An Army Outgunned: Physics Demands a New Basic Combat Weapon
2012; The MIT Press; Volume: 92; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0026-4148
Autores Tópico(s)Space Exploration and Technology
ResumoAMERICA'S NATIONAL SECURITY strategy demands that our combat forces defeat enemy combatants across the full spectrum of battlefield environments, not just leafy jungles or the plains of Europe. Despite an increasing portfolio of enemies that are flexible, well armed, and robust, our Army, Marine Corps, and special operations forces have been stuck for decades hauling assault rifles firing NATO 5.56x45 millimeter (mm) (.223 caliber) varmint rounds over a half-century old. A decade into a new century, we need to adopt a more robust projectile and basic combat weapon (BCW) to meet current and emerging performance requirements. Despite incremental improvements, the M16 rifle and its 5.56 mm NATO round are unable to compete effectively in current and anticipated combat environments because of the physics of ballistic performance, combat terrain, and the nature and fighting characteristics of the enemy. When the first official assault rifle appeared on the battlefield, the German MP-44, named the Sturmgewehr or assault rifle, its purpose was to provide German infantry with greater firepower by replacing the five-round, 8 mm, bolt-action K98 Mauser with the 30-round, 7.92 mm, fully automatic assault rifle. This development was a significant leap in firepower for the individual combat soldier in World War II. It is no accident that the highly rated and prolific Russian AK-47 looks very similar to the MP-44 that was introduced five years earlier. Hugo Schmeisser, the captured German designer of the MP-44, was working in the same Russian factory where Mikhail Kalashnikov was designing the AK-47, and Schmeisser obviously provided great influence in the design. Considering the evolution in small arms technology and combat requirements, the United States had to upgrade its BCW firepower leading to a replacement for the powerful but heavy World War II-era, .30 caliber, M-1 Garand and Browning Automatic Rifles. Follow-on BCW development was influenced through an Army study by S.L.A. Marshall, Men Against Fire, and subsequent Marshall articles indicating that only 15 to 25 percent of our soldiers actually fired at the enemy during World War II (50 percent in Korea). Marshall claimed this to be a universal problem. Although Marshall's research came under broad criticism as significantly flawed, American weapons development continued to assume that we needed weapons that could discharge a large volume of shoot and spray fire--not well aimed and placed shots. In the World War II Pacific Theater, shooting at the enemy was a major problem because camouflaged Japanese forces hid in jungle growth or in caves and fortifications and were difficult to target. Except for Japanese suicide attacks and occasional close encounters, soldiers fired in the general direction of the enemy. They had no other choice. The same issue arose in the jungles of Vietnam, where the enemy was frequently unseen. Today, the combat environment is very different, and the enemy is frequently quite visible at all ranges from close quarters to over 1,000 yards. In 1957, the Army selected and issued the 20-round, automatic, 150 grain (gr.), 7.62x51 mm M14 rifle as the new American BCW. It was not enthusiastically embraced because it was too long, too heavy (11.5 lbs loaded), and had a powerful recoil (17.25 lbs). Despite these drawbacks, the M14's maximum effective range was a respectable 460 meters with the sniper version having a range of 690 to 800 meters. Limited enthusiasm about the heavy M14 led to an immediate search for its replacement. Eugene Stoner's space-age design was the result. Stoner's plastic 5.56x45 mm (.223 cal.) M16, with the M193 55 gr. projectile and a 30-round magazine was a light 8.79 pounds loaded. Unfortunately, it has a propensity to jam and fail due to its direct impingement method of operation that vents gas and residue directly into the internal action of the weapon. In both caliber and design, the M16 was a dramatic departure from any BCW previously adopted by the United States. …
Referência(s)