Metal Storm Robot Will Demostrate Urban Warfare Capabilites For DARPA

The project design plan includes provision for the integration of Metal Storm weapons with sensors and targeting capabilities to allow the UGVs to act as the eyes and ears of the combat force when operating in hostile urban areas.
Arlington VA (SPX) Dec 22, 2004
Metal Storm announced today that DARPA, the central research and development organization for the US Department of Defense, has selected the company's proposal titled 'Metal Storm Weapons for Urban Environments' for a contract award, subject to successful completion of contract negotiations.

This DARPA project is designed to provide a feasibility demonstration of a Metal Storm weapon mounted on an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) in direct support of troops in military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) scenarios.

The project design plan includes provision for the integration of Metal Storm weapons with sensors and targeting capabilities to allow the UGVs to act as the eyes and ears of the combat force when operating in hostile urban areas.

Ian Gillespie, Metal Storm's Acting Chief Executive Officer, said, "This proposal selection underlines the value to our company of the significant engineering and technical effort that we have built up this year. We are very pleased to have our technology proposal selected by DARPA in support of their effort to provide revolutionary war-fighting improvements for the urban environment.

"One of Metal Storm's primary technical and commercial objectives is to develop low pressure weapon products for use on unmanned vehicles. Selection in this project will further advance the significant technical progress we have already made towards weaponizing unmanned ground and air vehicles," he said.

"We are already underway with our planning for this DARPA project and propose to initiate discussions shortly with major defense contractors in relation to the provision of supporting integration packages which complement our capabilities", said Mr Gillespie.

The project contract details will be negotiated with DARPA shortly. It is expected that the initial feasibility demonstration will be completed inside the next 12 months.

Metal Storm Limited is a defense technology company, employing 60 staff, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia and incorporated in the US, with an office in Washington DC and a defense engineering capability located in Seattle, operating as ProCam Machine LLC. The Company has invented 100% electronic ballistics technology that has no known conventional equivalent. Metal Storm is working with government agencies and departments, and the defence industry to develop a variety of systems utilizing the Metal Storm non-mechanical, electronically fired stacked ammunition system.