Mid 90s Top Secret Paperweights

mmcmdl

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What you are looking at is the evolution of the round that shoots around corners , otherwise known as the OICW. Objective Individual Combat weapon . Google for more info.

Back in the 90s my crew developed this weapon . It was classified top secret back then and was way ahead of the times . I had to remove tooling and download my programs at the end of each day , and all machining was done behind screens even though we were in a secret lab . Funny thing is , Popular Science ran an article on our gun before it was de-classified . I found that to be quite humorous ! Anyways , I held onto these as conversation pieces for potential customers . The warheads are tungsten 20mm grenades , they are caseless ammo and they are inert . Some have gone downrange . I machined these on a Hardinge HLV-H , Leblonde Makino Count 15 CNC lathe and Prototrac equipped Bridgeport mill . They are in need of a new desk to rest on . They make for great conversation and are cool to throw at your annoying bosses !!! I would love to pass these on to another gun nut for $50 but I am open to any offers if interested ! SPOKEN FOR

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LOL . Yep , totally worthless paperweights at this point !
 
Tim , you were the first to respond . I have another interested member but I will honor your response . Let me know otherwise they go tomorrow . Thanks , Dave
 
If I remember corectly, they were still doing some testing on it around the 2005 timeframe. The Army finaly canceled because it was just way too expensive. I think they were looking at a 50k price per weapon.
 
We were 1 of a couple going after the production contract . We made it to phase 4 of the development then AllientTechnologies won out . They used a spiral technology , different from ours . I know they had problems when their round passed a metal object such as a fence etc . The round lost count . I heard a few lives were lost up at APG when testing the rounds although I can't and won't confirm it . I believe this weapon is in existence though , I saw it on the History channel recently !!

May I add ..........the 20mm warheads were electron beamed after machining providing fragmentation . They made a pretty big POP and the customers loved the lethality range .
 
The one I saw was being tested at a range in Vermont. I believe that the barrel was interchangable for a .50 BMG calibler barrel, and that's what they were shooting. It was an interesting idea but all the tech drove the price way up. SOCOM may be using them, but the Army started looking at the price to put one of these in every infantry squad and choked. There are some very advanced fuses available for medium calibler guns starting at around 30mm. They have an airburst 30mm that was to be used on the USMCs AAAV, but it was canceled. There is also a 40mm multifuse available that includes point detonating, time delay, airburst and proximity fusing. I havn't been involved in that stuff for several years now, so they may have some available in smaller calibers now. Medium caliber guns are still the only thing I consider myself an expert at.
 
Oh ..........I have done lots of fuse work all of what you have mentioned as well as AAAV . RPV MTS Joint Stars etc . My biggest F up in my life was on the bunker busters . The darn thing had at least 15 different internal and external threads on it . We had the ring and plug gages for most , but wires were used on some . I programmed an incorrect pitch on one of the threads being checked with wires . They were all perfect but of course WRONG !!! We ran for 2 shifts making bad parts . My boss called me into the " woodshed and simply stated " Dave , we don't like to do this quite often " . I caught his drift !! LOL

Hard to see but here is a pic of the Howitzer rounds with all the different fuse options and I also have long since moved on from this type of work . Would love to get back into it one day though .

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AAAV Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle . I made the tooling for the thrust housings which were made out of carbon fiber along with a bunch of other prototype parts . The thing ran great until my buddy sank it in the Potomac down at Pax River !! It wasn't a laughing matter back then , but we laugh at it today when I see him . I apologize for being so longwinded but I just love to talk " shop "
 
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The above stated items have been acquired by Rick B who is a model maker . His intentions are to construct a display case and showcase these rounds . My stipulations are he must post pics of his finished project . If he doesn't post pics , it didn't happen !!!
 
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