Advanced Individual Combat Weapon
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| Advanced Individual Combat Weapon | ||
|---|---|---|
| description | ||
| Type | Assault rifle with 40 mm grenade launcher | |
| specifications | ||
| Overall length | 738 mm (29 inches) | |
| weight unloaded and w/o sights | 6.48 kg | |
| weight loaded and w/o sights | 7.85 kg | |
| weight loaded and with sights | 9.9 kg | |
| Calibre | 5.56 x 45 mm NATO | |
| Calibre for GL | 40 mm | |
| Magazine size | 30 rounds | |
| Magazine size for GL | 3 grenades | |
The Advanced Individual Combat Weapon (AICW) is a prototype assault rifle being developed in Australia. The AICW combines a standard 5.56 mm assault rifle with a multiple-shot grenade launcher. It is still in testing stages and may potentially replace the F88 Austeyr by 2010 - 2012.
The AICW was developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in alliance with Metal Storm and Tenix Defence Systems the AICW received funding primarily through the Australian Government’s Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) program. The M203 40 mm grenade launcher is currently the most common weapon of this type. The M203 is an add-on to the assault rifle, fitting beneath its barrel. However, the single-shot M203 has ergonomic disadvantages with two sets of triggers and sights, and the operator has to change firing stance to change from firing the rifle to operating the grenade launcher.
The AICW aims to provide the infantry soldier with the ability to fire multiple grenades without having to reload, and to switch between 5.56 mm ballistic rounds and 40 mm grenades without changing sights, trigger or stance, giving the operator more versatility and reduced reaction times in combat.
Since the 40 mm grenade launcher entered service in the early 1960s the United States Army has being trying to develop a weapon with a capability similar to the AICW. The latest attempt, the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW) project, was launched in 1986. The OICW aimed to use advances in computer technology in a weapon that fired grenades automatically pre-set to explode above or beside targets hidden from view. Fragmentation from the exploding grenades would defeat the target when normal rifle fire would be ineffective.
While the advanced sights, computer control and air bursting grenades worked well the rest of the weapon did not. It was too heavy and too large to be operated effectively by a soldier, and the performance of the 5.56 mm kinetic-energy component had been sacrificed to lower overall weight. After spending more than US$100 million on the OICW project, it was quietly dropped in 2005 from the US Army's near-future requirements.
AICW, with its stacked round grenade launcher, does not require the weight, volume and complexity of conventional mechanical loading. This makes the weapon more compact and potentially far lighter. For further information see Australian Minister for Defence Press Release in 2005.[1]
The United States Army and Australian Army are currently participating in the development of the AICW using Metal Storm technology (2006).
[edit] References
"AICW: Australia's Revolutionary Weapon" by Abraham Gubler in DefenceToday, Volume 3, Issue 5, 2005.
"New super-gun to be tested in Feb." by Pamela Hess, UPI correspondent, WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2006.
