Look at that bad boy.
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| Science & Technology |
| New and Improved 20mm Sniper Rifle |
| 2006-06-19 |
| June 19, 2006: A South African firm (Denel) has introduced an upgraded version of its 20mm sniper rifle. This weapon is intended mainly for destroying equipment at long ranges. The latest version of the NTW 20 can be quickly equipped with either a 20mm barrel (producing a 59 pound weapon) or 14.5mm (a Russian caliber, producing a 64 pound weapon.) The rifle uses a three round magazine. The 20mm projectile weighs four ounces, and moves at 2,200 feet per second. The 2.25 ounce 14.5mm bullet moves at 3.400 feet per second. That's why the 14.5mm barrel is heavier. Moreover, the operational range of the 14.5mm round is 1,800 meters, while for the 20mm it's only 1,300 meters. In the hands of an expert shooter, both rounds can hit targets over 50 percent farther. The only 14.5mm ammo available is armor-piercing incendiary. The 20mm has that, plus a high explosive round. There are only two other 20mm sniper rifles available; the Hungarian APH RK20, and the Croat RT20. All of these 20mm rifles were developed from similar World War II weapons, used for anti-tank work. But those weapons weighed 200 pounds and up. The modern 20mm rifles benefit from advances in recoil suppression technology. You don't risk a broken shoulder firing the NTE 20. It's also not as difficult as it appears to transport. The NTW 20 breaks down into two 33 pound loads. Thus a two or three man sniper team can handle it. Users include commandos, police and peacekeepers. That's because the NTW 20 is able to disable vehicles or weapons at a distance, and with minimal collateral damage. In Africa, for example, warlords like to equip their gunmen with heavy machine-guns mounted on the backs of pickup trucks. You want to take these down from a distance and, since these trucks are often parked in the midst of civilians, you want to do it without large explosions. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #20 For reference a round of the ammo is about the size of a bottle of RedHot, and considerably heavier. As for me, the .338 Lapua round is all that I need in the long distance role, and for routine hunting .308win match grade is A-OK. Varmint and plinking I do with 7.62x39 AK (Czech). |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-06-19 19:56 |
| #19 Have to have the wife drive a seperate bakkie just for the ammo. I'll keep my FN thank you. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-06-19 19:23 |
| #18 mojo, my maths completely escapes me. I do remember allouettes back in '76 as the k-car geting 3 x 20 mill shots off before the kick destabilised the platform, accurate from a long way away = dead gooks, but only 3 rounds at a time. Do I divide the weight of the round by the ft/lbs? (and what do I do with the fps)? Looks good, I want one. |
| Posted by: rhodesiafever 2006-06-19 19:20 |
| #17 I get 9.3 ft/lbs of kick with a 1/3 lb projectile at 2200 fps. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-06-19 16:41 |
| #16 Angry Boer farmers.... always looking to upgrade their 7mm Mausers. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-06-19 15:23 |
| #15 Well, if you're a bad guy don't bother hiding behind a tree. (hehehe) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-06-19 15:19 |
| #14 hell you could put that too use brimging trees down if you're in the loging buisness redneck jim |
| Posted by: Greamp Elmavinter1163 2006-06-19 15:06 |
| #13 I'd like one, but here in Alabama the trees get in the way of really long shooting. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-06-19 14:42 |
| #12 bigjim tell your picture taking friends to put a ruler or quarter or something with known dimensions in the weapons picture it would also be interesting to see the kind of impact that the projectile has... I presume it would easily go through the hood of a pickup truck if the angle wasn't too close to tangent |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-06-19 14:36 |
| #11 I'll join the Marines if they let me run one of those! |
| Posted by: grb 2006-06-19 13:22 |
| #10 That picture caused me to have an involuntary, er.....nocturnal emission |
| Posted by: JRDickens 2006-06-19 13:17 |
| #9 Which end does the bullet come out? TW, good things come out the pointy end! |
| Posted by: RD 2006-06-19 12:42 |
| #8 Which end does the bullet come out? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-06-19 12:04 |
| #7 Or Chicago. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-06-19 11:23 |
| #6 Offer not available in New York, Massachusetts, or California. |
| Posted by: Throlump Thromoth7510 2006-06-19 10:57 |
| #5 I know what I want for Christmas. |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-06-19 10:39 |
| #4 Look at that bad boy. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-06-19 10:32 |
| #3 The 20mm projectile weighs four ounces, and moves at 2,200 feet per second. The 2.25 ounce 14.5mm bullet moves at 3.400 feet per second. A couple of rounds per month for practice, probably. Sounds like just the ticket for detached retinas. |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-06-19 09:55 |
| #2 Not good for tanks. But for peacekeeping forces and anti-terrorist units it should work wonderfully. Great for taking out suicide cars, technicals and other weird stuff that irregular forces throw at you. I suspect that this would only piss off a Striker though. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-06-19 09:45 |
| #1 Who would have thought that a busted idea like the anti-tank rifle would actually come back? What's next, PIATs for infantry? |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-06-19 09:39 |