason Davis about on-weapon Shot Counters.

Customary exhibits from ARDEC/JSSAP/PM Soldier Weapons, collectively the 800 pound gorilla of small arms development and fielding, were conspicuously absent this year. A spokesperson explained that budgets are tight right now so money is better spent in direct support of war fighters – a decision that we understand and endorse.

Not to worry, much of what would have been in the Army’s display could be found elsewhere in the large hall. Some examples include HK with the XM320 grenade launcher, General Dynamics with the QCB (Quick Change Barrel) M2E2 and convertible XM312/XM307 .50 cal./25mm machine gun, and show star LSAT at the AAI booth.

Range Day

After two and a half days of formal presentations and exhibit hall booth hopping, the opportunity to get out on the range is essential to maintain a real world perspective. Sal Fanelli, NDIA SA’s perennial volunteer Rangemeister, now with USMC Program Manager Infantry Weapons, was ably assisted this year by Jim Schatz, the long term HK veteran now enjoying his role in semiretirement as an independent industry consultant and Small Arms Review contributor.

With all military ranges in the greater Virginia Beach area fully booked with intensive GWOT training, Fanelli was fortunate to secure permission from Blackwater USA to utilize three of the dozens of ranges on its sprawling 6,000 acre complex, an hour’s drive south in Moyoc, North Carolina.

A notable downside of this arrangement was Blackwater’s necessarily strict OPSEC (operational security) rules that protect the identities of employees and trainees, many of whom are part of ultra-sensitive domestic and overseas operations. Most prominent was the near total ban on photography and all attendees got a stern warning to leave their cameras on the bus.

(Editor’s Note: SAR sends Fanelli a big thanks for certifying Military Affairs Editor Robert Bruce as NDIA’s “official range photographer” and to Blackwater’s Allen Livingstone for turning him loose on site with confidence in his promise to carefully avoid showing details of facilities and identities of non-NDIA personnel.)

Again by special arrangement, SAR got there early to observe industry teams as they prepared for the afternoon’s live fire demonstrations. This is invaluable for close-up photography of significant hardware in a way that doesn’t block spectator viewing and an extended period of relatively low stress to talk with the shooters.

Extended coverage of JSSAP’s LSAT is a prominent example for these reasons, providing ample time to discuss the finer points of the system’s experimental weapon and ammunition with AAI’s team leader Paul Shipley and his crew. Then, observing within an arms length the test firing for function and zero.

Other teams from FN, Knights, HK, Milkor, Colt, and the like were spread out along Range 5’s 30 meters of firing line, popping away with modular assault weapons, PDWs, and grenade launchers (sorry, dye marker rounds only).

On Range 4 next door, Remington’s Greg Baradat rehearsed door breaching with a stubby 870 MCS shotgun, and TDI’s Tim Lindsay conducted an invitation-only VIP demo for the KRISS submachine gun. Glock’s team searched the gravel in vain for an extractor lost from its crowd-pleasing Model 18 selective fire machine pistol. No problem, plenty of other Glock’s to show and shoot.

With a hour or so before arrival of the main body of event attendees, we took a somewhat leisurely stroll up the road about half a mile to Range 19. This is a KD (Known Distance) range with a 1,200 yard limit and suitable safety fan so the event’s sniper rifles and heavy machine guns could be accommodated.

This provided a look at a half dozen of Blackwater’s various specialized live fire training stations including multi-weapon CQB, an elaborate MOUT complex and K-9 facility.

All were bustling with activity and plenty of lead was flying. No comment on what organizations the trainees represented, but George Orwell’s oft-quoted observation comes to mind that, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” Amen.

Arriving at the KD range we found Armalite’s Mark Westrom zeroing his Super SASS while some other guy was mounting a mean looking .50 cal. atop a camo painted honest-to-goodness GI HMMWV (not a silly civilian HUMMER) incongruously sporting Wisconsin license plates.

Turned out to be Ed Haywood, creator of Central Wisconsin Armory’s formidable new Dragon M50 high rate of fire machine gun, characterized by modifications allowing the gunner to select open or closed bolt operation utilizing the spade grips. This burly former Navy Gunners Mate had made the very long trip to Virginia in his personal war-surplus HMMWV, no small feat of endurance for man and machine.

Back at the main area chartered buses had deposited hordes of event attendees who, after a catered lunch, were gathering around at Range 4 for the handgun, submachine gun and shotgun demonstrations.

When the time came to move one range over, Jim Owens of FNH USA set the tone for several of the subsequent industry presentations by doing a quick briefing on the SCAR family of weapons but deferring live fire to later. The show, tell and sometimes shoot moved down the line in roughly five minute increments, ending with HK Defense’s Wayne Weber inflicting the always crowd-pleasing full immersion water and sand torture on an unstoppable HK 416.

Then the smorgasbord of small arms opened for business with attendees lining up behind their favorites for live fire action. Bragging rights aplenty come with hands-on time with exciting new and unusual weaponry like the 7.62mm FN SCAR Heavy, TSSI’s shoot-from-cover ParaScope, and Karl Lewis’ 40mm M203 pistol. Life doesn’t get much better than this with free ammo, expert coaching and somebody else has to clean the range and the weapons afterward.

Particularly noteworthy this year was the absence of any heartbreaking mechanical failures or heart-stopping safety violations by demonstrators or others. No rounds fired directly skyward, no commando rolls with loaded weapons and no recalcitrant robots. A big round of applause, please.

NDIA’s Joint Services Small Arms Systems

SAR strongly supports the work of the National Defense Industrial Association, readily accessed on the web at www.ndia.org. Make plans now to be at the 2008 Small Arms event in Atlantic City, New Jersey, May 12 to 15. The customary live fire demonstrations will be held at nearby Fort Dix and are likely to include some of JSSAP’s most interesting cutting edge hardware. Industry demonstrators will, no doubt, keep in mind draconian restrictions on transport of weapons and ammunition imposed in the Peoples Republic of New Jersey. Good luck guys!

Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT)
SAR Spotlight by Robert Bruce

SAR’s intense and sustained interest in the Joint Services Small Arms Program’s LSAT initiative was once again handsomely rewarded as government/industry team leaders Kori Spiegel and Paul Shipley charted a number of significant developments since last year’s presentation to this NDIA symposium.

While all combat infantrymen are overburdened, the problem tends to be particularly acute for SAW gunners in Army and Marine rifle squads. In addition to standard body armor, water, rations, and gear, these men carry a 17.5 pound M249 with 200 rounds of linked 5.56mm ammo (6.5 lbs.) and two extra 200 round bandoleers (13 lbs.).

While the SAW’s firepower is critical in many combat scenarios, the system’s weight has a decidedly detrimental effect on the speed and endurance of most gunners who carry it.

However, it will require something approaching a 50% reduction in combined weapon and ammo weight before the SAW gunner will have mobility on a par with his brother riflemen. How close to this ambitious goal can they get without sacrificing this essential weapon’s firepower, range and lethality?

While a definitive answer is several years away, parallel experimentation with both cased and caseless ammunition is progressing well, JSSAP’s Spiegel explained, and a prototype weapon, firing plastic cased telescoped 5.56mm ammunition, has been demonstrated in both laboratory and field firing.

The experimental demonstration weapon and its rapidly evolving ammunition were working so well in fact, that program officials were taking the calculated risk of conducting the system’s first “public” live fire demonstration at this event.

Traveling to Blackwater USA early Thursday morning in advance of the scheduled industry demonstrations, we caught up with LSAT industry team coordinator Paul Shipley of AAI and crewmembers Dennis Trump and Tim Livelsberger on Range 5. This was the perfect time to take a close look and get some photos of the weapon and ammunition.

The prototype light machine gun they brought was tried-and-true Serial Number 1, which has fired more than 3,000 rounds so far, starting with the initial “Spiral 1” cased telescoped ammo and has recently been converted to fire the reduced size “Spiral 2” cartridge.

Its gas piston driven operating system has a cartridge rammer instead of a bolt and features a highly unusual oscillating chamber with push-through feed and ejection. While this is called a “rotating chamber” in program documentation, it doesn’t spin, but moves back and forth in an arc of approximately 90 degrees.

Program officials are understandably wary of disclosing too much technical detail, but official promotional/informational materials include simplified diagrams and evocative wording that might guide a reasonably knowledgeable person to informed speculation as follows.

Think of a clock face with the chamber (viewed from the rear of the weapon) at rest in the 12 o’clock position and the barrel waiting at 9 o’clock. The gunner cocks the action by pulling back on a charging handle and a spring loaded rammer is poised to push the first round forward into an empty chamber.

M249 SAW gunners know this as “open bolt” operation, essential “thermal management” to avoid problematic cookoffs.

Pulling the trigger releases the rammer to chamber a cartridge and this releases the chamber mechanism to rotate counter-clockwise down to the 9 o’clock position where it locks in line with the barrel. A conventional firing pin is released to initiate the primer, igniting the propellant powder. The plastic case is fully contained and supported in the cylindrical chamber so chamber pressure and resultant muzzle velocity equate that of conventional systems.

As the bullet passes the gas port inside the barrel some of the follow-on propellant gas is vented downward into an expansion tube where it meets the head of the piston. Kicked rearward, it causes the chamber mechanism to unlock and swing back down with the empty case in line for push-through ejection when the next round is fed.

“Dwell time” – milliseconds delay allowing the cartridge to deflate for ease of extraction – occurs during the chamber’s movement. Links are pushed out of the feedway as each new round moves into position.

In full auto burst fire, the action automatically repeats at a cyclic rate of approximately 650 rpm, similar to that of most conventional belt fed guns.

LSAT Heritage

Those who know about the Advanced Combat Rifle program circa 1990 will recognize some useful mechanical design principles carried forward from the ARES entry. This strikingly configured magazine fed bullpup featured a separate, moving chamber and push through feed and ejection of its lipstick tube polymer cased telescoped 5mm all-tracer cartridges.

The radically new ammo was developed back then in partnership with Olin. It is no coincidence that this famous firm, now known as St. Marks Powder, is now a prominent member of the new LSAT team.

Superior synergy, of course, as ARES is the program partner responsible for the launching platform and currently offers the TARG (Telescoped Ammunition Revolver Gun), a .50 caliber weapon firing caseless ammo from multiple chambers.

Institutional knowledge is invaluable and decades of direct experience plus engineering know-how at ARES and St. Marks – along with the rest of the program’s team – are no doubt saving plenty of time and money.

For example, the layout and lines of the prototype gun are unmistakably influenced by the Stoner-ARES Light Machine Gun, a more conventional 5.56mm SAW featuring a box receiver with in-line buttstock and under barrel piston gas system.

A follow-on inquiry to ARES, answered by Drew Kurtis, their top engineer on the LSAT project, revealed another specific aspect of Gene Stoner’s work on the earlier LMG that has been wisely utilized.

“The recoil scheme Mr. Stoner used in this gun is adapted to the LSAT,” he explained. “Feedback from the people who have fired it…has been extremely positive and feel the weapon is very controllable, especially given the light weight.”

LSAT Muzzle to Buttplate

The Cased Telescoped (CT) Weapon SN1 we observed at Blackwater has a 16.5 inch long smooth (unfluted) rifled steel barrel tipped with a standard GI birdcage flash suppressor/muzzle compensator.

The gas block (an interim configuration, Shipley says) is topped by a dovetail for a front sight if needed, and has what appears to be a conventional expansion chamber surrounding the piston.

The forward end of the receiver has stylishly angled multiple cooling slots on the sides above lengths of MIL STD 1913 rail used to mount various accessories. Another underneath serves as a sturdy anchor for an adjustable bipod. Hard mounting to test fixtures and tripods is facilitated by a pair of tubes attached underneath the receiver.

The pistol grip/trigger housing mechanism is of standard ergonomic design and the left side selector lever moves by downward thumb pressure in an arc with its indicator pointing in turn from SAFE to 1 (semi) and A (automatic).

Feeding the plastic linked polymer cartridges takes place on the left side from an assault pouch attached underneath. On top is a hinged feed cover, roughly the size of a cigarette pack, which swings open to reveal a pair of conventional feed pawls that move the belted ammo in line with the chamber.

Ridges on the feedplate and inside of the cover provide low drag support to the ammunition. Stripped links drop out the right side as each round is rammed forward and another moves in line with the chamber.

A charging handle protrudes from its channel on the right side of the receiver, automatically returned to forward position by a coiled spring and guide rod and does not reciprocate on firing. A prominent rectangular port in front of the feedway allows ejection of spent cases as each is automatically pushed forward and out of the chamber by a new round.

Its skeletonized buttstock features a hinged shoulder rest on its butt plate and a good gripping surface up front for the nonfiring hand. It telescopes in the manner of an M4 carbine to adjust for body armor and different sized shooters and body armor.

A length of Picatinny Rail rigidly mounted to the top rear of the gun’s boxy receiver will accept most any type of sight. Trijicon’s Bill Taggart had thoughtfully provided a new piggyback combo sight to use in the demonstration, the company’s entry in the Army’s Rifle Combat Optic Program trials.

Based on extensive USSOCOM use, it features Trijicon’s 4 power ACOG TA31 Rifle Combat Optic fitted with distinctive honeycomb anti-reflective cover and laser filter. On top is a Docter red dot for fast CQB shooting, shielded by protective wings.

Livelsberger quickly clamped the combo’s A.R.M.S. Throw Lever mount in place and proceeded to achieve a suitable zero with just a few single shots. Nothing unusual was observed about the weapon’s muzzle blast sound level, propellant smoke or flash.

CT Ammo

While representative caseless telescoped (CT) ammunition may be seen in LSAT program literature and shown in actual sample cutaways, Shipley was not at liberty to allow detailed photos of the actual “Spiral 2” live rounds on hand for the demo. Agreeing to avoid close shots of the primer end, we were rewarded with the opportunity to photograph from the side and front the translucent polymer tubes with black plastic links.

Most notable are the copper-clad tips of conventional 5.56mm M855 ball projectiles seen behind black plastic end caps that retain and center each one, surrounded by granular propellant in the cylindrical case. Waterproofing has to be problematic but Shipley indicated that a configuration with molded in place end seal is nearing completion.

A ridge on the end cap at its junction with the case serves to position each featherweight and flexible plastic link. The combination is neat, compact and strikingly unusual.

It should be noted that team member St. Marks Powder recently completed development of a special reduced flash propellant tailored for LSAT that will replace the off the shelf powder in ammo used for the demonstration. A laboratory test video shown in the symposium briefing showed a dramatic decrease in muzzle flash in a darkened room.

Live Fire Demo

JSSAP’s LSAT team chief Kori Spiegel arrived and we spoke briefly with her about what she had in mind for the demonstration. She explained that the team was proud of the speed and scope of recent progress and it was time to show peers in military and industry what the system could do.

Ever mindful of “Murphy’s Law,” we asked about calculated risk. This produced a smile and a confident nod. “We’ll see,” she said.

When their turn came during the industry demos, Shipley introduced the weapon and its ammunition to a crowd of NDIA attendees, briefly explaining features, benefits and progress to date. On cue, Livelsberger loaded a forty round belt then took an offhand shooting stance, popping off several semi auto shots before extending the bipod and dropping to prone.

So far, so good. A deft thumb flick moved the selector to AUTO and he began a series of short cadenced bursts, ending in a twenty round sustained fire belt runout. All had been fired without a hiccup, prompting enthusiastic applause from the crowd and probably a considerable amount of relief to the LSAT team.

SAR sends congratulations to JSSAP and its LSAT industry partners AAI, ARES, ATK, Battelle, Omega, and St. Marks Powder for a job well done! And best wishes for success with the many challenges ahead on the long road to fielding in the not-too-distant future.

“The Lightweight Small Arms Technologies program has made tremendous progress, which includes a fully functioning dynamic model of the weapons system, a working weapon prototype, and hundreds of cased telescopic rounds fired to date.” Kori Spiegel, US Army ARDEC, Joint Service Small Arms Program

Ms. Spiegel’s presentation during the symposium part of NDIA’s annual gathering of infantry weaponry innovators should be of particular interest to SAW gunners and others who stand to benefit from scientific advances that are cutting the weight of weapons and ammunition. Sharing the rostrum with AAI’s Paul Shipley, her briefing detailed ongoing developments in JSSAP’s multi-million dollar Light Weight Machine Gun and Ammunition program.

AAI is particularly well suited to head up the effort, bringing decades of experience with innovative concepts such as the Vietnam era SPIW, ACR ca. 1990, and the run-up to today’s OICW. They have assembled a similarly distinguished team of companies for the program including ARES, Alliant Techsystems, Battelle Institute, St. Marks Powder, and Omega Training Group.

Recognizing that an alternative to traditional brass cased and steel linked ammunition represents the most productive avenue to meaningful reduction in overall system weight, two alternatives are being simultaneously explored, both featuring projectiles that are “telescoped” in a cavity in the propellant.

The CTA (Cased Telescoped Ammunition) employs conventional powder, primer and projectile, but packaged in polymer casings with synthetic links. This approach is said to be a “low risk” option, yielding significant weight reduction at acceptable levels of cost, complexity and weapon performance.

Fully caseless configuration is the second alternative, using advanced propellant technology where each round is fully consumed on firing so no case extraction and ejection action is necessary. This remarkable cartridge concept was developed to a high degree by Dynamit Nobel back in 1990 for HK’s G11 rifle and is said to promise a greater degree of weight reduction.

AAI has been successfully burst firing CTA in a prototype weapon that is evolving based on engineering refinement and application of advances in materials technology. Concept drawings show the gun as having a rotating chamber with in-line push-through feed and ejection. A fluted, quick change barrel gives high stiffness and heat exchange. Right now the configuration and construction are very conventional with extensive use of alloys and polymers.

Program goals call for successful demonstration firing next year, then transition to Program Manager Soldier Weapons by 2010.

While a standout for this correspondent, the JSSAP/AAI briefing was only one of more than three dozen compelling presentations given during the period 16 to 18 May in Albuquerque’s impressive Convention Center. Other topics of interest included updates on weapons and equipment for Special Operations Forces, NATO research and development, a status report from Program Manager Soldier Weapons, and representatives of each of the US Armed Services charting near term plans for small arms upgrades and replacements. A few morsels from this banquet:

• Marine Corps Systems Command is looking for something beyond the SAW, but needs it sooner than 2010. “The Infantry Automatic Rifle… a light weight, magazine fed, 5.56mm, individual weapon,” sounds something like the CIS ULTIMAX.
• Suppressors are big with all the services seeking noise and flash reduction for everything from Barrett fifties to pistol poppers. Opportunities abound for designers and manufacturers.
• While USSOCOM is moving at flank speed to field the SCAR family, it is not neglecting those current operators still carrying M4 type carbines. NSWC Crane is closing in fast with the Miniature Day/Night Sight program to upgrade capabilities beyond the current hodgepodge of clamp-ons.
• The Coast Guard – and probably Navy Mobile Security – will be getting a reduced range 7.62mm round, developed by ARDEC, with standard velocity and penetration at moderate distance, but quick fall off after that to minimize collateral damage in crowded ports and narrow waterways.
• Remotely aimed weapon systems for a variety of platforms continue to gain favor. The robo turret on STRYKER vehicles will probably be the first to get General Dynamics’ XM307.
• USSOCOM’s MK47 Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launcher is on a parallel track with “Big Army’s” XM312/XM307.
• Knight’s is a big winner with the Army’s recent selection of their modified SR-25/MK 11 as the M110 SASS (Semiautomatic Sniper System).
• Countersniper technologies are getting lots of attention, but existing solutions tend to be complex and expensive. M2 Technologies and the Univ. of Kentucky have partnered to develop an infrared system using COTS components.
• ARDEC has a Rapid Design branch for urgent projects like the Afghan National Army’s need to mount their Russian-type DShK machine guns on American-supplied M113 APCs.
• Along with continued development of Barrett’s 25mm XM109, FN has a shoulder-fired high velocity 40mm launcher in JSSAP’s efforts to enhance anti-materiel capabilities.
• Everybody but the Coast Guard (they have the new SIG P229 in .40 caliber) wants a .45 ACP pistol. SOCOM and Big Army are, once again, conducting separate programs to this common goal.

Go online to get briefings for all of these topics and much more at www.dtic.mil/ndia/2006smallarms/2006smallarms.html

It’s a Small World

Once again this year the Awards Luncheon was enhanced immeasurably by a thoughtful presentation from JSSAP’s Dr. Stephen Small, who can always be counted upon to put current trials and tribulations into historical perspective. This time reaching back to 1326 A.D. and the dawn of gunpowder warfare, his “First Three Hundred Years of Small Arms” had an appreciative audience alternately chuckling and shaking their heads in recognition. Was some distant ancestor of Ronnie Barrett responsible for the 41 pound, carriage mounted, 27mm wheel lock “anti-materiel rifle” developed in Germany so long ago?

Small was honored immediately afterward with an NDIA Professional Service Award, as were Simunition’s Brian Berger, Aberdeen Test Center’s Marvin Maule, Broden Resources’ Dave Broden, and USMC Lieutenant Colonel Richard Adams.

This year’s George M. Chinn award was presented to Richard Swan of A.R.M.S. and the Carlos Hathcock award went to USMC Major Allen Bootby.

Hardware Show

Numerous breaks from scholarly proceedings in the auditorium gave attendees welcome opportunity to visit the large exhibit hall where more than sixty commercial firms and government entities showed their wares. There, many of the concepts and much of the hardware from dry technical papers could be found, along with knowledgeable reps to answer questions and discuss advantages that come with items on display.

ARDEC, JSSAP and Program Manager Small Arms held the biggest section of exhibit booths, a necessary and fitting situation for this giant of the military small arms community. We spoke at some length with engineers and others directly responsible for weapons and ammunition under development as well as those seeking and fielding COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) items to meet immediate needs of troops in harm’s way. From high tech “smart” weapons to Otis cleaning kits, this is the team that gets the good stuff for the good guys.

Several of JSSAP’s industry partners also had a large presence. General Dynamics was on hand with their convertible XM307 to XM312 Advanced Crew Served Weapon. AAI showed its concept mockup of the future light machine gun and its innovative cartridges. ATK had the amazing programmable airbursting ammo for the XM307 and the shoulder-fired XM25.

Long Mountain Outfitters and Defense Munitions combined their considerable assets to provide a billboard-sized display of old and new weapons from around the world, providing an engineering, reference and sales resource for the widest range of attendees. Suppressed pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, belt guns, grenade chunkers, and antitank rockets snared enthusiasts of all types, sparking innumerable technical discussions and historical anecdotes with this walk-up-and-touch product catalog.

Other real gun guys were also much in evidence including ArmaLite, Barrett, Beretta, Colt, FN, Glock, HK, Knight’s, Remington, S&W, and Taurus.

Barrett is working with JSSAP to lighten the .50 cal M107 and to get the 25mm XM109 ready for fielding. Then there’s the exciting new bullpup XM500 in .416 caliber.

Colt Defense was showing a push-rod M16 called the Advanced Law Enforcement Carbine and a side-opening grenade launcher. Both were apparently developed as entries in recent Army and SOCOM trials. A prototype light machine gun also attracted interest, featuring quick change barrel, open and closed bolt operation, and a push-rod.

FNH USA proudly displayed several new variants of USSOCOM’s tough SCAR (Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle) including a 5.56mm version for sharpshooting, a SCAR Heavy in 7.62mm, and the clever left or right side opening Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module.

HK Defense, after fielding the push-rod HK416 in 5.56mm, has just added the 7.62mm HK417. Also on the table was the handy and hardy MG4, a 5.56mm SAW/LMG.

Knight’s has plenty of reason to crow with the Army’s recent selection of its candidate as the new M110 Semiautomatic Sniper Rifle System, but something much smaller took center stage at their booth. Weighing just 4.5 pounds and measuring only 19.5 inches with stock folded, the brand new 6x35mm PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) was a show stopper for those in the know. The unique high-performance ammo and its diminutive launch platform were developed with requirements and funding from Technical Support Working Group, a little known US Government counter-terrorism organization with direct links to the CIA, FBI and more than seventy other agencies.

Optimizing existing guns and ammo is the job of those who specialize in accessories and add-ons. Specific needs are met mostly by entrepreneurs with companies outside “the system” but well known in the tightly knit world of combat soldiers.

Some precision shooters from CENTCOM’s area of operations asked LaRue Tactical for a special mounting system and soon got the “S.T.O.M.P.” The Sniper’s Total Optic Mounting Package for Remington 700 actions consists of a suitable length of Picatinny Rail, quick-detach rings and inserts, and a quick-detach overarm for positioning night vision optics like the PVS-22 in front and in line with whatever day optic is preferred.

In the same vein, urban warrior shotgunners punished by the heavy recoil of slugs and breaching rounds asked for and got a special buffer from Enidine. The unit we saw was the “ShotShock,” neatly housed in the telescoping tubular stock with grip that Mesa Tactical makes for the Remington 870.

De-ranged

For whatever reason, L3’s Sal Fanelli keeps volunteering to coordinate and conduct the Small Arms Symposium’s traditional government and industry live fire demonstrations. Never an easy task under the best conditions, but heartened that this time wasn’t in the Peoples Republic of New Jersey; Fanelli got everything set up with the Department of Energy’s Central Training Academy to use their superb range facilities on nearby Kirtland Air Force Base.

This became a no-go a few days before the event when those in charge of base entry security clearances realized that busloads of civilians including plenty of foreign attendees would be rolling up. An official case of the vapors ensued, leaving Sal scrambling to find another venue.

Fortunately the good-guy network kicked in and the Albuquerque Police Department cleared its scheduled training to make way for the day’s demos, apparently recognizing that real “national security” should take priority over bureaucratic BS. A big thanks to APD and Range Master Dave Bartram!

Crossed SWORDS

We got out there early on range day to have plenty of time to examine and photograph the weapons and ammo that would be in action later on. This paid off handsomely when the Army’s SWORDS team arrived with two of their mean little battle ‘bots. As ARDEC’s Mike Zecca, along with his team from Foster-Miller, went about their preparations, we watched closely, took pictures and asked a few questions.

Zecca’s planned demonstration, he said, would show how the armed mini-crawler was radio remote controlled by an operator using video link to navigate, acquire targets and then take them out with bursts of machine gun fire.

The first order of business was to swap out the demilled display gun for a real M240, a process that takes only a few minutes when the right tools are on hand. Then, with Deguire at the hardened laptop style computerized OCU (operator control unit), the battery powered rock ‘n roll robot cruised around a few obstacles and pulled up on the firing line. It was time for some test firing so the range went “hot” and a belt of 7.62mm ball got loaded in the 240.

Peering intently at crosshatches on the display screen, Deguire did some fine tuning with the aiming joystick then flipped up the red firing safety cover. The M240 roared to life with the first burst hitting high. Additional fine finger pressure sent a movement signal by radio link and the muzzle lowered almost imperceptibly. The next burst was right on target and a series of quick traverse signals moved the muzzle leftward to quickly engage each silhouette in turn. Satisfied with its practice run, the team powered down SWORDS in place and manually cleared its machine gun.

Most everyone is aware of the cruel truth of “Murphy’s Law” which states, “Anything that can go wrong will, and at the worst possible time.” Keep this in mind as we jump ahead a couple of hours and pick up the story when it was SWORDS’ turn for a live fire demo in front of a crowd including some of the most influential persons in the world of infantry weaponry.

In an unfortunate incident that may have taken its place ahead of all such others in the lore of NDIA Small Arms Demonstrations, the armed robot violated the most basic range safety rule. Our narrative continues with a statement from the Army’s official after action review, presented verbatim:

“SWORDS #5 was equipped with a M240B Machine Gun and flawlessly test fired on the range prior to the opening of the event. At the time that SWORDS was to start its demo, the vehicle started backing up in a counterclockwise arc without any input from the operator. At this time the weapon had loaded ammo but the safety was on, none of the redundant arming steps had been initiated, and because the robot was moving, no firing signals could be accepted (SWORDS cannot fire on the move) by the fire control. The robot was powered down and cleared. No one was injured. An immediate formal investigation of SWORDS #5 revealed that one wire in the operator control unit had broken and was causing a rearward command string to be sent to the tracks. The wiring has now been redesigned to reduce the chance of broken wires and to add wiring redundancy so that these wires have a backup signal.”

(Editor’s Note: Robert Bruce’s in-depth report on SWORDS may be found in SAR’s Vol. 8, No. 5, September 2005 issue.)

Blastin’ With the Big Boys

The ill-fated SWORDS demo took place on the APD range’s rifle lane, a facility that allows even .50 caliber BMGs to be fired safely when reasonable care is taken. Defense Munitions kicked off the firepower show with John Browning’s masterpiece, in this case a new Ohio Ordnance M2HB on the light and versatile Vinghog 12.7 soft mount with the Vingfoot high-low tripod. This was followed by some serious double tapping from LMO’s twin M240 right/left mount that gives over 1500 rpm of 7.62x51mm firepower with superb accuracy.

Then, US Ordnance showed some sustained Sixty shooting with long bursts from their M60E4/MK43, an improved version of a long time favorite of the Navy SEALs.

Others took a turn in demonstrating their wares which included several suppressors. SRT Arms has the Typhoon can for the M4 that quick couples to standard GI birdcages, and Surefire has a nice new addition to its Fast Attach High Endurance line with one for the M249 SAW. Knight’s Dave Lutz showed the dramatic reduction in signature that comes when the M110’s suppressor is in place.

Lewis Machine has a unique recoil compensator and flash suppressor that looks akin to a SKOL can welded under the barrel but is said to significantly reduce muzzle rise and signature. Karl Lewis also showed the easy one minute conversion on his special upper from 5.56mm to 6.8 by swapping out the bolt, barrel and magazine.

The last demo on the big range was a seriously long belt of Simunition’s new 7.62mm “ShortStop” reduced range training ammo, spectacularly sprayed from an M134 Minigun positioned atop an armored car. This rig was thoughtfully provided by the Department of Energy from those now in use by Nuclear Facility Security teams.

PDWs, Pistols, Pumps, Pistons, and Pumice

Live fire action moved a couple ranges over to the pistol lanes where some other interesting weapons awaited.

Earlier that morning we had gotten our hands on Knight’s 6mm PDW, including the chance to handle and strip it. Confidence must be kept but it is permissible to say that lead engineer Doug Olsen’s mechanical action is strongly influenced by a certain designer named Kalashnikov. We also got to fire a mag in semi and full, confirming the controllability and quick handling of this clever weapon/cartridge combo. SAR looks forward to the chance to do an in-depth feature in the near future.

Taurus fired its prototype .45 ACP that is intended for the upcoming military trials, and then Glock went one by one through a table full of their variants including the ever-popular Glock 18 full auto model.

Ammo guru Whit Engel wowed the crowd with a spectacular watermelon-busting shot. Designed for breaching with minimal overpenetration, his 12 gauge hollow point “Entry Frangible Safety Slug” pulverized the hapless melon without even denting the cardboard witness plate two feet behind it.

Colt’s team put the piston-powered Advanced Law Enforcement Carbine through its paces, shooting mag after mag in quick order without incident. This was a tough act to follow for the next presenter, intending to demonstrate the effectiveness of his proprietary metal finish formula and process. Common courtesy dictates that he will not be identified here. “It eliminates the need for lubrication,” he said, pouring handfuls of APD range sand down the barrel and into the receiver of an M16 type rifle just before firing. Painfully, one pop was all he got and no amount of pulling on the charging handle would help. Damn that Murphy…

Once the last round had been fired in formal demonstrations the line opened up for event attendees to come forward and put a few rounds downrange. Sadly, the Minigun had left the range.

National Defense Industrial Association’s Small Arms Systems Division

Small Arms Review strongly supports the work of NDIA. Make plans now to be at the 2007 Small Arms event in Virginia Beach, Virginia, 7 to 10 May. For membership categories and other information contact:

National Defense Industrial Association
“Strength Through Industry and
Technology”
2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400
Arlington, VA 22201
www.ndia.org

By Robert Bruce

“Smart projectiles will provide the next quantum leap in small caliber armament technology and will continue to provide soldiers with overwhelming lethality for battlefield dominance.” TACOM/ARDEC Briefing

In countless science-fiction movies future fighters are armed with the best individual weapons that Hollywood can dream up, limited only by the capabilities of computer-generated imagery. In the recent Starship Troopers, for example, bug-blasters of the Mobile Infantry carry the astonishingly effective Morita MK1 Smart Rifle with a seemingly inexhaustible ammo supply of high explosive and kinetic-energy rounds.

In the real world, however, guns and ammo have to obey not only the laws of physics, they must also be cost-effective to build and sufficiently hardy to survive in a combat environment.

While California special effects wizards can show us the way to what might be, there are a lot of other equally talented people around America and other countries involved in the process of turning what are now only cinematic small arms into realities for the near term and future battlefield. These visionary engineers, manufacturers and soldiers are charged with the daunting task of combining existing technologies with emerging possibilities and putting them to work. Their mission is to ensure that military and law enforcement personnel have the best and most technologically advanced weaponry that science can produce and stingy governments will fund.

This process is made far more efficient when everybody with useful ideas and promising hardware can get together and compare notes. With this in mind, American and friendly foreign armaments professionals from military and industry meet once a year for a little known but vitally important three day show and tell put on by the Small Arms Systems Division of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). It has been my privilege to attend this for many years and report on the latest in guns, ammo, sights, and other aspects of weaponry for surface warfare. What follows are some highlights of the 2000 meeting, hosted by the Naval Surface Warfare Center and held in the all-American city of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Don’t Bother to Run

One of the most remarkable avenues of recent exploration is that of steerable munitions — miniature guided missiles — launched from manportable weapons. That’s right; smart ammo that recognizes its target and then homes in for the kill even if the bad guys start to run!

This startling possibility was previewed by a pair of engineers from ARDEC, the Armaments Research, Development & Engineering Center, in a briefing titled “Light Fighter Lethality Technology.” Right now, they say, the Army is actually working on a program to field a “dual munition pod, firing micro-sized, course correcting seeker projectiles.” Translated from tech-speak, this means an individual weapon capable of firing at least two types of ammo, one being a tiny cruise missile. The goal is to design, build and field by the year 2015 a 5 pound pod-weapon to launch a 1/4 pound 25mm diameter robotic rocket round. Flying out to 500 meters or more, it will have a better than 50% probability of incapacitation against a human target.

Computer-generated visuals accompanied their briefing, providing a realistic simulation of a “Seeker Projectile” with on-board tracking sensors that changes course in flight to knockout a moving target with a close airburst. If it can be made to work this will give additional truth to an unofficial motto of many snipers: “Don’t bother to run; you’ll only die winded.”

Now, for those in the audience who remained somewhat skeptical (myself included), the Army Research Laboratory’s David Lyon followed immediately with an illustrated lecture dryly entitled “Notional Concept and Performance Estimates for a Small Caliber Guided Projectile.” Lyon explained the science behind some current artillery shells that are already doing this and how giant leaps are being made in miniaturization of sensors, fuzes, and micro-explosive charges used as “steering squibs.” As a result, he predicted, smart and steerable warheads of 40mm diameter, “are doable in five years.”

Ray Guns and Rap

Dr. Steven Small, also with ARDEC, has long been at the forefront of future force thinkers and his presentation this year included some real Star Wars stuff. The good doctor is no mere armchair intellectual, having once been an airborne Ranger. Gazing into his crystal ball, Small foresees the battlefields of the year 2020 including not only the usual stuff like bullets, bombs and biohazard, but also increased threat from:

• Robots and Cyber Scouts (mechanical mercenaries)
• Depolymerization Agents (melting your tires, your gas mask, and your Glock)
• Unattended Ground Sensor Systems (battlefield burglar alarms)
• News Media (traitorous television crews with satellite uplinks — CNN comes immediately to mind)

He also briefly mentioned some cutting-edge experimentation that is vigorously underway in various Department of Defense labs under the title of “Directed Energy Small Arms.” Some of these include high power microwaves (literally popping bad people and their electronic equipment), particle beams (ray guns for melting body armor and other stuff), lasers and optical technologies (blinding sensors both electronic and organic), and high volume acoustics.

Now, this last weapon concept has been around since bible hero Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and is said to have brought down its stone walls with trumpet blasts. It has also been combat proven by Janet Reno’s now defunct Injustice Department against women and children at Waco. Her black-garbed boys of the HRT used loudspeakers playing the sounds of rabbits being tortured and similarly hideous things like contemporary Gangsta Rap “music.”

But, government scientists are taking this to lofty levels and are said to be working in earnest on generators of various types and intensities of sound waves. These can yield specific and tailorable effects on the enemy, depending on the level of threat and the operative rules of engagement. This could eventually mean that knob-twisting sound snipers can produce anything from ringing ears and nausea to exploding heads. (Maybe these guys have rented a copy of Scanners, the Kronenberg cult classic movie). Anyway, the next time you’re picketing outside a World Trade Organization cabal and your nose starts bleeding for no apparent reason, get the hell out of there fast!

Bill’s Friends the Chinese

On a related note in another presentation on international efforts to curb illegal weapons proliferation that he updates each year for NDIA, Hayes Parks of the Office of the Judge Advocate General revealed that the Butchers of Beijing have developed a very light, compact and efficient blinding laser and are expected to begin selling it to anybody with the yen for ultimate eye-poking. Since Clinton/Gore’s other good friends the Russians have already used one of their own against a Canadian-American helicopter crew doing aerial surveillance of a spy ship, we can expect a lot more blindings worldwide. Oh, by the way, your cool cat Ray-Bans won’t protect you from permanent darkness….

Pulsed Impulsive Kill Laser

Ray gun research has been seriously pursued by the Department of Defense for decades now, and TACOM’s Harry Moore showed some pictures of what the working prototype Pulsed Impulsive Kill Laser (PIKL) actually did to a kevlar vest in an experimental shot. Moore foresees this being further refined in downsizing, power-efficiency and increased target effects to become the primary armament on the conceptual Future Fighting Ground Vehicle Program.

OICW/OSCW

Two very exciting weapons of more conventional effect but unconventional design are well along in the Joint Services Small Arms Program (JSSAP) pipeline. Fully functioning prototypes of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW) have been very thoroughly wrung out over the past year; not only on test stands, but also in the hands of real soldiers on the range. Resulting data, says Robert Dellicker, a JSSAP engineer, have conclusively demonstrated that the combination of a computerized fire control interacting with “smart fuzed” high explosive ammunition should be further developed.

The OICW is a shoulder fired weapon with both 5.56mm assault rifle and 20mm grenade launcher modules. Its “leap ahead” technological advantage comes from a microcomputer-aided fire control system that precisely determines range to target and instantly communicates this to a “smart fuze” in the chambered high explosive round. Knowing how many rotations it must count upon firing, the warhead then flies out to the correct distance before exploding right above the target.

Dellicker and others from JSSAP outlined a series of improvements that are programmed to be made on the OICW including more sophisticated and versatile fire control plus downward-directed fragmentation for greater burst effect. Along the way, he assured, the weapon system would get lighter and more rugged, with the goal of equipping the first troops in 2010.

Crew Cutter

The Objective Crew Served Weapon (OCSW), is the second of JSSAP’s major near-term initiatives, intended to replace the very old but highly respected .50 caliber M2 Heavy Machine Gun as well as the 40mm Mark 19 grenade chunker, which has been in the inventory since Vietnam. While actual hardware has been made and undergone preliminary live fire testing, JSSAP brought a streamlined full-scale mockup of the latest conceptual configuration to this year’s NDIA display. The OCSW, like its little brother the OICW, is on a long developmental track and is not expected to be fielded until 2010.

Displays

In addition to having the opportunity to sit in on some mind-boggling technical papers, attendees at NDIA Small Arms can wander among numerous exhibits showcasing existing hardware and previewing some of the developmental or even theoretical weapons, ammunition, sights and other surface warfare stuff. This is invaluable to those who wish to buttonhole recognized authorities on various aspects of their areas of interest and even to poke things or pick them up.

The biggest names in government and industry are usually on hand, including JSSAP, of course, as well as Beretta, Colt, FN, H&K, IMI and VT Kinetics. Perhaps less well known but very important specialty suppliers like Knight’s Armament, Barrett, GEMTECH, SSK and others had an equal chance to show their wares to some of the most influential movers and shakers in the small arms world.

Range Day

The shoot hits the fan on the last day of the event each year with live fire demonstrations by many of the presenters and exhibitors. Apparently because the municipal authorities of Indianapolis weren’t comfortable with the idea of shooting 40mm high explosive ammo inside the city limits, this part took place some 50 miles away. The Indiana National Guard’s Camp Atterbury Range Complex hosted this vitally important component, providing a secure, spacious and well maintained venue for launching even the biggest and most far reaching stuff.

FNMI’s Sal Fanelli (this year’s George M. Chinn Award recipient) coordinated the live fire activities as usual with patience and good humor despite the best and worst efforts of some pretty big egos. Eighteen commercial firms and government/military organizations participated on a beautiful late summer day, shooting nearly everything imaginable from Simunition paint rounds at twenty feet to a hip-fired 40mm grenade machine gun (more about that in a minute).

H&K Leading the Way

One of the most notable demos included the great-as-usual show from H&K Federal Operations, headed by John Meloy who provided narration over the PA system. Departing from their usual “save the best for last” position in the lineup, team leader Jim Schatz and his guys were at the head of the line, putting on a fast-paced show with nearly a dozen weapons and their variants ranging from the little 4.6mm Personal Defense Weapon, to the new short-barrel 5.56mm G36 Commando, to the formidable 40mm HK GMG (Grenade Machine Gun).

To the amazement and amusement of the crowd, Robert Hirt capped a multiple target, long range combat engagement simulation of the tripod mounted GMG by unclamping it and flipping a carrying sling over one shoulder. Standing up and crouching slightly forward with the 64 lb/29 kg gun at hip level, Hirt began to tap out short bursts of 40mm ammo, “walking” the impact point right up to a derelict vehicle target some 300 meters away. Don’t try this at home.

This type of showmanship is the hallmark of any HK demo and they get the maximum benefit from any such opportunity by clever use of special tracer ammo and special targets that let the audience know without a doubt that they are being consistently hit. It is particularly effective to see the bright golden streak of Hornady VECTOR Illuminated Trace ammo slamming into steel silhouettes, loudly ringing with each impact. The individual firing of pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and grenades builds to an exciting climax featuring a “mad minute” with three different guns on line taking out strings of balloons and ending with the roar and smoke of exploding targets. Vunderbar!

Assault Rifle Rollup

Two new 5.56mm assault rifles made their NDIA debut in the form of the SAR-21 from Singapore and the TAVOR-21 from Israel. Both are bullpups that seem inspired by the Austrian AUG, but offer advantages in mechanical simplicity and are said to cost less. The VT Kinetics team from Singapore included Hon Nam Lai, the weapon’s chief designer who seemed to be greatly enjoying himself shooting not only his own gun, but later went down the line for a chance to meet some of his fellow designers and shoot their stuff as well.

The Israeli demonstration duo created quite a stir with some very unconventional moves with the stubby and efficient TAVOR-21. Both men were said to have come from the IDF’s elite special operations community which apparently and necessarily puts primary emphasis on effective combat shooting but less on American military range etiquette. Although it was probably highly unlikely that either of the shooters would have inadvertently sent a round anywhere but straight downrange, they did get a lot of attention when Noam Segal did a running commando roll instantly followed by a multi target sweeping, full 30 round magazine burst. This was done so fast that it was over before most spectators could duck and before the Range Safety Officer could hit the emergency CEASE FIRE siren button.

Machine Gun Magic

Belt fed blasters were well represented by an unusual government-industry collaboration, bringing together gun gurus of the Naval Surface Warfare Center with “Blue Press” reloading hardware magnate Mike Dillon. The Navy guys from Crane are the small arms support team for the legendary SEALs and other Special Operations Command units. Among the most effective of the weapons used by and for these elite warriors is the GE Minigun, an electrically-driven 7.62mm version of the Civil War period Gatling.

Specifically for this gun, Dillon Aero has come up with a highly effective feeder-delinker modification that allows the gunner to instantly clear some of the inevitable stoppages that occur in the 3,000 round-per-minute Minigun. Now in official government issue, the Dillon delinker serves Gatlings in helicopters, Humm-Vees, SEAL support speedboats and dune buggies.

Probably ten thousand rounds were live fired at NDIA this year through three Miniguns featuring Mike’s modifications. In addition to one of Dillon’s own personal slug hoses set up on a flatbed trailer, the Navy brought two more for demonstration firing from an armored Humm-Vee and a Desert Patrol Vehicle.

This last was the most remarkable, roaring out front in a cloud of dust then spinning around to rip up the range with long bursts. Anyone who has the opportunity to see and hear a Minigun in action will not soon forget its loud, distinctive, deep throated “burrrrrrrrrrr” sound and the cloud of tracers zipping downrange like a stream of enraged wasps from Hell.

Silence for the Sinister

After the earplug-packing sound of heavy machinegunning, it is a relief to pop out the hearing protection and enjoy demonstrations of suppressed weapons and specialty ammo. GEMTECH in particular did their usual impressive job with a number of gun/can combos including the new 9mm TALON-SD on a Colt smg upper.

Newcomer Jeff Mullins cleverly showed the terminal effects of his Mullins Ammunition ESM pistol and rifle caliber loads. Standing just a few meters away from a big container of clay, Jeff used SIPOPTS-suppressed guns to place different rounds side-by-side. Afterward, the clay box with its gruesome cavities was set up near the lunch break area so that spectators could have a good look at what each round can do. Bon appetite!

If you need to shoot rhinos or other very large varmints in your back yard without disturbing the neighbors, SSK Handcannons has a number of solutions. Owner J.D. Jones fired his .510 Whisper, a remarkable wildcat .50 caliber round for use with suppressed weapons, giving subsonic flight and awesome terminal effect. The .510 joins a large lineup of SSK’s highly unusual cartridges and radical launch platforms for just about any shooting challenge imaginable.

2001

Military, industry, law enforcement and government professionals who need to keep up with the latest in weapons technology are encouraged to join the National Defense Industrial Association and attend the 2001 Joint Small Arms Conference and Exhibition. Complete information for attendees, exhibitors and presenters is available at www.ndia.org or write to NDIA, 2111 Wilson Blvd., Dept. SAR, Suite 400, Arlington, VA 22201.

Briefing slides with data and graphics from many of the technical papers presented at the event are available for examination at www.dtic.mil/ndia/smallarms/smallarms.html