i've ordered a couple cases of 6.8x51mm and .277 SIG Fury, so i'll see how it goes. i haven't even gotten a receipt for the MCX SPEAR 1st edition whatever, it's just "processing".
There's a hybrid case design called NAS3 available for 9mm, and it uses a simpler method of joining the case head and case walls - just flaring out a bottlenecked tube against the primer pocket.
neither. more than likely you would have a few reliefs combined with a ductile steel treatment that would allow some minor flex at specific points during peak pressure to reduce the chance of cracking and embrittlement by making sure you have a difference in hardness enough to prevent power growth over a period of time where it would eventually fail. this sort of thing isn't new in high power rifle receiver design or artillery.
it's a combination of Leupold's M5C optics technology with miniaturization, mounting, and assembly design done by Vortex and a modified, miniturized electronics package from L3 Harris. it's not super new tech (last 5-6 years or so) but it's an all-in-one and made smaller with reliability in mind and is functional without any active power sources purely as an aiming device and as far as i'm aware of is the only etched non-powered NV compatible scope developed. not sure how they pulled that off either.
Interesting, thanks. Video shows it to be a modular design, the rangefinder module is removable. Question is, how useful will a ballistic calculator be on a fighting rifle with a 1-8 LPVO anyway?
as you said, it's modular. i really don't expect every NGSW-PC to be a complete unit but handed out to marksman at a squad level so we aren't mixing DMR's and M4/M16's as much any more.
That works. If they add a 40mm grenade launcher, it can have its own addon module too. Makes more sense than OICW for sure.
Pretty much. From what I understand the army specifically requested that the gun/ammo used can penetrate level IV armor at something like 600m. It's also more than near-peers finally adopting body armor (though that's certainly a concern). Even small terror cells in MENA shitholes are able to get their hands on bodyarmor now.
I'm interested to see how the new optics tech pans out. What they have is quite impressive and in my (civilian) opinion if it can do half the shit it claims it would be worth the extra weight in medium-long range engagements. The main issue I see is that most analysts are predicting future conflicts to take place in close ranges and urbanized areas, while the new optic seems tailor-made for the long-range engagements characterizing the Afghan conflict. Last war syndrome perhaps?
The weight comparison is hilarious. They picked the most cumbersome thing possible to compare it to.
That brings up an interesting question. How long would it take until someone comes up with plates that can defeat that round? The moment it hits the market, China is going to start working on plates to defeat it, and the moment they have something barely passable, they'll flood the markets. From a logistics perspective it's way faster to roll out new armor than new guns with new ammo.
Allegedly already exists, but cannot independently confirm. This plate is said to be able to stop the NGSW 6.8
Curious to see how these will perform when actually tested. Eventually it boils down to simple physics and 6.8 isn't magic, so if these plates are just massively overbuilt, they should be able to stop it.
IIRC, Russia already claims to have a body armor solution capable of surviving a direct impact from a .50 BMG, but I highly doubt the reliability or practicality of that claim. Either way, they claim to be rolling it out during "phase III" of Ratink, but given they couldn't even afford to complete phase I, I doubt it's coming anytime soon.
Power-assisted exoskeletons (partial or otherwise) should be a thing soon, to help hump all that fancy armor & ammo; especially as servos, circuits, and batteries become smaller & more efficient, along with rapid 3D printed prototyping & advanced polymer/composite armatures.
I doubt we'll see them really soon, but there are some interesting unpowered shooting armatures that use springs and shit to take the weight of a rifle (or other stuff, it's like a lockable armrest) off your hand and put it on your back. I find those real interesting. Power supply is going to be a problem for true exoskeletons for a while yet.
Powered Exoskeletons are bad, dumb, impractical and unnecessary. The Russians have proven that passive Exoskeletons are all that are needed with their EO-2 Model. You know why DOD has been fucking around with Exoskeletons since mid-GWOT and have made around zero progress? Because the stupid motherfuckers INSIST on a powered exoskeleton, going so far as to seriously consider a design powered by a small combustion engine.