A Smart Rifle for Future Foot Soldiers
Sept. 26, 2001 -- 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.
No Place to Hide
What's more, the ability to "program" the new grenade on how and when to explode will give the soldier of the future an ability to hit hidden targets. To hit snipers hiding behind a berm or dune, for example, a soldier with an OICW would simply get the range to the object hiding the target and then program the grenade to explode a few meters further.
In mountainous regions like Afghanistan or urban warfare situations where fighting may take place building-by-building, this gives soldiers the ability to attack difficult targets from greater — and safer — distances.
Bierman notes that the OICW can also fire the same 5.56mm ammunition used in a standard M-16 rifle, but with much better performance. Early tests indicate that bullets fired from the OICW will penetrate Kevlar armor at ranges of up to 500 meters. And such far-off targets will be easier to hit, since OICW's fire control system projects a red dot within the weapon's eyepiece, showing the soldier the range to the target and where to aim the rifle for a more accurate shot.
Still Far Off
Still, for all the improvements that OICW may bring, many note it will be some time before it — or any other smart rifle — makes its way to the common U.S. foot soldier.
For one, Bierman says that only a handful of OICW prototypes have been built for testing. And while the weapon has passed the so-called Proof of Principles stage, it is just now entering the "Program Definition and Risk Reduction" phase. In that part of weapons testing, which may begin by the end of the year, the U.S. Army will take a closer look at what exactly it wants and how OICW is to perform in future battles.
And according to some experts, defining the role of an advanced infantry weapon — or even whether there is a need for one — will be more than half the battle.
Tried and True
Although the basic M-16 rifle was introduced in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, many say that the tried and true weapon still has many years of service left. "There's very little out there that will do better," says Charles Cutshaw, a firearms consultant who has written infantry weapons analysis for Jane's Defense.
And what's more, "For the U.S. military, there isn't even a new requirement for a new rifle," says Cutshaw. With continual upgrades and modifications — which the M-16 has had over the past four decades — Cutshaw believes that a replacement for the M-16 won't be needed until perhaps 2015.
Bierman and Alliant's partners are more optimistic about the OICW's adoption, however. If the program remains on track, Bierman says the first military units would get OICWs by 2010.
"You got to be sure that everything is OK and works," says Bierman. "We in the industry don't want it any other way."