Posted by Courtney E. Howard

BRISBANE, Australia, 12 March 2010. Metal Storm, a manufacturer of projectile launching systems in Brisbane, Australia, demonstrated a FireStorm 40-millimeter, 4-barrel, 24-shot remote weapons system mounted to an iRobot 710 Warrior unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) in a crowd control and road-clearing demonstration at China Lake Naval Weapons Center, Calif.

This site, in California's Mojave Desert, was chosen to provide a realistic environment for the demonstrations. With temperatures reaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit, its hot, dry, dusty environment is similar to that encountered in Afghanistan, providing a harsh but realistic field-test for equipment.

The trial culminated in Metal Storm's FireStorm producing a series of live-fire volleys in semi-automatic fire modes. The less-lethal, frangible nose ammunition delivered both blunt force trauma and a simulated irritant accurately to each target.

Metal Storm Limited CEO Dr. Lee Finniear lauded the iRobot team for the outcome: "Our work with iRobot since 2007 has been very productive for Metal Storm, as it has allowed us to demonstrate FireStorm as a complete system solution. The companies have worked well together over the past two years, and we are proud to have worked with them once again on this exciting project."

Metal Storm's weapon technology uses computer-controlled electronic ignition and a system of stacked projectiles to achieve a non-mechanical gun that is lightweight and compact, providing a very high firepower-to-weight ratio. The Metal Storm weapons system utilizes multiple barrels mounted together on one platform, which allows varying munition types to be deployed in a single, low-cost, lightweight weapon system. Firing the weapons by electronic ignition requires no moving parts, enabling reliable, long-term unattended weapon operation.

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