Not signed in (Sign In)
Categories
- Main Junction
- CROSSED
- London Zoo
- Freakangels
- Music
- Printheads
- Culturegasm
- Web Nuggets
- WorldWeird
- Blogs
Welcome, Guest
Vanilla is a product of Lussumo:
Documentation and Support.
-
- CommentAuthorJames Puckett
- CommentTimeJun 16th 2009
Sounds like the guns from Warhammer 40,000. -
Or Judge Dredd... or Strontium Dog.
-
Couple of questions:
1. The article makes the point that these rounds could be fired through walls, ditches, and other barriers to get at people who are hiding but wouldn't that severely A) mangle the round depending on the material it is going through? If so, wouldn't that then A) mess with the rounds range-finding ability (as the grooves are messed up or it slows the rate at which the round spins) and B) negatively impact that way in which the round explodes?
2. Are these really going to be that accurate? I'm not a techie by any stretch of the means but bullets flying at several feet per second seem like if there is even the slightest delay the round might be beyond the target and any explosion might not do any significant damage (or do damage to someone/thing that wasn't the intended target). -
-
CommentAuthorwarrenellis
- CommentTimeJun 16th 2009
-
-
- CommentAuthorJames Puckett
- CommentTimeJun 16th 2009
It still beats the hell out of engaging targets directly. And don’t forget that accuracy in live combat is pretty abysmal to begin with—most of the military guys I’ve known said that if they could hit 90% or more on a range, they were lucky to get 30% in combat simulations. -
The system sounds like you aim, use the range finder, select the delay, then fire, which seems like this isn't going to be something every soldier will be carrying but maybe a specialist or two attached to particular squads (like a mortar team). Regardless, I can't help but think that this isn't going to be that effective.
-
So, if no one goes for it, I could do the obvious Wanted movie adaptation joke... Maybe not :P
-
I can't find it via Google and my memory is failing me, but I seem to recall a science fiction short story or novella that featured the "slow bullet" as a means of assassination - a small drone that, once fired, locked on to the DNA of the target and pursued it relentlessly. Not a purely original concept, I'm sure - but also one that this concept is edging towards.
-
but I seem to recall a science fiction short story or novella that featured the "slow bullet" as a means of assassination - a small drone that, once fired, locked on to the DNA of the target and pursued it relentlessly.
Mm no I'm pretty sure you're thinking of Mario Kart. -
There were those hunter-seeker or hunter-killer things in Dune.
@DC: "What if no one ever told you that movies are supposed to be good?" -
- CommentAuthorKosmopolit
- CommentTimeJun 16th 2009 edited
It doesn't actually "shoot round corners" it just travels past the corner in a straight line then sprays shrapnel around the whole area - and reportedly it is intended that this will be a standard infantry weapon. -
This is old tech. It was originally the XM-29 OICW which combines that XM-25 "Smart Grenade Launcher" if you will with the XM8 Assault Rifle. The thing was basically a glorified under-the-barrel grenade launcher that used this range-finder/smart round system for systematic strikes. They could also be separated in combat and the Assault Rifle module could be used with standard iron sights albeit with decreased efficiency. In theory it was excellent as it gave the soldier increased versatility with precision explosive strikes and a pretty solid assault rifle that could be used independently of the grenade launcher.
The bitch of the whole thing was the fire-control computer component of the grenade launcher which was expensive and when damaged made all the fancy tricks with range-finding and air-burst grenades unusable and leaving you with just rounds that detonate on impact. And the usefulness of the assault rifle diminished with just standard iron sights as it was designed to support the grenade launcher component and be used as an emergency personal defense weapon when used independent of the rest of the OICW.
The OICW combination has been shelved and this is one of the offshots, the other being the XM8. But the OICW was developed with the intention of making it the standard weapon for infantry. -
@ Stygmata - Reminds me of the heat-seeking bullets that Gene Simmons (yes, <em>that </em>Gene Simmons) invented in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088024/">Runaway</a>.
I tried to find a clip of the scene where it shows the bullet tracking a guy through back alleys, around corners, etc., but no luck. However, there is a quick glimpse of one of the bullets being examined in cross-section in the linked trailer; also, Google video reveals the full movie on several different sites, if anybody's interested. -
- CommentAuthorKosmopolit
- CommentTimeJun 17th 2009
"It still beats the hell out of engaging targets directly. And don’t forget that accuracy in live combat is pretty abysmal to begin with—most of the military guys I’ve known said that if they could hit 90% or more on a range, they were lucky to get 30% in combat simulations."
Supposedly only about half of any unit actually remember to fire in real combat and even then most of them shoot at random. -
@warrenellis:
Yep, typical seekrit weapon of the Third Reich. Cool idea, but limited utility and expensive for what it does. It's a barrel attachment called a Krummlauf ("Crooked run"), that went on the MP-44. The prism viewer was heavy and had a limited field of view. That extra barrel, being curved, must have slowed the bullet down a lot, assuming it didn't just jam because friction/heat from a burst could deform the barrel. Definitely required extra training. Cheaper from a military point of view to just factor in the risk of a soldier getting his head blown off when peeking around the corner.
Similar problems with the modern equivalent, not ot mention that if you're fighting a war (or occupation) where your enemy is using some family's apartment as a sniper's nest while the family are still inside, you've got bigger problems. -
-
CommentAuthorwarrenellis
- CommentTimeJun 17th 2009
but I seem to recall a science fiction short story or novella that featured the "slow bullet" as a means of assassination
DOCTOR ADDER, KW Jeter. -
-
- CommentAuthorJames Puckett
- CommentTimeJun 17th 2009
Why didn’t they just make a rifle with a straight barrel and an angled stock? Not cool enough or something? -
@ James Puckett - Something like this?
<img src="http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7315/gunjj9.jpg" alt="" /> -
DOCTOR ADDER
...I do believe that is it. Mad props for that demonstration of mnemonic recall.
(This sort of thing must come up fairly often for full time fiction writers right? A notion like "bullet that shoots around corners" or "slow bullet" comes up, one thinks it is a good notion, but surely somebody has used it before? How to search the entire popular history of sci-fi and vet that idea as original just gives me the shivers.)