America’s friendly neighbor to the north has designed and tested a new smartgun with foreboding firepower for its military. That’s right, Canada has made a digital killing machine.
The Canadian Armed Forces’ new weapon has a special hookup for intelligent, sensory accessories, like “electro-optical sights and position sensors that connect to command and control networks.” And it’s not just a gun: There’s going to be a “platform” for all sorts of further development.
“In the medium term, this weapon concept represents a lethal, flexible general-purpose platform,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Serge Lapointe, from the Soldier Systems group in Director Land Requirements – Soldier Systems (DLR 5) of the Canadian Army. “It will be able to operate in all theatres of operations in the most complex terrain including urban areas, mountains, jungles, deserts and the Arctic.”
It shoots specialized lightweight telescoped ammunition, and you’ve also got your choice of a grenade launcher or 12-gauge shotgun as a secondary “effects module.” That’s right, you get to pick between also having a built-in shotgun or grenade launcher.
Here’s what it looks like when it fires.
This thing’s been in development since 2009, and you can read much more about its technical specifications over at the Canadian government’s Defence Research and Development page.
H/T Gizmag | Photo via Defense Research and Development of Canada