REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

www.mod.gov.rs

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Material Resources Sector

Defensive Technologies Department

Military Technical Institute

www.vti.mod.gov.rs

Historical Development of Modern Small Arms Technology: Oak Ridge National Laboratory Perspective

Slobodan RajiĆ

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge TN, USA, rajics@ornl.gov

Abstract:

It can be argued that the development of modern small arms had its origins in 1944 Nazi Germany with the introduction of the StG44.  This first assault rifle was intended to replace both the bulky long-range battle rifle and the pistol caliber submachine gun with a single weapon. This idea of an intermediate caliber mated with a large ammunition capacity and full automatic capability revolutionized the individual combat weapon. For the next forty years virtually all individual weapons were directly based on this gas-operated and auto loading design, including the two most ubiquitous assault rifles of the west and east, the AR and AK platforms, respectively. Although a limited amount of research was ongoing, very few original ideas were fielded during that period.  The significant lack of advancement in small arms technology during this time was in large contrast to the exploding new capabilities of modern air forces and navies.In the 1980s it seemed that some advanced technology, available to the individual soldier, was finally being developed for actual implementation. The Heckler & Koch G11 and the Barrett Firearms 82A1 provided decidedly new technology and novel capabilities. However, even though the G11 was advanced in many ways, its high cost and final deployment near what turned out to be the end of the cold war reduced it to a mere research and development demonstration.  Although the 82A1 was adopted by the United States (US) military due to its ability to extend the individual soldiers reach from ~1,000 m to ~2,500 m, its lack of advanced lightweight materials resulted in its adoption in relatively small numbers. After another 25 years, only minor modifications to the AR and AK weapon systems have been made. The only major advancement to individual soldier weapons over many decades has been the XM25 grenade launcher, a highly sophisticated weapon and fire-control system that can change battlefield tactics.  Although very expensive, this system is the first significant advancement in small arms technology since the AR and AK platforms were first developed, about 60 and 70 years ago, respectively. Even though modern air forces would never consider using, even in their reserve inventories, platforms that were nearly 70 years old, the world’s premier armies seem resolved and destined to soon be using nearly century-old small arms technology. This lack of small arms development and implementation during the cold war is difficult to understand since this time period represented the largest arms race in the history of the world.  The typical answer given by some to explain this situation is the relatively large cost associated with regularly replacing the entire small arms portfolio. However with a present global defense budget of approximately $2T, and the US representing about 40 percent of that amount, it seems inexplicable based solely on cost. The US spends less than one percent of its research and development budget on small arms. US casualty data from recent wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, show that the probability of a US soldier expiring from a rifle bullet is much larger than that from an explosive device. If the many billions of dollars spent on detecting and defeating improvised explosive devices was justified, then the extremely small amounts spent on small arms development is particularly difficult to explain. Due to the very advanced present technological status of sensors, materials, processing power, manufacturing, and battery storage, it seems clear that a much higher level of small arms capability can easily be implemented.  At a minimum it should be a goal of a military to produce small arms that can have the projectile point-of-impact coincident with the aim-point (“zeroed”) under all condition and all times. Presently, weapons are zeroed at some known distance.  The problem is that at any other distance and environmental condition, the correct aim-point has to be estimated by the skill of the operator, a challenging task for a young and inexperienced soldier. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been developing advanced technologies related to small arms applications for many years in response to the concerns stated above. We have developed rapid manufacturing methods that can take advantage of exotic new materials and alloys.  We have also developed surface treatments that are lubricous or superhydrophobic and improve both maintenance and reliability of existing small arms. We have also been able to apply the knowledge gained during our vast history of sensor development to the small arms field and have developed a barrel deflection sensor with reticle compensation in real-time. Very recently we have developed a projectile tracking approach that can terminally track large caliber sniper bullets. Since small arms are often the weapon of choice for many terrorists, ORNL is now focusing on the development of small arms technologies that will provide soldiers with weapons that possess a large technological overmatch capability. With the new “hot war” of terrorism on the rise recently, hopefully the next 70 years will be more technologically productive in terms of small arms development compared to the cold war.