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The Objective Infantry
Combat Weapon (OICW) project, started at
in the final years of the 20th century for the
United State's Force XXI (Force 21) project, the
OICW attempted to update the portable firepower
of the infantryman. Combining a M16- or
G36-derived assault rifle in an underbarrel
configuration with a "light" 20mm
cannon typically firing airbursting munitions.
The most significant characteristic of the weapon
is not in the combination of weaponry, but in the
targeting and fusing system involved in the
airburst system. Both models at left show the
sophisticated laser-rangefinding and sighting
system which is used to download
distance-to-target information to the 20mm shell
prior to or during firing. Through the use of
other 20mm munitions (HEAT, HEAP, HESH, etc) the
infantryman had substantially greater
capabilities against light-armor assets such as
APCs and later, exo-suits. Unfortunately, the
weapon mass and cost significant (12kg, $12000)
prevented the wide-scale distribution as a
standard trooper weapon. The Western Free States'
have resurrected a similar design, and typically
outfit 1-2 troopers per squad with them.
20mm Munitions:
Airburst: x30, AE=3m, $20/ea
HEAT: x60, HEAT, $20/ea
HEAP: x70, HEAT, $30/ea
HEDP: x50, AE=1m, $30/ea
HESH: x50, Armor-Crushing, $30/ea |
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