In 2013, DARPA announced the advanced One Shot XG program to substantially increase the efficiency of the military snipers. The program revolves around a small, mountable scope system that can either be placed on its spotting scope or on weapon’s barrel. The scope is designed to automatically calculate a number of decisive variables, such as wind conditions, weapon alignment etc., using an internal OS.

Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance

The Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance Program is a project initiated by DARPA, in which they are developing a class of smart and self guided bullets that can change their projected path during the flight to align with the movement of the target or due to any external factors that may drive the bullet off course.

It has an advanced real-time optical guidance systems that lets you track and direct projectiles – bullets to their targets by adjusting for weather, wind, target movement and other factors. In 2016, Russia also revealed that they are already working on a similar “smart bullet” designed to hit targets at a distance of up to 10 km.

Cornershot

This can be the biggest life saver of all in urban combat, where soldiers have to navigate buildings, walls and other obstacles, and if they could shoot their opponents without leaving the cover of a wall, then the risk involved will be greatly reduced. Of course, a bend barrel wouldn’t be such a good idea, so they had to improvise. And the Cornershot is what it led to. A nozzle mounted video camera relays a video feed to a screen on which soldiers can analyze the battleground and take on enemies with no risk of bringing harm to themselves.

Sonic Guns

Sonic and ultrasonic weapons (USW) are weapons of various types that use sound to injure, incapacitate, or kill an opponent. Some sonic weapons are currently in limited use or in research and development by military and police forces. Some of these weapons have been described as sonic bullets, sonic grenades, sonic mines, or sonic cannons. Some make a focused beam of sound or ultrasound; some make an area field of sound.

Extremely high-power sound waves can disrupt or destroy the eardrums of a target and cause severe pain or disorientation. This is usually sufficient to incapacitate a person. Less powerful sound waves can cause humans to experience nausea or discomfort. The use of these frequencies to incapacitate persons has occurred both in anti-citizen special operation and crowd control settings.

Laser Induced Plasma

Effect Weapon

The Pentagon is working on a weapon that uses lasers and plasma to transmit sound files, even human speech, directly to individual people at great distances. The lasers could be beamed down from military planes or other vehicles to issue instructions or disperse crowds of protestors or otherwise disgruntled people in the area. Individuals begin to hear strange, disembodied voices and see bright lights that come seemingly from nowhere, while others duck for cover from phantom machine gun fire or begin to feel a burning sensation.

This specific project, called Non-Lethal Laser Induced Plasma Effects (NL LIPE), aims to have a perfected a beam that can produce audible instructions and commands to an individual or a small group of people within three years and maybe have a practical prototype system ready in five years.

The Pentagon’s central less-than-lethal weapon office, called the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD), is working on it.

Russia’s Filin 5P-42

The Filin 5P-42, a new non-lethal light-based optical interference system designed for military and law enforcement use, is capable of effectively suppressing enemy optical systems including, sniper sights, laser rangefinders, guidance systems and thermal imagers in low light conditions.

By increasing or decreasing the number of emitters in a single system, and combining components with a lower or greater power output, it’s possible to create both strong stations for military and special purpose use and weaker ones for the civilian market, including use by large companies for security or for guarded facilities.

Filin is not so much a weapon as it is a system of protection against weapons. The system interferes with the enemy rifleman or gunner’s ability to aim correctly, to the extent that it may cause some hallucinatory symptoms. While lasers emits a rather powerful beam of light, and can damage both optics and a gunner’s sight, Filin does not blind the adversary.

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ATHOS is a fully autonomous and manoeuvrable system. It is capable of a range of 40km and utilises a self-propelled capability and automatic laying mode. It is integrated with fully-computerized systems, achieving automatic control, accurate navigation and target acquisition. When deployed in the battlefield, the ATHOS can manoeuvre itself using its own diesel engine and special hydraulic-driven road wheels, which are also ideal for shoot-and scoot positioning. The hydraulic system enables a team of seven crew members or less to easily deploy the ATHOS within minutes.

The ATHOS utilizes inertial navigation and aiming systems -including a GPS and an onboard firing computer as part of its autonomous capabilities. The gun laying is performed using the INS without any external reference point. The laying system can be slaved to the computer to achieve automatic laying.

The ATHOS is designed to operate under harsh environmental conditions, using all qualified 155mm ammunition in use worldwide. To ease the crew’s workload and enhance gun performance, the ATHOS is equipped with an ammunition loader that dramatically reduces the physical effort needed to operate the gun.

Ammunition Loading System

The ATHOS automated ammunition loading system consists of a loading tray, a ramming mechanism and a crane with a projectile carrier. The system supports a range of firing rates:

•             Burst rate 3 rounds in 30 seconds

•             Intense rate 12 rounds in 3 minutes

•             Sustained rate 42 rounds in 60 minutes

Electronic System

The ATHOS electronic system  control, computation, navigation and aiming – includes inertial navigation and aiming systems, an onboard firing computer, a laying system, optical backup sights and other control units.

Carriage Assembly

The carriage is the main support of the weapon, both in action and during transport. The carriage consists of a central structure with a main bearing, trails and road wheels. The carriage carries all the auxiliary propulsion unit components, including the driver’s compartment. The Auxiliary Propulsion Unit (APU) supplies continuous energy to the automotive, hydraulic and electric systems, enabling autonomous system operation and short reaction going into or out of action.

Key Features

•             Fully automatic operation with manual backup

•             Integrated with complete electronic suite from gun level and up

•             Integrated with system command and control at all levels including FDC and FCS

•             Rapid deployment and short response time

•             Long range, with all 155mm/52 calibre ammunition

•             Massive and accurate ?re power

•             Integrated logistic support and all level maintenance program

•             Self manoeuvrable artillery howitzer with automated ammunition loading system

Operational Characteristics

Direct fire

Day        >1.5km

Night     >1 km

Indirect fire

With HE standard ammunition   >30km

With assisted HE

(ERFB-BB) ammunition  >40km

Minimum range                <5km

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Elbit Systems – ATHOS 155 mm Autonomous Towed Howitzer System

Trajan 155mm/52 calibre Gun by Nexter

The Larsen and Toubro and France-based defence major Nexter showcased their TRAJAN 152mm/52 caliber cannon artillery system at DefExpo show on 5-9 February.

The L&T-Nexter consortium has been working since 2011 in building the partnership around one of the main Indian artillery programmes.

Trajan had undergone extensive firing and mobility trials by the Army in rigorous climatic conditions.

It is based on the strengths of the TR-F1 towed artillery piece and the main gun fitted to the Caesar self-propelled vehicle platform in service with the modern French Army.

The Trajan is a complete 13-ton combat system that is made air-transportable in the belly of a heavy-lift hauler such as the Airbus A400M “Atlas” and Boeing C-17 “Globemaster III”. When moved by air, the Trajan is transported as a whole unit and is ready-to-deploy as a single piece when landed with only the typical preparation required of the crew. When made ready for transportation by mover vehicle, the wheeled split-trail carried of the weapon can sustain road speeds of up to 80 kmh and off-road speeds reaching 30 kmh. The crew numbers six men and can have the gun system arranged, ready-to-fire in 1.5 minutes.

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