With the use of drones by Russian troops to bomb civilians in Ukraine and the incorporation of increasingly advanced missiles, one of the few the outstanding tasks of the aviation industry are the incorporation of cannons. The vast majority of fighters, for decades and including those operated by Europe, are equipped with automatic cannons with which they fire small caliber ammunition very suitable for certain scenarios that do not require the use of other effectors more sophisticated.
There are even aircraft specifically designed around this capability, such as the American A-10, which is essentially a gun with wings and shaped like a fighter. Now, in a newly released technology program, Chinese scientists claim to have developed an automatic rifle. to integrate almost any drone on boardaccording to SCMP.
The main innovation made by Chinese scientists was to achieve reduce weapon recoil to almost zero. In fact, as they describe it, the energy is similar to that exerted when pressing a key on a computer keyboard.
Automatic weapons for drones
The barrel chosen by Chinese scientists to develop this new weapon is compatible with 7.62 millimeter caliber ammunition. It is therefore a very widespread standard used in automatic rifles as popular as the Kalashnikov AK-47 and all its variants of the same family.
As they explain, the bullets from this drone weapon can go towards a speed ranging from 740 to 900 meters per second measured a distance of 10 meters from the tip of the canyon. These are equivalent specs to the aforementioned AK-47, so its firing power and range will go hand in hand.
AR-1, drone equipped with a weapon similar to that which China wants to develop
Behind the development is the team of scientists led by Professor Liu Pengzhan from the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at North China University. The objectives set by the group of experts involve the creation of a weapon that manages to maintain a certain precision and flexibility while operating aboard a drone.
Due to the physical characteristics of these aircraft, they are normally platforms designed to be as light as possible in order to maximize autonomy. However, this factor plays against the significant recoil that rifles like the AK-47 they feel when shooting, even for a soldier.
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Recoil reduction has been achieved make a hole in the back of the gun barrelthrough which the scientific team discovered that it could release the gas shock wave produced by the explosion of the gunpowder in the cartridge. The problem with drilling the barrel is that the pressure exerted inside decreases significantly and, therefore, the exit velocity of the projectile could decrease.
To cancel the slowing effect of the projectile exiting the barrel, they developed a new design with a high-strength seal at the rear of the weapon and coupled with an electromagnetic induction chip inside. This way, when the order to shoot is given, the chip ignites the explosive and launches the bullet towards the mouth of the fire.
As the pressure inside the chamber increases, breaks the membrane and escapes through the hole practiced in the cylinder. Thanks to this, they manage to significantly reduce the recoil and, at the same time, the projectile maintains a high initial speed.
As the researchers point out, the structure of The weapon is simple and the manufacturing cost is low.. They simply install a coil in the barrel of the gun to detonate the chip and protect it with a ceramic layer resistant to high temperatures and pressures.
AR-1, drone equipped with a machine gun similar to the one China wants to use
Investigations and results are collected paper published in the academic journal Acta Armamentarii. In this document they detail that this new cannon was subjected to “multiple tests which confirmed the effectiveness of the design”. The rifle hung in the air while firing and achieved a recoil of 1.8 centimeters. This is a virtually insignificant movement, especially when there is no place to lean on – like a human's shoulder – to counter the force.
In 2016, China promoted a proposal to the UN to ban the conversion of drones into deadly weaponsthus becoming the first of the 5 permanent members of the institution's Security Council to make such a suggestion. Beijing insisted again in 2021, confronting the United States and Russia. Since then, a good part of its industry has developed this type of platform with increasingly greater attack capabilities.
Armed robot dog
The research carried out for the incorporation of the automatic weapon into the drone also has a application to robot dogs with which China already has it in his arsenal. It is a robot similar in appearance to that of Boston Dynamics, although designed, developed and manufactured in the east of the country.
“It can serve as a new member in our urban combat operations, replacing our (human) members to carry out operations.” recognition and identification of (the) enemy and attack on the objective“, according to a soldier identified as Chen Wei, in a video broadcast on state channel. Video surveillance.
This is the robot dog equipped with guns that China is using
In the video shared on the Chinese media's YouTube channel you can see this robot dog with an automatic rifle mounted on its back and during the two minutes you can see it from walking to jump, lie down and step back under the control of a remote operator. With the incorporation of the new gun, the system could significantly improve firing accuracy.
In one of the exercises carried out in May of the same year, the robot dog shoot a rifle and lead an infantry unit in a simulated building. A machine which “weighs around 50 kilograms and is capable of advancing quickly under the control of an operator”, according to the Chinese military.
