Uzi Gal, the man who single handedly armed Israel, died yesterday at 79. The Uzi submachine gun is probably the second most recognized weapon in the world (behind the AK-47)
Of the three greats of this century, only one of them is left. Eugene Stoner - gone. Uzi Gal - gone. Only Mikhail Kalashnikov if left, and it won't be long for him, unfortunately.
Firearm development has all but stagnated. Who's taking their place?
True, and I really like the look of the new P90, but they also show the problem. Firearms of today are more than understandable to people like Browning and Maxim. These gunsmiths could recognise these weapons, and understand them instantly. The AR15/M16 platform is *45 years old*.
Its almost as if all PCs were still using 8088 chips.
There's no designer currently working that will change firearm technology like Browning did. Does this mean that chemical-burning slug-throwers are becomming obsolete?
You see, many current designs are more accurate than the shooter, fully capable of killing within it's effective range, and have an effective range longer than most human's can emply.
Also, manufacture cost is down, the weight is low enough to carry a reasonable load, and the actual physical size of the most modern designs are approaching the smallest a human being can handle with the human hand and shoulder effectively without something like an exo-chassis or other mounting utility.
Until the current crop are required to operate in either a different environment, become inefficient to produce compared to a newer technology, or can no longer effectively engage their intended targets...
...Progress will be slow and focus on modularity, efficiency of production, refinement for reliability, and simple ergonomics and efficiency of human use...
The really interesting things going on now seems to be the miniturization and incorporation of electro-optical devices to simplify target acquisition (Thermal Weapon sights, holographic technologies) and accuracy or enabling of semi-intelligent munitions...
...Like the OICW's 20mm rounds, and (potentially) self guiding munitions in the near future...
...Another interesting twist, to me, is the incorporation of the weapon and sensor/communication suite as used for the Land Warrior experiments.
They may be like PC's still using the 8088, but the targeting devices are powered by a Pentium 4 and the ammunition was designed on a Power PC...
Don't get me wrong, and this may sound like blasphemy, but Browning wasn't such a progenitor of new ideas...
...just extraordinarily talented at turning general ideas and desires into the most efficient, effective, simple, and reliable designs that could make it into service.
Basically making the guns that could accomplish 90% of all it's potential tasks consistantly and good enough to make them very hard to replace without a lot of pain...
I don't think I've ever told you the story of the world's most effective alarm clock. laurellady's dad collects guns. One morning we were staying at his place; she had been up for a while, but I was sleeping in late. Suddenly the door opens with a bang, I hear a distinctive metallic click, and there is my girlfriend standing silhouetted in the doorway, with an Uzi aimed about four feet above me and off to my left (they had checked it about a dozen times, but she's still too well trained to aim even an empty gun at someone -- one of the many reasons I love her). As I'm reacting to this, she growls "Time for breakfast" in a passable Schwarzenegger accent. I must claim full credit under the circumstances; I did not wet the bed, and my first coherent words were "That's an Uzi!" I'm fairly proud that I can identify small arms under those conditions.
You did ok, for a civilian. The real test is being able to id Soviet armor as it is overruning your position. Found this out during my visit to the People's Republic of Barstow (aka Planet Irwin.) Amazing how impressive a T-55 can be when it is on top of your fighting position...
...always as a Medic assigned to an Artillery Battery.
Typically, I had to ride around with a Platoon Leader/XO in his HMMWV.
My third or fourth NTC, during force on force, we were out in front of the Battery while the Platoon Leader re-safed the battery (complex to explain, uses a survey type instrument called an Aiming Circle.).
Anyway, we were emplaced at the base of , IIRC, the "Whale"* and were looking back toward the Battery. On our left was Alpha Battery and further back was Bravo Battery. Off to the right, between the Whale and the ridge further that way, I saw a single dust plume...
My eyesight ain't the best, and my mini-binos weren't handy...
"Hey, LT, is that one of ours."
The Lieutenant looks.
"Yes, Armstrong, it is."
I shrugged, climbed back into the HMMWV and resumed reading whatever the hell it was I was reading. A few minutes later, the LT finishes and we loop out and around the edge of the Battery and back up into the Battery (Commo wire between the GDU's and such) and pull up right beside a single Opfor T-80...
The score:
T-80 kills 4 of our guns and rolls back up the hill towards Bravo...
...Bravo loses one before they direct fired and killed it.
The Battery Commander, XO's, 1SG, and supply Sergeant got chewed over that one in the AAR.
Seems no one took the time or effort to issue the batteries etc. for the Viper-MILES and I was the only bastard that even noticed the tank rolling up...
(I kept a pair of Bushnell mini-binos in my LBV and not in the ruck or fanny pack from then on...)
* - "The Whale" is a large, curved tear-drop shape kill in the middle of a wide valley between two mountain ridges. For those who don't know, most of the major terrain features at NTC have nicknames assigned to them.
The Whale is smack in the middle of Battle Valley, sort of pointing toward John Wayne Mountain. I got killed there when the OPFOR mobility-killed our track and we had to bail out. We put up a spirited defense, but it was hopeless. As we were being hauled away, I told my LT that I at least deserved a Silver Star for my actions. He told me that it required a *living* witness to confirm the action.
Our Battalion commander got reamed, from all reports, for leaving us behind.
I got more mass-casualty training out of officer screw ups...
Actually, have you ever read "Dragons at War" by Bolger?
It's a book about an NTC rotation in the early '80's...
*Except the parts where I was gone 5-6weeks versus everyone else's 4 because I was on the rail-load team. And the fact, because of train-up and such, I was in the fireld more time than home with my, then, new wife...
When the 3/7th Infantry (Cottonbalers!) did a NTC rotation there when I was in the 197th Inf Bde (M) (S), I got be a train guard. This meant I rode from Georgia to Barstow, California on top of M-113 on a flat car. I had my 16A1, and rounds in the pouch.
The first thousand miles were interesting.
The second thousand miles were boring.
The last thousand miles were a hellish blend of more fucking desert than you could ever want, frantic shuffling of memeories to determine what the hell I could have done to deserve this, and the solemn vow to track down the inventor of the MRE and force feed him his own food until the MRE Blocks killed him.
The 1SG actually asked me if I wanted to do the ride back
Just out of curiosity, have you read The Defense of Hill 781? The protagonist, LTC A. Tack Always (who has spent his entire career in light infantry units), is sent to Purgatory (which quite closely resembles NTC, but with live rounds instead of MILES) after dying from eating three MREs in one day. IIRC, the passage went along the lines of:
The last thing he remembered was eating the dehydrated potato patty, his adjutant's offering him a swig from his canteen, his offhanded acceptance of that offer, and a white flash.
LTC Always must earn his (and his task force's [*]) way out of Purgatory by defeating the OPFOR. That involves learning the ins-and-outs of running a mech infantry task force....
WRT the train guard, I don't recall the 256th Infantry Brigade (Mech) needing guards on the M1A1s when they moved by rail from Ft. Hood back to Louisiana a couple of years ago. We simply banded the hatches after they were locked, to make any tampering immediately evident.
Then again, I was only involved with marshaling the vehicles, not moving back to Louisiana with them.
[*] The only member of the battalion task force not going through Purgatory is CSM Hope; he's been sent from Heaven to give LTC Always a bit of help.
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The Great Ones are Remembered
Eugene Stoner - gone. Uzi Gal - gone. Only Mikhail Kalashnikov if left, and it won't be long for him, unfortunately.
Firearm development has all but stagnated. Who's taking their place?
Re: The Great Ones are Remembered
Re: The Great Ones are Remembered
Its almost as if all PCs were still using 8088 chips.
There's no designer currently working that will change firearm technology like Browning did. Does this mean that chemical-burning slug-throwers are becomming obsolete?
Re: The Great Ones are Remembered
Human Specifications are limiting the progress.
You see, many current designs are more accurate than the shooter, fully capable of killing within it's effective range, and have an effective range longer than most human's can emply.
Also, manufacture cost is down, the weight is low enough to carry a reasonable load, and the actual physical size of the most modern designs are approaching the smallest a human being can handle with the human hand and shoulder effectively without something like an exo-chassis or other mounting utility.
Until the current crop are required to operate in either a different environment, become inefficient to produce compared to a newer technology, or can no longer effectively engage their intended targets...
...Progress will be slow and focus on modularity, efficiency of production, refinement for reliability, and simple ergonomics and efficiency of human use...
The really interesting things going on now seems to be the miniturization and incorporation of electro-optical devices to simplify target acquisition (Thermal Weapon sights, holographic technologies) and accuracy or enabling of semi-intelligent munitions...
...Like the OICW's 20mm rounds, and (potentially) self guiding munitions in the near future...
...Another interesting twist, to me, is the incorporation of the weapon and sensor/communication suite as used for the Land Warrior experiments.
They may be like PC's still using the 8088, but the targeting devices are powered by a Pentium 4 and the ammunition was designed on a Power PC...
Don't get me wrong, and this may sound like blasphemy, but Browning wasn't such a progenitor of new ideas...
...just extraordinarily talented at turning general ideas and desires into the most efficient, effective, simple, and reliable designs that could make it into service.
Basically making the guns that could accomplish 90% of all it's potential tasks consistantly and good enough to make them very hard to replace without a lot of pain...
no subject
Apparently, the Uzi has a fairly light trigger, and women are less likely to "shoot first and ask questions later."
Uzi, while being Mr. Gal's first name, is also Hebrew for "my strength."
Fitting.
no subject
no subject
You did ok, for a civilian. The real test is being able to id Soviet armor as it is overruning your position. Found this out during my visit to the People's Republic of Barstow (aka Planet Irwin.) Amazing how impressive a T-55 can be when it is on top of your fighting position...
no subject
I've been to NTC a couple of times...
...always as a Medic assigned to an Artillery Battery.
Typically, I had to ride around with a Platoon Leader/XO in his HMMWV.
My third or fourth NTC, during force on force, we were out in front of the Battery while the Platoon Leader re-safed the battery (complex to explain, uses a survey type instrument called an Aiming Circle.).
Anyway, we were emplaced at the base of , IIRC, the "Whale"* and were looking back toward the Battery. On our left was Alpha Battery and further back was Bravo Battery. Off to the right, between the Whale and the ridge further that way, I saw a single dust plume...
My eyesight ain't the best, and my mini-binos weren't handy...
"Hey, LT, is that one of ours."
The Lieutenant looks.
"Yes, Armstrong, it is."
I shrugged, climbed back into the HMMWV and resumed reading whatever the hell it was I was reading. A few minutes later, the LT finishes and we loop out and around the edge of the Battery and back up into the Battery (Commo wire between the GDU's and such) and pull up right beside a single Opfor T-80...
The score:
T-80 kills 4 of our guns and rolls back up the hill towards Bravo...
...Bravo loses one before they direct fired and killed it.
The Battery Commander, XO's, 1SG, and supply Sergeant got chewed over that one in the AAR.
Seems no one took the time or effort to issue the batteries etc. for the Viper-MILES and I was the only bastard that even noticed the tank rolling up...
(I kept a pair of Bushnell mini-binos in my LBV and not in the ruck or fanny pack from then on...)
* - "The Whale" is a large, curved tear-drop shape kill in the middle of a wide valley between two mountain ridges. For those who don't know, most of the major terrain features at NTC have nicknames assigned to them.
no subject
Our Battalion commander got reamed, from all reports, for leaving us behind.
Re:
NTC!
Those were the days!*
I got more mass-casualty training out of officer screw ups...
Actually, have you ever read "Dragons at War" by Bolger?
It's a book about an NTC rotation in the early '80's...
*Except the parts where I was gone 5-6weeks versus everyone else's 4 because I was on the rail-load team. And the fact, because of train-up and such, I was in the fireld more time than home with my, then, new wife...
no subject
The first thousand miles were interesting.
The second thousand miles were boring.
The last thousand miles were a hellish blend of more fucking desert than you could ever want, frantic shuffling of memeories to determine what the hell I could have done to deserve this, and the solemn vow to track down the inventor of the MRE and force feed him his own food until the MRE Blocks killed him.
The 1SG actually asked me if I wanted to do the ride back
Re:
One year they lost entire trains for weeks because of the Mississippi flooding!
I can't imagine the poor bastard...
I think, for us, all sensitive items were removed and shipped seperately in connexes.
Which meant only they (or was it they and the M1A1's?) had to be directly guarded.
no subject
The last thing he remembered was eating the dehydrated potato patty, his adjutant's offering him a swig from his canteen, his offhanded acceptance of that offer, and a white flash.
LTC Always must earn his (and his task force's [*]) way out of Purgatory by defeating the OPFOR. That involves learning the ins-and-outs of running a mech infantry task force....
WRT the train guard, I don't recall the 256th Infantry Brigade (Mech) needing guards on the M1A1s when they moved by rail from Ft. Hood back to Louisiana a couple of years ago. We simply banded the hatches after they were locked, to make any tampering immediately evident.
Then again, I was only involved with marshaling the vehicles, not moving back to Louisiana with them.
[*] The only member of the battalion task force not going through Purgatory is CSM Hope; he's been sent from Heaven to give LTC Always a bit of help.