05-17-2011, 04:49 AM
Tony,
Where the design for the new Multi-Role LMG would leave the others clearly in the last century would be with accessory integration. I'm doing a proof-of-concept right now in a Retro Colt Model 605 project for the assault rifle. When that's done, I will move onto the LMG. I have a ton of friends with countless machineguns in their collections, and some have 07 SOT, so I think we will eventually be able to get some things rolling. The main difference is that all the current assault rifle designs are being made without much thought being put into how many additional accessories will be required by the Pentagon to be mounted to the weapon. The M1913 rails simply don't address this issue adequately if bulk and weight are to be considered.
This same issue plagues the pigs more than the M4's, since they are already heavier and bulkier, and all weapons have been mandated to be Own-The-Night configured for about a decade now in many of the light Infantry and Airborne units. The capabilities are great, but the profile and weight of the components are not, especially when you see IR Illuminators/Pointers mounted on huge rails on the M240 and SAW, topped with grotesquely heavy M145 Elcans. That experience made me hate the Elcans, and I didn't even hump them...just watched my gunners do it.
FN seems to have a firm stranglehold on most of the US machinegun market for some reason. I would like to see more competition. Either way, there will be a market for the system I described, but I just want to see something lighter, shorter, with human interface considered for once. The ergonomics of almost every fielded machinegun design suck horribly.
LRRPF52
Where the design for the new Multi-Role LMG would leave the others clearly in the last century would be with accessory integration. I'm doing a proof-of-concept right now in a Retro Colt Model 605 project for the assault rifle. When that's done, I will move onto the LMG. I have a ton of friends with countless machineguns in their collections, and some have 07 SOT, so I think we will eventually be able to get some things rolling. The main difference is that all the current assault rifle designs are being made without much thought being put into how many additional accessories will be required by the Pentagon to be mounted to the weapon. The M1913 rails simply don't address this issue adequately if bulk and weight are to be considered.
This same issue plagues the pigs more than the M4's, since they are already heavier and bulkier, and all weapons have been mandated to be Own-The-Night configured for about a decade now in many of the light Infantry and Airborne units. The capabilities are great, but the profile and weight of the components are not, especially when you see IR Illuminators/Pointers mounted on huge rails on the M240 and SAW, topped with grotesquely heavy M145 Elcans. That experience made me hate the Elcans, and I didn't even hump them...just watched my gunners do it.
FN seems to have a firm stranglehold on most of the US machinegun market for some reason. I would like to see more competition. Either way, there will be a market for the system I described, but I just want to see something lighter, shorter, with human interface considered for once. The ergonomics of almost every fielded machinegun design suck horribly.
LRRPF52