Caltrops - Operation: Hammer Time





	[quote name="Senor Barborito"][quote name="t0ny"]The point was that it fires sans chemical reactions. Electromagnetic cannons have been in development by the US Army for a loooong time (like at least the 80s); also google under 'Rail Guns', since that is basically what it is. The major obstacles are mainly the power consumption and the space required for the power plant.[/quote] Exactly. Because electricity can be produced <i>sans</i> chemicals. Or as Inigo would say: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." 5.56 ammunition might not be very sexy because it isn't one of the more lethal rounds out there, but the truth is that the one thing soldiers always want more of is ammunition - and 5.56 allows them to bring along assloads more than 7.62 for the same weight. My point being that the Army doesn't really care how 'sexy' the killing looks (space age electromagnetics or chemical reactions), provided it gets the job done significantly better than the last tech upgrade. Anyways, the real benefits of a railgun are significantly reduced ammo weight (since it's all shell) and, in theory (or theory dictated by current DARPA goals anyway) 10x higher shell velocity. The really cool thing about higher shell velocity is that armor penetration in general is almost solely based on velocity, not mass. One of the other reasons 5.56 was chosen as the new US round back in the 70s was that there was the assumption then that ballistic vests would become far more prolific than they have. Similarly, should unfriendly countries gain DU armor similar to the M1A2 - it won't much matter by the time they have it. --SB[/quote]