By John Keller

QUANTICO MARINE BASE, Va.-Systems designers at Metal Storm Inc. in Arlington, Va., and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in Orlando, Fla., are developing prototype non-lethal weapons for U.S. Marine Corps combat vehicles under terms of research contracts awarded in late April.

General Dynamics and Metal Storm engineers are developing prototypes for the Marine Corps Mission Payload Module-Non-Lethal Weapon Systems (MPM-NLWS) to provide the Marine Corps with improved non-lethal counter-personnel capabilities.

The system is to dispense a new non-lethal munition that will incapacitate personnel through light, sound, and pressure stimuli and will provide longer range, greater area coverage, extended duration, and better scalability of effects than current non-lethal weapon systems, Marine Corps officials say.

Officials of the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., awarded a $3 million contract to General Dynamics and a $1.5 million contract to Metal Storm to develop prototype MPM-NLWS hardware over the next 18 months.

The new non-lethal weapon system will be mounted to the Marine Corps BAE Systems Transparent Armor Gun Shield (MCTAGS), which is on Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) units, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), and Logistics Vehicle Systems (LVSs).

The MCTAGS provides gunner protection that enables direct vision, situational awareness, and target acquisition while providing enhanced protection from small arms fire and fragments from roadside bombs.

Transparent Armor Gun Shields (TAGS) also are configurable for other kinds of combat vehicles, including the M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M1 Abrams main battle tank, M113 armored personnel carrier, and Stryker. TAGS is particularly effective in close-combat urban military operations.

For more information contact the Marine Corps Systems Command online at www.marcorsyscom.usmc.mil, Metal Storm at www.metalstorm.com, or General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems at www.gd-ots.com.

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