- The following article contains a link to the DREAD Weapon
System Video. This is the first time this video has ever been shown to
the public. The DREAD depicted in the video is a functional prototype that
operates on a less-than-lethal mode. This prototype was dismantled for
security purposes to protect the technology, after the making of this video.
As of this posting, DefenseReview (DefRev) is the ONLY publication in the
WORLD that has any written materials or video footage, or any information
whatsoever, for that matter, on this revolutionary new weapon system.
-
- The Weapon
-
- Imagine a gun with no recoil, no sound, no heat, no gunpowder,
no visible firing signature (muzzle flash), and no stoppages or jams of
any kind. Now imagine that this gun could fire .308 caliber and .50 caliber
metal projectiles accurately at up to 8,000 fps (feet-per-second), featured
an infinitely variable/programmable cyclic rate-of-fire (as high as 120,000
rounds-per-minute), and were capable of laying down a 360-degree field
of fire. What if you could mount this weapon on any military Humvee (HMMWV),
any helicopter/gunship, any armored personnel carrier (APC), and any other
vehicle for which the technology were applicable?
-
- That would really be something, wouldn't it? Some of
you might be wondering, "how big would it be", or "how much
would it weigh"? Others might want to know what it's ammunition capacity
would be. These are all good questions, assuming of course that a weapon
like this were actually possible.
-
- According to its inventor, not only is it possible, it's
already happened. An updated version of the weapon will be available soon.
It will arrive in the form of a...
- tactically-configured pre-production anti-personnel weapon
firing .308 caliber projectiles (accurately) at 2,500-3000 fps, at a variable/programmable
cyclic rate of 5,000-120,000 rpm (rounds-per-minute). The weapon's designer/inventor
has informed DefRev that future versions of the weapon will be capable
of achieving projectile velocities in the 5,000-8,000 fps range with no
difficulty. The technology already exists.
-
- The weapon itself is called the DREAD, or Multiple
Projectile Delivery System (MPDS), and it may just be the most revolutionary
infantry weapon system concept that DefenseReview has EVER come across.
-
- The DREAD Weapon System is the brainchild of weapons
designer/inventor Charles St. George. It will be 40 inches long, 32 inches
wide, and 3 inches high (20 inches high with the pintel swivel mount).
It will be comprised of only 30 component parts, and will have an empty
weight of only 28 pounds. That's right, 28 pounds. The weapon will be capable
of rotating 360 degrees and enjoy the same elevation and declination capabilities
of any conventional vehicle-mounted gun/weapon.
-
- The first generation DREAD (production version), derived
from the tactically-configured pre-production weapon, will most likely
be a ground vehicle-mounted anti-personnel weapon. Military Humvees (HMMWV's)
and other ground vehicles (including Chevy Suburbans) equipped with the
DREAD will enjoy magazine capacities of at least 50,000 rounds of .308
Cal., or 10,000 rounds of .50 Cal. ammo.
-
- But, what is the DREAD, really? How does it work? In
a sentence, the DREAD is an electrically-powered centrifuge weapon, or
centrifuge "gun". So, instead of using self-contained cartridges
containing powdered propellant (gunpowder), the DREAD's ammunition will
be .308 and .50 caliber round metal balls (steel, tungsten, tungsten
carbide, ceramic-coated tungsten, etc...) that will be literally spun out
of the weapon at speeds as high as 8000 fps (give or take a few hundred
feet-per-second) at rather extreme rpm's, striking their targets with overwhelming
and devastating firepower. We're talking about total target saturation,
here. All this, of course, makes the DREAD revolutionary in the literal
sense, as well as the conceptual one.
-
- According to the DREAD Advantages Sheet, "unlike
conventional weapons that deliver a bullet to the target in intervals of
about 180 feet, the DREAD's rounds will arrive only 30 thousandths of an
inch apart (1/32nd of an inch apart), thereby presenting substantially
more mass to the target in much less time than previously possible."
This mass can be delivered to the target in 10-round bursts, or the DREAD
can be programmed to deliver as many rounds as you want, per trigger-pull.
Of course, the operator can just as easily set the DREAD to fire on full-auto,
with no burst limiter. On that setting, the number of projectiles sent
down range per trigger-pull will rely on the operator's trigger control.
Even then, every round is still going right into the target. You see, the
DREAD's not just accurate, it's also recoilless. No recoil. None. So, every
"fired" round is going right where you aim it.
-
- One of the ammunition types the DREAD will be delivering
downrange is the "Collision Cluster Round", or "CCR",
that will be used to penetrate hard targets. The Collision Cluster Round
(CCR) is explained in more detail on the munitions page of the
DREAD Technology White Paper (links below). The DREAD Advantages Sheet
also lists all the other advantages that the DREAD Weapon System enjoys
over conventional firearms.
-
- And, all this from a weapon that doesn't jam. Remember
how at the beginning of the article I wrote "no stoppages or jams"?
The DREAD won't jam because, according to its inventor, it can't jam.
The DREAD's operating and feeding mechanisms simply don't allow for stoppages
or jams to occur. It thus follows that the DREAD Centrifuge Weapon will
be the most reliable metallic projectile launcher/ballistic device on the
planet. DefRev is not at liberty to publish exactly why the DREAD
can't jam, since Mr. St. George hasn't given us permission to describe
the gun's operating and feeding mechanisms in any detail.
-
- The only thing the DREAD's operator will really have
to worry about is running out of ammo, which isn't likely. Any reasonably
skilled gunner (Humvee, APC, Apache attack helicopter, etc.--doesn't matter)
should be able to avoid running through all 50,000 (or more) rounds of
.308 Cal. or 10,000 (or more) rounds of .50 Cal. ammo prematurely, especially
when he or she can dial down the DREAD's cyclic rate to 5,000 rpm or slower,
if necesssary. Even if it becomes necessary to increase the DREAD's magazine
capacity to upwards of 100,000 rounds (.308 Cal.) or 20,0000 rounds (.50
Cal.), and run the weapon all day and all night for weeks on end, this
will have absolutely no effect whatsoever (positive or negative) on the
reliability or durability of the weapon system. The DREAD is both heatless
and frictionless, and doesn't generate any high pressures. So, there's
virtually no wear and tear on the system, no matter how many rounds are
fired through it back-to-back, even if it's run constantly on full-auto
at 120,000 rpm, the whole time.
-
- Here's the kicker: because it's electrically powered
and doesn't use any powdered propellant for it's operation, the DREAD
Centrifuge Weapon is virtually silent (no sound signature), except
for the supersonic "crack" of the metal balls breaking the sound
barrier when they're launched. This makes the direction that the rounds
are coming from, and their point of origin (firing source), very difficult
for enemy forces to identify. It also allows the operator to communicate
easily with his team, or with his command structure, while he's
still firing on the enemy (with the DREAD). With the DREAD, he won't have
to fight to communicate over his own weapon's firing report. And, since
the gun doesn't generate any muzzle flash or heat (it's heatless and frictionless,
remember?), it doesn't produce any flash signature or heat signature. So,
identifying the gun itself with IR (infrared) sensors will be impossible.
The vehicle that the DREAD is mounted on is the only thing that will display
a heat signature. That leaves you with a difficult-to-detect/locate weapon
with a virtually endless suppy of ammo. Even if the DREAD-equipped vehicle
does get identified and fired upon by the enemy, the risk of a catastrophic
explosion from a bullet strike on the ammunition supply is zero, because
the DREAD's ammunition doesn't contain any propellant. There's no gunpowder
onboard to blow up. That just leaves the gas tank (vehicle's). Nothing's
foolproof.
-
- There's more. Since the DREAD/MPDS
(Multiple Projectile Delivery System) is a centrifuge weapon,
projectile velocity can be adjusted instantly back and forth between lethal
and less-lethal/non-lethal modes. This means it can be utilized just as
effectively for embassy security and peacekeeping roles. As an embassy
security weapon, the less-lethal/non lethal mode would most likely be the
way to go, in most cases. Less-lethal is usually adequate for any crowd
control or riot control situations. However, let's say the crowd starts
storming the gates, and now presents a lethal threat to the occupants inside.
Well, just pull your Marines inside, switch your remotely-operated battery
of DREAD's on over to lethal mode, and make survival above ground impossible
for anyone outside the embassy. No one gets in. Same thing goes for military
base security. Remote DREAD Centrifuge Gun Pods can be outfitted with heat
and motion sensors, and left in unmanned areas. These remote pods can be
either human-operated, or pre-programmed with both less-lethal/non-lethal
and lethal protocols that will function automatically and not even require
human operation. Mobile robotic platforms, including remote-controlled
Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicles (UGCV's), could also be outfitted with
DREAD systems. And, the list goes on. The technology application possibilities/potential
uses are virtually endless.
-
- So, what's the upshot? It's DefenseReview's opinion that,
if the DREAD Weapon System works as advertised, it will have a profound
impact on U.S. infantry warfare capabilities. It has the potential to literally
change the way we fight on the ground, and perhaps even in the air. No
question, it will revolutionize both ground and air vehicular armament
and firepower capabilities. The DREAD will have a similarly profound impact
on U.S. embassy security and military base perimeter security capabilities.
This paradigm shift in firepower isn't limited to the ground and air, either.
The DREAD's complete lack of recoil will allow it to be fired from space-based
platforms, i.e. satellites, without knocking them off of their respective
orbital paths. Zero recoil, plus 8,000 fps projectile speeds, 5,000-120,000
rpm capability, and huge on-board ammunition supplies, equals a viable
and relatively inexpensive option for satellite defense (and enemy-satellite
neutralization), and possibly even a fast-realizable armament solution/alternative
for a U.S. Space-based defense network.
-
- Look out, DREAD's comin'.
-
- leaderpropulsion@bellsouth.net
- Charles St. George, inventor of the DREAD/MPDS (Multiple
Projectile Delivery System) Centrifuge Weapon (Centrifuge Gun), can be
contacted via email at leaderpropulsion@bellsouth.net
|
