Found this;The Arbalest........wierd.....

[Army of One]

......but kinda cool looking.......

http://www.architectswanderlust.com/?p=16

If its in the wrong place....could a mod/admin please put it in the right place.....?

many thanks...........H

[Maverick]

Certainly a different find Hank.  Whether it can do everything the designer says it can is up for contention, but the one thing I was surprised about was the 'high precision .50cal weapon' in the forward turret along with a 50cal MG. 

The MG is an odd idea, reviving Ma-Deuce to be more than just an accessory to modern vehicles or CSAR helos.  Surprising when you see the amount of different guns / cannons out there.

The weirdest thing tho is this 'high precision' weapon.  Are they seriously talking about a turretted anti-materiel rifle like a Barrett?  Not to be nasty, but airborne sniping is an art form to say the very least and to suggest that it could be done from a turretted weapon in a combat environment sounds like a tall order to me.  Perhaps there's some other use, but they're linking in the thing to another UAV 'sniper system'.  After reading that one, it sounds like the usual smoke & mirrors that some like to dribble on about with technology so wonderful that a machine can be so much better than a trained soldier.

Sounds like a rant, I guess it is.  Snipers are an elite and rightly so.  To suggest that their abilities can be reduced to a few lines of code and an aircraft is to be frank, ludicrous in my opinion.

Regards,

Mav

[Army of One]

It looks like a Bronco was having fun with an apache when an A10 intervened......

I didn't take in to much of the 'info...' the idea of hitting a target from 1500m with the first round while on the ground in a comfortable firing position is I would assume very hard let alone flying while manouvering/under combat conditions.....

Not a rant at all Mav......I posted it for the pics really........

[Weaver]

Reading the link to the precision weapon tech company, it seems they've developed an algorithm that claims to be able to detect bullet impacts automatically on video, allowing a 2-shot sequence,the second being corrected by the observed impact of the first. I'd LOVE to know how many times that algorithm falls down under actual combat conditions....

Whilst I think the claims of sniper-team accuracy are exaggerated, I can see a role for a precision gun on an airborne platform, if only to reduce collateral damage and costs. However I'd be inclined to go for a very high velocity autocannon mounted vertically (with limited train) in a transport-type aircraft. The aircraft operates above the MANPADS envelope and has high magnification stabilised optics for targeting and fire correction. I also think it might be possible to measure and predict air movement at lower altitude using a low-powered laser, thus allowing met corrections to be fed in. The advantage of an autocannon over a bomb is that the high velocity reduces wind drift and target movement, and the small calibre minimises collateral damage, even if it's not a one-shot solution: half a dozen rounds at the target's feet is better than putting half a belt into the school he's standing next to.

[jcf]

Y'all do get that it is just one fellas What-If ruminations?

To quote:
"This is a project that got "knocked out" in a weekend.  Special thanks to Sketchup (Google Warehouse) and Wikipedia:  Without these resources this project would have taken much longer."

[Weaver]

True, but the site he linked to with the UAV sniper technology was a real company with a real US government research contract....

[jcf]

True, but the site he linked to with the UAV sniper technology was a real company with a real US government research contract....

Fair enough.

All respect to our machine overlords, but the UAV isn't the sniper, it's the gun. The sniper would be the operator. 

[Weaver]

True, but the site he linked to with the UAV sniper technology was a real company with a real US government research contract....

Fair enough.

All respect to our machine overlords, but the UAV isn't the sniper, it's the gun. The sniper would be the operator. 

Well, maybe not in this case. The operator wouldn't be applying any sniping skills, he'd just be designating a target, just the same as if the weapon was a smart bomb. The UAV's electronics would then do the maths, take the first shot, automatically observe the fall of shot, make ac orrection, and take the second shot.

[Hobbes]

I'm a bit surprised at the skepticism. Predicting the path of a bullet is simple physics and has been automated as far back as WW2. The only difficult variable is the wind; a really good sniper might be able to pick up clues from the ground between him and his target that allow him to better estimate wind conditions, but that's only for ground shots.
Following the bullet's impact is not trivial, but you can look for a sudden change in the target image at exactly the calculated impact time, that's the impact point.

[Weaver]

They're talking about sniper levels of accuracy, from a small, flying UAV, which can't know how gusts of air are going to affect it in the next few seconds and which will be hugely affected by recoil. They're also going to have to point it, with minute accuracy, from a moving, vibrating platform, which means the mechanism will have to be both quick and VERY precise: not a trivial matter.

If they were talking about putting a short burst in a small circle, then I'd buy it, but a precision hit with two shots? Nah.

[jcf]

They're talking about sniper levels of accuracy, from a small, flying UAV, which can't know how gusts of air are going to affect it in the next few seconds and which will be hugely affected by recoil. They're also going to have to point it, with minute accuracy, from a moving, vibrating platform, which means the mechanism will have to be both quick and VERY precise: not a trivial matter.

If they were talking about putting a short burst in a small circle, then I'd buy it, but a precision hit with two shots? Nah.

Oh ye of little faith.

[pyro-manic]

Interesting, and quite a nifty-looking thing. Not entirely convinced by the idea of sniping from a plane - I just don't think you could get a single, accurate shot away from a (comparatively) fast-moving platform that is moving in three dimensions relative to a human-sized target. IIRC heavy sniper rifles aren't tremendously accurate at long range anyway?

I think a small guided weapon would be better - a light (40mm?) laser-guided rocket, perhaps. Laser seekers have been around for decades, so they should be fairly cheap, reliable and robust, and you could carry enough weapons on a light aircraft like the Arbalest to take care of any precision shots. You don't even need an explosive payload if you're targeting people - kinetic energy would be more than enough. Range would be better than a gun as well. The 30mm chain gun is still there for hosing down anything that requires it, as are the Hellfire/Brimstone missiles.

JCF: If the Arbalest had pulse-cannons of DOOM a la the Terminator gunship, then fair enough. No wind-drift to worry about with energy weapons.

[Cobra]

Awesome,Cool,and Looks like something from 'Battletech'! Great Find,Thanks For Posting :cheers:Dan

[Army of One]

Thanks......stumbled on it while searching for images/research on the Gecal .50 multi barrel gun.......H

[arkon]

very cool looking