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| Science & Technology |
| The Ribbon Gun |
| 2018-10-02 |
| The Army adopted its battle rifle in 1963 and has spent 55 years looking for a replacement for the M-16 and its variants. They might have found it in Martin Grier’s Colorado Springs garage. Grier, a self-described inventor who has worked at a local bed and breakfast, built the new "ribbon gun" with a hobbyist’s tools. It looks like a space-age toy drawn by a fifth-grader. But goofy origins and cartoon-looks aside, this could be the gun of the future. The Army is studying Grier’s gun and has ordered a military-grade prototype. The specifications are incredible, four 6 mm barrels cut side by side within one steel block. New ammunition blocks fired by electromagnetic actuators that could theoretically give the weapon a firing rate of 250 rounds per second. And then there’s the feature no soldier would turn down. "It’s called a power shot," Grier said. That’s the shotgun feature of this sniper-shot, machine-assault gun that can send four bullets simultaneously whizzing toward an enemy at more than 2,500 mph. It isn’t science fiction. He’s built the gun and patented the technology behind it. Now his garage-based company, FD munitions, is hoping the Army will buy it. "A multibore firearm, with several bores within a single barrel, could potentially exhibit many of the advantages of a multibarrel design, while reducing the size, weight and complexity disadvantages," Grier wrote in his 2016 patent application. |
| Posted by:Deacon Blues |
| #8 4 are chambered. it does reload. |
| Posted by: Injun Bucket8891 2018-10-02 23:38 |
| #7 So you fire a single (aka one or "1") bullet? Do you finish your patrol with only three(3) bullets in your weapon until you reload? How hard is it to "top off" the magazine? ...Sounds like a *Cute* weapon... |
| Posted by: magpie 2018-10-02 19:51 |
| #6 And lugging heavy still blocks with only 4 rounds as ammo? no thanks, will take a conventional rifle over that. Might work for police/bear/hog defense or home defense but not what I'd want for regular use. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2018-10-02 18:43 |
| #5 New ammunition blocks fired by electromagnetic actuators that could theoretically give the weapon a firing rate of 250 rounds per second. Heat is not your friend. How is it cooled at these firing rates? Moreover, I'd worry about electromagnetic actuator melt-down. Needs a thorough testing. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2018-10-02 09:19 |
| #4 And then the barrels overheated. |
| Posted by: KBK 2018-10-02 08:26 |
| #3 ....This is a truly cool idea, and there are aspects of it that I think will be incorporated into future weapons - but it's not too likely this will ever be a new battlefield rifle for the US. Way too complex, unlikely to survive battlefield handling, and in order to use it poor Private Snuffy needs to lug around yet another battery and a heavy set of ammo blocks. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2018-10-02 04:56 |
| #2 When the adversary fields the same weapon how do you defend against it? You can't. Which means ground troops in a war will be a thing of the past. |
| Posted by: Ebbavirt Clunk4147 2018-10-02 03:03 |
| #1 Metal storm |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-10-02 00:41 |