How to Fire the World's Most Powerful Automatic Weapon

Metal Storm's remote-controlled Redback 40mm weapon system is probably the world's most powerful automatic weapon and a devastating counter attack weapon to all types of threats. Today's automatic weapons have a magazine with bullets that are mechanically loaded into the barrel. This one uses electronically initiated stacked projectile weapons technology.

The concept of stacked projectiles (multiple projectiles loaded nose to tail in a single gun barrel with propellant packed between them) gives both the name of the technology and of the company that produces it.

The new method consists in placing projectiles in series along the length of the barrel and it could mean that they could be fired sequentially and selectively without the danger associated with unintended propellant ignition.

Thus, the stacked projectile and electronic ignition technology eliminates the need for cartridges, the shell casings, and every other moving parts found in traditional guns. In fact, the barrel of the Metal Storm is the weapon.

The bullets, preloaded and stacked in the combined barrel/magazine are fired electrically to generate a torrent of lethal force (up to thousands of rounds per second), especially with systems using a multibarreled configuration.

Probably the main advantage of the weapon is the fact that it completely eliminates the problem of jamming, frequent in most modern rifles, plus the fact that the technology can be used for all types of munitions.

The Redback is a 4 barrel, 16 shot remotely operated weapon system that can automatically track targets and slew at speeds of up to 700 degrees/second (2 complete revolutions per second). It can use high explosive, enhanced blast and air bursting munitions, as well as a suite of less lethal munitions such as gas, smoke, sponge, CS (capsicum) and illumination.

At full design speed Redback can rotate at 700 degrees per second, making it one of the fastest systems of its type in the world.

Finally, the fact that this 40mm weapon system can be remotely operated by a soldier in a heavily fortified bunker, at some distance from the actual weapon, makes it one of the most feared weapons in the world.