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American troops are testing a new 12 gauge automatic shotgun in Iraq. Weighing 10.5 pounds unloaded, the Auto Assault 12 (AA12) has a rate of fire of 360 rounds per minute, and uses either an 8-round box magazine (adding 12 ounces to weapon weight) or a 20 round drum magazine (adding 2.5 pounds). Recoil on the system has been reduced to that of a light rifle, due to a sophisticated recoil system. The low rate of fire makes it possible to easily fire bursts of one, two, or three shots and is capable of using and mixing all types of 12 gauge ammunition, from shot to solid slugs, as well as non-lethal rounds. Allegedly, Iraqi insurgents have little respect for the M4 rifle and the 5.56mm round, but they fear shotguns, especially a "street sweeper" like the AA12.
