| From: | IronRaven cyberraven@********.net |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Questions of great importance (Steve, Jon, RA:S people |
| Date: | Wed, 08 Sep 1999 18:44:21 -0400 |
> I think you know that the OICW can do a lot more than
>airburst some grenades with a high degree of precision. You
I am somewhat familiar with the system's capabilities. My biggest
objection is to making the grenade launcher the primary weapon, rather than
the carbine component. I admit that I am "old school", and place an
emphasis on marksmanship, so that colours my opinion. I also have
reservations about the amount of ammuntion that can be carried, the fact
that it reduces the need to teach aiming (which is highly useful skill when
there are things you don't want to hit around) and the fact that as far as
I can tell, it is not really suitable for indirect fire. It also seems
likely that you can sabotage that oh-so-critical range finder, and that
making a sesor to detect would be very easy- there goes the concept of
ambushes.
Now, if the Army want's to issue them to replace half of the M-203s (one
of each to a squad), OK. But all of them, or even all rifles as I've heard
some individuals state, being switched over to the OICWs is a scary
thought. The OCIW has the tech edge and more firepower, but the M-203 can
be used as a baby mortar if need be, is mechanically simple and is more
versatile. The idea I keep hearing is for urban combat- OK, that's all
fine and good. Does that mean that grunts are going to have to learn an
addition weapon and carry one that they aren't as familiar with, due to
training budget restrictions, in the worst terrain known, after the trade
in thier regular rifle? Or are you going to have units that do nothing but
urban?
>switch, you have a nice carbine as second weapon. All this
Barrel is a bit stubby for my taste.
>at IIRC a bit more weight than a M16A2. You only need some
Actually, quite a bit more than the -16A2, even with an M-203 under it,
IIRC. And a hell of a lot more expensive.
To me, the thing reeks of people who are trying to short-cut things and
worship technology. Troops aren't smart enough to learn how to shoot, give
them something that fires salvos, even if it frequently a tactically
inferior weapon and it requires batteries to be used at all. (I may have
red dots on some of my rifles and shotguns, but I can pull them off and go
to the iron sights in about a minute, and fi thebattereis die, the gun
still go "bang"- no can do with the main part of the OICW.)
OK, that works fine until someone actually figures out how to break the
damn thing- then they have a multi-grand weapon that is worthless except
maybe as a club that might be fixable if the only guy in the platoon with
an electronics degree didn't get tagged five seconds into a firefight and
he has four or five quite minutes to fix it.
Grunt level weapons should be simple, reliable and able to survive being
used to butstroke a water buffalo into submission.
Kevin Dole, aka CyberRaven, aka IronRaven, aka Steel Tengu
http://members.xoom.com/iron_raven/
"Once again, we have spat in the face of Death and his second cousin,
Dismemberment."
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in
your philosophy."
