The OICW Increment 1 program commenced in 2005 to replace the current fleet of M16/M4 carbines in the U.S. government inventory: something that has been attempted many times without materializing over the last 40 years. This program had a requirement for a family of weapons and was broken down into three increments. Increment 1 was comprised of the family of weapons. This required a special compact model, a carbine, a designated marksman rifle and a light machine gun. Increment 2 was to be the development of the 25mm grenade launcher. Increment 3 was to be the combining of the two for the creation of the OICW (Offensive Individual Combat Weapon).

Several requirements were made in the solicitation. Most importantly, there needed to be 75% parts interchangeability in the special compact, carbine and designated marksman rifle and 50% parts interchangeability with the LMG (light machine gun).

Colt design engineers had a well-established starting point for their family of weapons. Just being post-SCAR development (Special forces Combat Assault Rifle); Colt already had a proven gas piston operated firearm and, additionally, already had a proprietary 1-piece upper receiver that would work well in all four weapons. The only major undertaking would be adapting the 1-piece upper receiver to the LMG variation.

The upper receiver for all four weapons would be based on the current LE1020 upper receiver, which is the product-improved version of Colt SCAR entry. The major change to the upper receiver would be the way the piston assembly is removed. On the SCAR rifle, there was a pin that held the piston assembly into the receiver that required a drift punch and a hammer to remove. Based on the criticism of difficulty in disassembly from SOCOM, Colt redesigned this with a sliding detent pin similar to the rear takedown and front pivot pin of the lower receiver. There was also a major redesign of the gas piston sleeve. The SCAR gas piston sleeve had no provision for easy alignment for assembly or griping method for removing an extremely fouled or corroded gas piston sleeve. The improved gas piston sleeve provided a guide for assembly to align the gas piston sleeve with the detent pin as well as a gripping surface for removal of a fouled or corroded gas piston sleeve.

The lower receiver of the OICW would be entirely interchangeable for all four models and is identical to that of the M4 carbine. The thought on this was twofold. First, the Colt OICW could be implemented as a ret-rofit of existing weapons by only replacing the upper receiver and, second, was the compliance with the parts commonality.

The LMG Variation

The LMG variation had some additional requirements to set it apart from the other three weapons that included the ability to have a heavy quick detachable barrel that did not need to have an ability to mount a grenade launcher. However, the LMG did need to have an ability to mount a bayonet. Also, the LMG was required to have a folding bipod.

The lower receiver of the LMG was the standard M4A1 lower receiver. Due to it being a light machine gun, Colt engineers took several trigger designs into consideration. They looked at an open bolt trigger mechanism; a closed bolt semi-auto/open bolt auto trigger mechanism, as well as the standard closed bolt trigger mechanism. The final decision was made to go with the standard closed bolt trigger mechanism; made primarily to keep with parts commonality. The only other departure from the norm was the replacement of the H buffer with the H2 buffer. The H buffer contains two steel and one tungsten weight and the H2 buffer contains one steel and two tungsten weights. The tungsten weight has the mass of two steel weights. This was changed to prevent bolt carrier bounce/light strikes when firing fully automatic.

As stated above, the upper receiver would be based on the 1-piece upper receiver. This receiver allowed the barrel to free-float, which in turn allowed more rapid cooling. Additionally, the upper receiver does not have a forward assist assembly. This has always been a controversial issue. Many believe, including Gene Stoner, that the forward assist was not necessary on the firearm and in fact detrimental. If your bolt is not fully closed, the rifle is trying to tell the user there is a problem! That means to get that round out of the chamber and load another. Forcing the bolt closed massively increases the potential of causing further problems. Others believe this is necessary to have the ability to force the bolt closed if need be. The forward assist has been retained due to it being required by the U.S. military Technical Data Package (TDP). However, Colt decided to remove it on this LMG.

The upper receiver is very similar to the standard 1-piece upper but with two major changes. Due to the requirement for the removable barrel, a locking mechanism had to be designed. The main changes would be made to the bottom of the handguard. The upper receiver and barrel extension are cut with the M4 extended feed ramps.

The 18.5 inch long heavy barrel has a diameter in-between that of the M4A1 heavy SOCOM barrel and the standard Colt open bolt LMG. The chamber area of the barrel has significantly more material making it much thicker and therefore increasing the LMG’s cook-off thermal threshold. The prototype LMG is set up for the 700 to 950 round per minute cyclic rate that is the same as the standard M4 carbine. The rear of the barrel would have two sets of index grooves. The first is at the rear of the barrel, which aligns into the upper receiver and acts as the barrel extension. The second is forward where the barrel is locked in place by the lever on the bottom of the receiver. To release the barrel, a lever on the bottom of the handguard is pulled out of engagement and the barrel is pulled out. This led to another problem: how the hot barrel would be removed, as asbestos gloves are no longer used or allowed. Colt was in the process of making a carrying handle to push the barrel out of the receiver right when the program was cancelled.

The gas system would also have to be modified from its original configuration. The piston/operating rod would be split into two separate pieces. The operating rod, spring and stop would be held captive in the upper receiver along with a new heat shield. This would be removed by an additional lever on the bottom of the lower handguard. The piston would be pinned into the gas piston sleeve and remain part of the barrel assembly. The gas piston sleeve is held into the front sight base in the same manner as the rest of the Colt OICW family of weapons by the detent pin on the front sight base. The piston pin is held in pace by an extended front sight base guide. To disassemble the piston assembly, the detent pin is pulled from the right, and the piston sleeve is removed from the front of the front sight base. The piston retaining pin is pushed out one of the two sides and the piston is removed from the sleeve.

The assembly of the LMG is as follows. Insert the heat shield, operating rod, spring and stop assembly into the upper receiver from the front of the receiver. Push it inward until it snaps into place and is held by the lever. Insert the piston into the piston sleeve and align the hole in the side of the piston with the channel groove in the gas piston sleeve and insert the retaining pin. Now slide the gas piston sleeve assembly into the front sight base and align the locating pin with the groove on the right side of the front sight base and push the detent pin in until it locks in place. Slide the barrel into the upper receiver (with the bolt carrier group locked to the rear) until it stops. Flip the locking lever back so it is flush with the receiver. Give the barrel a tug to be sure it is locked in place. The LMG is now assembled and ready to fire.

The bolt carrier group is identical to that of the LE1020 and the other three OICW weapons. It is a modified fully automatic bolt carrier with two major changes. The first is the addition of the “skis” on the bottom rear of the bolt carrier sear trip area. This is to keep the bolt carrier in alignment with the buffer extension when it moves rearward. This is necessary due to when the piston rod strikes the bolt carrier key as the rear of the bolt carrier has a tendency to tip down at a slight angle. The other change is the modified carrier key. The carrier key is solid steel and pinned in place to take the force of being struck by the operating rod. No gas rings are necessary. The bolt is the standard M4 bolt with the heavy extractor spring and stronger (black) extractor spring buffer.

The LMG was equipped with the standard Colt folding front sight base used on the SCAR Type C and the LE1020, and the Matech back-up iron sight; though any backup sight could be used. With the Mil-Std- 1913 rail any of the wide array of combat optics could be mounted. Due to having quad Mil-Std-1913 rails, the LMG could be equipped with a variety of accessories to include a flashlight, laser, vertical pistol grip or anything else that was wanted or needed. The LMG standard feeding device was to be the standard M16/M4 magazine, but it could also accept the Beta C-mag or any other high capacity magazine.

The program was cancelled in November of 2005. The prototype shown in this article is the only one in existence and was never finished. The bayonet lug and the barrel removal handle were never implemented.

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