Shoulder mounted howitzer No backblast!

[walker 0]

Hi all

Thought this might interest everyone

A real live BFG!

The thing is basically an 80mm howitzer you fire from your shoulder.

A cannon bigger than that on a Sherman tank, and no it is not a recoilless gun, so no massive back-blast. You could fire one of these in a room from the window with no worry of cooking and squashing yourself and your buddies in the room.

In Urban war this will be a battle decider.

Kind Regards walker

[Billabong81 0]

I could see this as useful in an actual war with a country like Russia (JUST AN EXAMPLE!, that would use armored vehicles, but today's enemies are using pickup trucks as their "heavy armor" vehicles. A pickup truck can be disabled with small arms fire, rendering a massive weapon such as this useless in modern warfare. I just can't see the usefulness in this type of system in our current conflicts. However, for a conventional war, I agree, this weapon would be a huge advantage to whoever is using it!

Also, those shells look pretty big, I wonder how much it must weigh to carry a bunch of those around .

[Ironsight 1]

A cannon bigger than that on a Sherman tank, and no it is not a recoilless gun, so no massive back-blast. You could fire one of these in a room from the window with no worry of cooking and squashing yourself and your buddies in the room.

As far as I understand it, it works like a recoilless rifle, but instead it "catches" the energy in the shellcasing which it ejects from the back.

I could be wrong though...

[BlackScorpion 0]

I could see this as useful in an actual war with a country like Russia (JUST AN EXAMPLE!, that would use armored vehicles, but today's enemies are using pickup trucks as their "heavy armor" vehicles. A pickup truck can be disabled with small arms fire, rendering a massive weapon such as this useless in modern warfare. I just can't see the usefulness in this type of system in our current conflicts. However, for a conventional war, I agree, this weapon would be a huge advantage to whoever is using it!

Also, those shells look pretty big, I wonder how much it must weigh to carry a bunch of those around .

Yeah, but if you hit, might only just take 1 shell. Plus it's reloadable, seems to be fairly accurate, far reaching and effective. Apart from the recoil, I guess it's about as effective as a Carl Gustav. Maybe more effective. Plus you could always just mount that on a jeep or something.

They used LAWs to shoot technicals in BHD, didn't they?

[JdB 151]

Usefull for blowing up enemy strongholds (especially in urban warfare), where armor is at risk and airpower cannot be relied on due to close proximity of civilians to the target. About as usefull as an M136, probably even more effective by using different warheads, and this thing can easily be reloaded.

[InqWiper 0]

I dont see what advantage this thing has over the at4. This thing looks kinda like a joke to me. At4 can already be fired from a confined space.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v....search=

[4 IN 1 0]

I dont see what advantage this thing has over the at4. This thing looks kinda like a joke to me. At4 can already be fired from a confined space.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v....search=

search wiki(again, not accrate but works), AT4 CS still needs some space and are not completely consealed place to fire it

but i agree, it has really little advantage over AT4(well aside the reload able i guess)

[ozanzac 0]

Very cool.

Would be better to see the effect of a live round, fired from a proper position.

[walker 0]

Hi all

The High Impulse Weapon System has:

1) A lower sound signature than an AT4.

2) No back blast what so ever, even the advaced AT4 requires no one stands behind and that the room is large with no wall less than a few feet behind the user so no firing from corridor windows or trenches or even small preparied positions.

3) No back blast signature whatsoever.

4) Reloadable

5) Lighter than an AT 4 and much lighter than the advanced AT 4

6) Unlimited war head capability from non lethal to anything you would normaly put on a mortar or howitzer shell

7) Lighter rounds (half the round energy on a recoiless weapon system has to be wasted)

Kind Regards walker

[Rhodite 3]

Did they indicate a range?

Or is that Munition dependant?

[walker 0]

Hi all

In Reply to Rhodite

Indirect fire range about 700m

Direct fire range about 300m

With a 1kg warhead.

According to

Quote[/b] ]...BIG BUBBA

After experiencing the .408's relatively low recoil, the evaluators found quite a contrast just a few short steps away. There, nestled among FNH's more familiar offerings, was a prototype, shoulder-fired system with a truly intimidating tube - 76mm, to be precise. Through that 3-inch-wide opening - a baseball-sized hole -- the High-Impulse Weapon System (HIWS) is capable of hurling the 2.2-pound payload of a 3.3-pound round more than 700 yards in an indirect-fire mode. In a direct-fire role, the HIWS can engage targets out to 300 yards.

Manufactured by Lacroix Pyro-Technologies of France, the HIWS will be marketed by the FNH team. Touting a sophisticated recoil-mitigation system, the weapon produces no back blast and no overpressure, making it possible to fire the system from an enclosed space - even from inside a vehicle. The HIWS is also relatively quiet: Ear protection isn't needed when firing the system.

Despite a quick rundown on how to arm and fire the HIWS, some of the evaluators clearly had reservations about the system's imposing size and equally imposing statistics. A couple of questions that probably flashed through their minds were: How large a bruise can be caused by a maximum projectile acceleration of 65,600 ft.sec-2? And just how much shoulder pain should be expected from a firing impulse of 22.5 pounds per second?

Perhaps these questions went unasked because Lacroix engineers are considering developing an 84mm HIWS, which would make the 76mm version something akin to a girly-man system. For whatever reasons, our fearless evaluators rose to the challenge.

But one failed to heed the salesman's twice-proffered advice to keep 80 percent of his body weight on his forward foot: A trigger pull later, he did a 180-degree spin to his right, stumbled three steps sideways, and ended up on his butt. And he isn't a little guy. Subsequent shooters didn't have to be reminded.

Lacroix engineers actually have plans for an 84mm HIWS; they've already developed a 66mm version; and they're working on a 40mm variant that's sure to be offered to U.S. forces.

Despite any pain our evaluators suffered firing the 76mm variant, there was nearly universal agreement that the concept is, in fact, worth pursuing. "Excellent potential for less-lethal payloads," noted one. "Great idea," said another. "Its possible uses include less-lethal weapons applications. I'd like to see further development of this concept."

"Tremendous potential to provide the dismounted infantryman with lightweight, shoulder-fired lethality at ranges well beyond our current family of munitions," another observed. "Awesome potential to place 2.2-pound warheads 300 to 400 meters downrange to defeat various target sets."

Other comments suggested that Lacroix designers continue developing and improving the system with an eye toward evolving it from an area weapon to a point weapon system, and that they figure out a way for a shooter to use the HIWS from a prone firing position...

Follow link for the full article

http://www.militarycity.com/blackwater/blackwater3.html

The ability to fire it from a vehicle is good. I can also see the technology being used on Hummers and Pinkies. The light weight of projectiles at 3.3 pounds is a real plus. A user could carry enough rounds to seriously dammage the enemy. The larger version they are producing would also make a great crew served weapon with a mount of some kind.

The real key to this is the recoil-mitigation system; that is what this is all about.

They also produce a 40mm automatic grenade launcher with the same technology that allows very accurate fire so you can kill or supress snipers in windowed rooms or rooftops.

Kind Regards walker

[Donnervogel 0]

Uhm it doesn't look that controllable to me from that video. I really wonder how a trained soldier could handle this but from the video it appears that the recoil is too strong to make this safe to use or accurate.

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

It seems pretty smart with the reloadability, but I would prefer the AT4 CS, though.

It CAN be fired in relatively small confined spaces. I haven't tried the AT4 CS, but ive fired the ordinary AT4 many times, and the weight have never been a problem. I was actually VERY surprised how light the AT4 really is.

The recoil is extremely hard on that thing (the price of no backsplash), but I think that is too much, and probably will affect future aiming, and a couple bruises if you are sitting indoor or in a vehicle during an adrenalin filled fight.

Another disadvantage is that it is reloadable - that means that if the enemy gets hold of it, they only need ammo to make it functioning. Nowadays NATO enemies also hardly use armour, so I can actually only see that this weapon would be a nice asset for the terror groups down in Iraq for example - pretty much suits their tactics. I believe TMGs etc. are much better than a missile in stopping pickups etc.

1 good thing about it, though, is that it's soo quiet.

[Balschoiw 0]

It surely delivers some big punch

Weapon balance seems to be a bit off though as the turning point seems to be right over the shooters shoulder. Having the point laid back behind the shoulder should make the weapon much more stable and wouldn´t send the shooter into a 360

[red oct 2]

you know i always wondered why the military and arms corporations never made shoulder fired cannon, than whadya know, they did!

wonder if a AP round is in the making...

[ran 0]

Had the occasion to hold one but sadly didn't get to fire it. Past the manhood enhancing effects of carrying a manportable cannon, this thing has potential.

Being reloadable, it means that the squad is able to carry a shitload of different 66, 76,2 or 84mm rounds (pending on the caliber issued) to offer it direct and indirect firepower against a pretty wide range of targets. One can only hope the manufacture a wide range of round types like they did with the GALLIX. Knowing well the rest of Lacroix's offering, I'm pretty sure this concept will work and is being professionally worked on.

Check the Lacroix SPHINX, it's a pretty kick ass system.