Bruce in West Oz
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The World's First Totally Electronic Handgun
April 04, 2000
In the sci-fi film Judge Dredd the police force are armed with 'Lawgivers',
futuristic handguns capable of variable rates of fire, able to "talk" to the user to confirm the firing settings, and most importantly, are rendered inoperable if
they fall into the wrong hands.
A Brisbane ballistics technology company, Metal Storm Limited, (Australian Stock Exchange MST) this week turned science fiction into science fact with the announcement it had successfully fired the world's first totally electronic handgun prototype.
Like Hollywood's Lawgiver, Metal Storm's Variable Lethality Law Enforcement (VLE) prototype pistol can fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, provides audible and electronic confirmation of the firing settings, and has an in-built electronic security system to limit its use to authorised operators.
The announcement comes just days after Metal Storm revealed it had secured US$10.25 million (A$16.895 million) funding from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a prototype Advanced Sniper Rifle
utilising Metal Storm's technology.
Mike O'Dwyer, inventor of the technology and Chief Executive Officer of Metal Storm said the O'Dwyer VLE pistol was designed specifically for use by specialist police teams and by the military. The VLE prototype provides unprecedented operational capabilities combined with the safety of advanced electronic security access features.
He said the development of a totally electronic firing system to replace
conventional mechanical operating parts and loading mechanisms now allows guns to fully benefit from modern computer technology.
"The VLE prototype pistol has no conventional magazine. The bullets are stacked in-line in the barrel, ready to fire, with the pistol grip containing three sets of electronics," Mr O'Dwyer said.
"One set controls the firing operation of the weapon, another provides audio and visual confirmation of weapon settings, and a third manages and limits access to the weapon."
Mr O'Dwyer said the test firing of the VLE prototype demonstrated significant
new small arms capabilities, and can provide military personnel and specialist police teams with a powerful technological advantage.
"The VLE prototype has been filmed firing a three shot burst in just 1/500th of a second, which is a rate of 60,000 rounds per minute. The ability to fire such ultra-rapid bursts can place multiple rounds on the target in a very effective way.
"At these extreme rates of fire, even a three shot burst sounds and looks as though only a single shot has been fired, except that three impacts appear virtually simultaneously on the target.
"If an officer is faced with no other choice than to act to end a highly threatening situation, the stopping power of multiple rounds being fired in a single burst is more likely to end the confrontation quickly, avoiding a gunfight and reducing possible police and civilian casualties.
"The test weapon is fitted with a 64 digit electronic keying system, which can limit a weapon's usage to only authorised persons wearing a dress ring which conceals a tiny transponder. Developed by a US company, the keying system can activate the handgun in just a few milliseconds, when the two codes match."
He said that when turned on, a clear electronic voice message can confirm
when the weapon is set to fire, which fire settings are selected, and also when the weapon is returned to "Safe". Such an announcement can be important to the operator of the weapon, and persuasive to a criminal.
"The audio confirmation can provide an officer with additional situational
control in a confrontation, by clearly announcing an escalating level of
response to an escalating threat from a criminal."
Mr O'Dwyer said the electronic handgun incorporated features discussed at
briefings last year with the New York Police Department and officers at the 1st District Precinct in Washington DC. Free of conventional mechanical operating components, the seven shot single barrel VLE can be developed to provide a compact multiple barrel 24 shot weapon which can be rapidly
switched between lethal and less-than-lethal fire.[/quote]
Now, personally, I think the whole concept of "smart guns" using present primitive technology is a heap of ...... umm, poo ---- but they've got some nifty videos on their website!!!! There's this smart gun, plus a 40-mm, plus an "Area Denial Weapons System" (fair dinkum, that's what it's called!!!).
The clips are in RealPlayer (.rm) format OR you can download a full-size, MPEG-quality clip from the site (pretty big, though).
Have a look -- it's almost as good as "Judge Dredd"
http://www.metalstorm-ltd.com/
(You'll need to go in a couple of pages until you get the "videos" link on the left-hand sidebar)
Bruce
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The World's First Totally Electronic Handgun
April 04, 2000
In the sci-fi film Judge Dredd the police force are armed with 'Lawgivers',
futuristic handguns capable of variable rates of fire, able to "talk" to the user to confirm the firing settings, and most importantly, are rendered inoperable if
they fall into the wrong hands.
A Brisbane ballistics technology company, Metal Storm Limited, (Australian Stock Exchange MST) this week turned science fiction into science fact with the announcement it had successfully fired the world's first totally electronic handgun prototype.
Like Hollywood's Lawgiver, Metal Storm's Variable Lethality Law Enforcement (VLE) prototype pistol can fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, provides audible and electronic confirmation of the firing settings, and has an in-built electronic security system to limit its use to authorised operators.
The announcement comes just days after Metal Storm revealed it had secured US$10.25 million (A$16.895 million) funding from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a prototype Advanced Sniper Rifle
utilising Metal Storm's technology.
Mike O'Dwyer, inventor of the technology and Chief Executive Officer of Metal Storm said the O'Dwyer VLE pistol was designed specifically for use by specialist police teams and by the military. The VLE prototype provides unprecedented operational capabilities combined with the safety of advanced electronic security access features.
He said the development of a totally electronic firing system to replace
conventional mechanical operating parts and loading mechanisms now allows guns to fully benefit from modern computer technology.
"The VLE prototype pistol has no conventional magazine. The bullets are stacked in-line in the barrel, ready to fire, with the pistol grip containing three sets of electronics," Mr O'Dwyer said.
"One set controls the firing operation of the weapon, another provides audio and visual confirmation of weapon settings, and a third manages and limits access to the weapon."
Mr O'Dwyer said the test firing of the VLE prototype demonstrated significant
new small arms capabilities, and can provide military personnel and specialist police teams with a powerful technological advantage.
"The VLE prototype has been filmed firing a three shot burst in just 1/500th of a second, which is a rate of 60,000 rounds per minute. The ability to fire such ultra-rapid bursts can place multiple rounds on the target in a very effective way.
"At these extreme rates of fire, even a three shot burst sounds and looks as though only a single shot has been fired, except that three impacts appear virtually simultaneously on the target.
"If an officer is faced with no other choice than to act to end a highly threatening situation, the stopping power of multiple rounds being fired in a single burst is more likely to end the confrontation quickly, avoiding a gunfight and reducing possible police and civilian casualties.
"The test weapon is fitted with a 64 digit electronic keying system, which can limit a weapon's usage to only authorised persons wearing a dress ring which conceals a tiny transponder. Developed by a US company, the keying system can activate the handgun in just a few milliseconds, when the two codes match."
He said that when turned on, a clear electronic voice message can confirm
when the weapon is set to fire, which fire settings are selected, and also when the weapon is returned to "Safe". Such an announcement can be important to the operator of the weapon, and persuasive to a criminal.
"The audio confirmation can provide an officer with additional situational
control in a confrontation, by clearly announcing an escalating level of
response to an escalating threat from a criminal."
Mr O'Dwyer said the electronic handgun incorporated features discussed at
briefings last year with the New York Police Department and officers at the 1st District Precinct in Washington DC. Free of conventional mechanical operating components, the seven shot single barrel VLE can be developed to provide a compact multiple barrel 24 shot weapon which can be rapidly
switched between lethal and less-than-lethal fire.[/quote]
Now, personally, I think the whole concept of "smart guns" using present primitive technology is a heap of ...... umm, poo ---- but they've got some nifty videos on their website!!!! There's this smart gun, plus a 40-mm, plus an "Area Denial Weapons System" (fair dinkum, that's what it's called!!!).
The clips are in RealPlayer (.rm) format OR you can download a full-size, MPEG-quality clip from the site (pretty big, though).
Have a look -- it's almost as good as "Judge Dredd"
http://www.metalstorm-ltd.com/
(You'll need to go in a couple of pages until you get the "videos" link on the left-hand sidebar)
Bruce
