RIVER FOREST, Illinois USA — A gun that fires variable speed bullets and which can be set to kill, wound or just inflict a bruise is being built by a US toy manufacturer. The weapon is based on technology used to propel toy rockets.

Lund and Company Invention, a toy design studio based near Chicago, makes toy rockets that are powered by burning hydrogen obtained by electrolysing water. Now the company is being funded by the US army to adapt the technology to fire bullets instead.

The US Army are interested in arming soldiers with weapons that can be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes. They asked Company Invention to make a rifle that can fire bullets at various speeds.

Sniper versionThe new weapon, called the Variable Velocity Weapon System or VWS, lets the soldier to use the same rifle for crowd control and combat, by altering the muzzle velocity. It could be loaded with "rubber bullets" designed only to deliver blunt impacts on a person, full-speed lethal rounds or projectiles somewhere between the two.

Bruce Lund, the company's CEO, says the gun works by mixing a liquid or gaseous fuel with air in a combustion chamber behind the bullet. This determines the explosive capability of the propellant and consequently the velocity of the bullet as it leaves the gun. "Projectile velocity varies from non-lethal at 10 metres, to lethal at 100 metres or more, as desired," says Lund.

The company says that the weapon produces less heat and light than traditional guns. It can also be made lighter and could have a high power setting for long-range sniping.

Police already fire non-lethal projectiles from standard shotguns. These are known as "beanbag" rounds, bags of lead shot which will knock down a suspect at ranges of up to 10 metres. They are termed "non-lethal", but can cause bruising or even broken ribs.

'Handgun to Howitzer'Lund says that the new weapon system will use different types of bullet for lethal and non-lethal use. Police forces already use separate shotguns for non-lethal loads – typically marking them with bright orange tape to prevent any confusion – so this shouldn't be an issue.

The existing VWS design is a .50 calibre (12.7 mm) rifle weapon, but Lund says the technology can be scaled to any size, "handgun to Howitzer".

Steve Wright, a security expert at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK warns of the potential risk of variable lethality.

"In a high-stress, high-personal-risk zone, there will be a real temptation for soldiers to turn the tuneable lethality switch up to 'kill' mode so that all doubt is removed."

A demonstration version will be ready within six months, and the VWS could go into production within 18 months of approval, according to Lund and Company.

Copyright © 2008, NewScientist.com.

07-23-2008 10:27 AM  #1
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 2815	Re: Toy rocket inspires variable-speed bullets Interesting. And might provide an alternative to tasers (and obviously the use of deadly force) which have caused more deaths than anticipated.

07-23-2008 01:59 PM  #2
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 3189	Re: Toy rocket inspires variable-speed bullets Or an "Oops, I set my gun incorrectly" for a trigger-happy officer. "Honestly, I meant to just stun him." In the head?

07-23-2008 10:10 PM  #3
Art Upton Space Cowboy   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 87	Re: Toy rocket inspires variable-speed bullets First, it would seem this is the company that makes the Estes H powered rocket ? I prefer Tasers myself, they work fine. Abuse in any design can cause issues unintended. A Star Trek Phaser on stun used over and over again can cause unintended issues as well We already have variable speed bullets, just choose to lock and load the magazine containing those you wish to use. Lets look at a standard AR-15/M-4 do I load the rifle with a magazine containing SS-109s to penetrate steel/glass and then kill? do I load the rifle with a magazine containing a soft load boat tail FMJ round to wound? Do I load the rifle with a magazine containing a very soft load with rubber bullets? There is an infinate choice in-between all of those, but some of the best non-lethal loads are today in 12-gauge loads. We could again use a magazine loaded 12 gauge and choose the load to use. A thing to remember is that the DOD invests in all kinds of "systems" while looking for some that really will work for them. One non-lethal system I recall they looked at using was designed to "foam" the Perp with the kind of foam that is used to foam in parts in a shipping box.