A Smart Rifle for Future Foot Soldiers

Sept. 26 -- During the 1991 Gulf War, electronics and software played key roles in directing laser-guided "smart" bombs and cruise missiles to targets many miles away. But such advanced guidance systems may soon come to even the most basic level of warfare — the ground-pounding infantry soldier.

Although many experts say that an advanced assault rifle, dubbed the Objective Individual Combat Weapon, or OICW, won't be ready for U.S. troops in the upcoming military battle against terrorists, proponents say that high-tech weapon systems for foot soldiers are the wave of the future.

In development since 1994, the OICW is a product of three defense contractors: Alliant Tech Systems, a weapons systems integrator; Brashear LP, an optics maker; and Heckler and Koch, a German weapons maker. The developers promise this advanced weapon will give soldiers a much-needed edge when it comes to fighting unconventional wars — such as the upcoming conflict.

‘Fire Control’ Instead of Gun Sights

At the heart of the OICW is a new computerized electronic aiming system developed by Brashear. The "fire control" system uses passive infrared technology which can collect the invisible heat waves radiated by warm objects such as human bodies. This will allow soldiers to see and accurately shoot at targets in adverse conditions such as the dark of night or rain.

More importantly, the advanced sighting system uses an invisible laser beam to accurately measure distance, or range, to a target. That data is passed to a 20mm air-bursting high-explosive round, a new type of ammunition developed specifically for the OICW. When launched from the OICW, the projectile — basically a grenade with a tiny electronic fuse — can determine when it has traveled the correct distance and then explode.

Tom Bierman, business manager for the OICW program at Alliant, says that the combination of sophisticated sighting systems and new ammunition make the weapon extremely accurate. He says that the current grenade launcher, the M-203 which is attached to the bottom of M-16 rifles, is capable of only a 10 percent hit probability at ranges of 300 meters. But early OICW prototypes increased the hit probability to 50 percent.