Metal Storm - High-Firepower Small Arms and Firepower Multipliers

Metal Storm is a defence technology company that develops high-firepower small arms and firepower multipliers utilising unique, electronically initiated, stacked projectile technology. With offices and supporting ‘in house’ engineering capability in Australia and the USA, Metal Storm is focusing its technology effort on medium caliber capabilities and applications, in particular 40mm.

The value of Metal Storm technology lies in the core capability advantages it provides in a range of applications compared with existing ‘conventional’ technologies. These core advantages provide advances in capability for military and security forces. The company is in a development phase as it transitions its technology from proof of concept to product implementation.

High-firepower small arms

Metal Storm’s high-firepower small arms technology feature a number of unique core elements including:

• Munitions stacked inside the barrel
• Electronically fired
• Provides the ability to group barrels in any configuration - from single barrel weapons to multi barrel pods
• High firepower-to-weight ratio

These unique elements of Metal Storm technology provide for a number of key capability advantages not available from conventional weapon technology. These include:

• Increased lethality from conventional munition warheads
• Cumulative effect of firepower
• Simultaneous delivery of different munitions
• Instant selectable choice of munitions
• Variable rates of fire
• Intense bursts of repeatable firepower
• Scaled response
• Remote operation

Fully reloadable small arms

All Metal Storm small arms are fully reloadable.Reload options include fully individual round reload, a click together "stack" of rounds for multiple reload capability, or a reloadable multi-shot cartridge where required. Reloading Metal Storm technology is as straightforward and as simple as any other weapon system.

Increased lethality of firepower

Lethality and the delivery of firepower onto a target are critical aspects in the application of firepower. The firing of current munitions in a different manner is a significant way of creating an effect on target and improving lethality.

Cumulative effect of firepower

Because all rounds are stacked in the barrel and fired electronically, Metal Storm small arms have the ability to deliver munitions at extremely high rates of fire - but it's not about quantity: for example, four rounds of 40mm HE munition all delivered onto a target at the same time provides a much greater effect than four rounds hitting the target one behind the other, 20ft apart.

When four Metal Storm-fired munitions hit the target at almost the same time, which can be repeated, the lethality of those warheads is increased markedly through the unique delivery of that firepower.

Fully selectable fire missions

Lethality is also enhanced through greater control of fire missions and the ability to almost instantly select different munitions for different targets. Fully selectable fire missions can be configured ranging from a single shot through to multiple shots. These firemissions may be in the form of a small curtain of fire, a swarm of munitions orconvex or concave shaped multiple munitions.

All these capabilities provide acumulative lethality effect much greater than several single 40mm munitions arriving individually.

Improved placement of firepower

Metal Storm technology provides the ability to fire munitions onto a target in groups of any size, shape and sequence in much greater proportion to the size of the weapon.The technology allows single and multi-barrel weapon systems to apply significant firepower onto a target compared to conventional weapons; thus providing a high firepower to weight ratio. For example,the equivalent of a 6kg munition can be delivered in 12 pieces but provides the lethality effect on a target of all 6kg at once.

Firepower multipliers

As well as small arms, Metal Storm produces improved firepower multipliers for combat weapons.

For example, Metal Storm provides the ability to greatly enhance the grenade launcher capability on combat weapons.Surpassing all other underslung grenade launchers (which are single shot), Metal Storm now offers a 40mm semi automatic three-shot grenade launcher as a click-on module for assault rifles.This capability trebles the reactive grenade firepower of a squad, and eliminates the requirement for an additional standalone 40mm weapon.

Another Metal Storm combat weapon capability is the 18mm (12 gauge) Multi-shot Accessory Underbarrel Launcher (MAUL). This system is a four-shot, medium velocity, lightweight modular weapon that attaches to assault rifles including the M4 and M16 carbines and fires lethal and less-lethal munitions.

Metal Storm weapons are also ideal for providing the close firepower required by ground vehicles and ships in a variety of operational situations.