|
|
|
New Strategy - Wargames at Discount Prices
100+ Computer and Board games all with free shipping.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subject:
Super Shotguns in Iraq
Doug Mohney
5/18/2005 12:31:20 AM
|
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.
If
that's not enough of a firepower increase at the squad level, the Marine Corps
is testing a family of 12 gauge shells designed to deliver blast, fragmentation,
and high-explosive armored piercing projectiles out to 200 meters. The
high-explosive armor piercing projectile uses a shaped charge that has been
demonstrated to put a 1 inch hole in quarter-inch steel plate. A total of 100
projectiles have been bought for testing as well as some quantity for
"experimental use" in Iraq.
At first glance, packing an armor-piercing
charge into a 12 gauge round sounds like overkill, but Iraqi terrorists are
becoming increasingly sophisticated in fortifying themselves, vehicles, and
fixed positions. Foreign fighters are using Russian-style body armor in their
raids. Suicide bombers driving vehicles often wear body armor for protection
until they get "on target" and some vehicles have been reportedly hardened with
bullet-resistant glass and armor plate. In one incident, terrorists in a
basement/crawlspace used a Russian machine gun equipped with armor-piercing
rounds to shoot through a concrete floor to attack Marines. The American troops
had no effective way of firing back and ultimately had to call for an air strike
with a 500 pound smart bomb to eliminate the resistance.
A combination of
12 gauge armor-piercing rounds with a shotgun would provide a weapon capable of
effectively stopping an up-armored vehicle or larger truck without the extra
weight and expense of a dedicated anti-tank weapon. It would also provide an
enhanced capability in urban warfare with a convenient and familiar method of
employment.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
