Is a so-called "underloading" situation possible, when a soldier will try to charge a cartridge without opening the barrels' bolts? Theoretically yes, but only theoretically. And then only on this "test sample". The fact is that on a real rifle it is quite possible to install a certain simplest mechanical fuse, which simply will not allow the cartridge to be inserted into the receiver, if the barrels are not open. But even on this sample, where there is no such fuse, such "undercharging", the situation when the cartridges do not enter the barrels to the very end, is not dangerous. The fact is that the electronic control microchip will immediately determine that the charges are not in place, and will "raise the alarm", turn on the buzzer or give some noticeable signal. And the soldier, seeing his mistake, will be able to reload the rifle. That is, open the shutter, insert the second cartridge into the receiver and with the second batch of charges "push" the first one to the very end.
Of course, creating mock-ups of weapons at home, one might say, "on the knee", it is simply impossible to avoid certain … well, let's just say … "half-witted". For example, in this photo you can see that a kind of protruding plate with a disk is installed in front of the electronic unit. The same disc is also on the cover of the "mobile phone". And if you look at the block itself, then … it is not on it. So he must be on the opposite side … but he is not there. Why? Because both of these disks are magnets, and they are needed to fix the screen in the open state! Well, it is impossible to make a strong fastener from ordinary 2-3 mm polystyrene, and the purchased hinges from the Leonardo store, alas, turned out to be too … "flimsy". That is why I had to put a "magnetic mount" on at least one side. Naturally, this bar will not be on a real rifle!
The barrels are designed to accommodate three cartridges one after the other, so that in this case nothing dangerous will happen.
Another advantage of this design is that the rifle does not need to be cleaned. That is, of course, you will have to clean it, but not in the same way as now. Since powder soot forms in it only in the barrels and on the gates, it will be possible to clean them without the help of a ramrod, but simply pouring some suitable cleaning agent inside. Filled in, "poured" a little and poured - that's all the cleaning! And all the mechanical parts of the rifle mechanism do not have to be cleaned. They are reliably sheltered from dust. You will not need to lubricate them often. That is, one day, of course, it will have to be done, but not more than twice a year - before summer and before winter, when summer grease will need to be changed to winter grease and vice versa. That is, this rifle will be the easiest … to rinse it periodically, and you will no longer need to fiddle with a ramrod, brushes and rubbers.
There it is, a hinge for a brass box, visible between the lid and the base. But, alas, it turned out that these "crafts" do not differ in rigidity and strength. And to attach something more durable, iron to thin polystyrene is at least unreasonable … By the way, there is nothing in this model: plastic pipes, and a handle from a children's pistol (oh, I would have been like that in my childhood !!!), and polystyrene knitting needles (swivels) bent over the candle. On the other hand, many parts are made in a very modern way on a CNC machine!
As for problems with electronics or aiming systems - the same optical sight or a video camera, then, since all its parts are modular, they can be easily replaced even in the field. And what exactly should be replaced will again be prompted by the rifle control screen.
By the way, about sighting devices. There are no mechanical devices on this sample. But they are not on the British SA-80 rifle either. Rather, they are, but they are only mounted not on the body itself, but on … the SUSAT optical sight. Note that it was the SA-80 that became the first army rifle on which a permanent sniper scope was installed. The abbreviation SUSAT stands for Sight Unit, Small Arms, Trilux - that is, a sighting device for small caliber weapons with Trilux lighting. This device has a 4x magnification and is equipped with a rubber eyecup. When aiming, the shooter sees a reticle in the form of a vertical arrow in the eyepiece. It is black during the day, but glows in conditions when the illumination is insufficient. Illumination is provided by a special built-in source with radioactive luminescence - a "trilux" lamp.
Monitor screen of the electronic control unit in the firing position.
Thanks to such a sight, you can learn to shoot accurately much faster than on any other. Sight adjustment is very simple. It is adjustable horizontally and vertically, in addition, it provides a backlight level adjustment and … that's it! Well, and if in battle it fails for some reason, then in this case the simplest open sight is located on top of it.
On this rifle, it can also be placed, say, on top of the same optical sight. However, the presence of a rifle control screen on the rifle - in fact, an analogue of any modern camera - allows the shooter from it not even to look into the optical sight available on it. So even today, not every photographer looks through the camera's sight, preferring to observe the "picture" he is filming on its screen.
On the screen of the rifle, you see not one arrow, like the British, but three, but this is not at all important. With them, if the rifle is sighted correctly, the bullet will hit exactly where the arrow point points. In this case, it will be the point between the three arrows, that's all. In the upper right corner, the percentage of the battery capacity is indicated, in the lower - the ammunition present in the barrels. At the top left there is a mark - the letters "ГР" - "grenade launcher". It must be touched, and the microchip will switch the screen to firing from an under-barrel grenade launcher and, accordingly, change the sight on it. Since the grenade fuse is programmable, the detonation options will also be displayed on the screen. This is a "blow" and an air blast at a certain distance - 50, 100, 150, 200 m, etc. If the grenade is shrapnel, then the screen will display the inscription "shrapnel" and again the numbers of its detonation in the air - 25, 50, 75, 100, 125 m, etc. The letter "Z" stands for "Volley", that is, a simultaneous shot from all barrels at once. Such a shot can be used when firing at a group target at a great distance.
Here it is - the picture that the shooter from the EVSh-18 will see on the monitor of the electronic control unit of his rifle. Moreover, judging by the position of the sight marks, the bullet will hit this subject in the helmet straight in the nose!
The aiming mark itself does not move across the screen, but the microchip, depending on which object the sight is focused on, “selects” from the barrels for a shot the one that is aimed at it most accurately. There is another option: all the barrels are fixed in the body so that they look at one point at a distance of, say, 600 or 1000 m.
Since the sight has a video camera, the image from it and the sight is transmitted to the display of the unit commander. That is, he sees in real time what each of his fighters sees, sees who chooses which targets and, accordingly, sees which of them is where on the general map. Having at his disposal also a drone hovering over the battlefield, he can easily control everything that happens on it. Move soldiers like pawns, depending on the most optimal angles of the target and reciprocal fire assistance from the enemy forces. Even corrections for the wind in the sights of the shooters, receiving data from his portable weather station, he can enter automatically and without even informing them about it. However, such an operation can be carried out by a special computer that constantly receives data from the meteorological station about air pressure, temperature, direction and strength of the wind. Knowing the location of each of the unit's fighters, he will be able to automatically give them optimal aiming data, so that they will only have to point the crosshair at the target and pull the trigger. And thinking about what kind of wind is blowing there and what kind of lead a soldier should take with such a rifle is not at all necessary!
It is very convenient to provide such external information support in cases where soldiers are inside armored vehicles. Now loopholes on infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers are usually drowned out and the infantry inside cannot engage in firefighting. It's a pity, because this also increases the impact of the machine on the enemy. But having an external video camera (and not even one) and an onboard processor, it will be possible to give each fighter on the BMP his own "picture" of the desired target, and that one, without even looking into his own sight (and this allows you to reduce the size of the loophole for the rifle barrel!) leading a successful fire from the car.
It is not necessary to have an IR sight on every rifle. A few night guidance devices on an infantry fighting vehicle or armored personnel carrier, connected to an on-board computer, are enough for it to transmit a "picture" to the control units of the soldiers inside them and thereby ensure that they can fire with an accuracy unattainable by individual infrared detection means. These are the advantages that electronic control of such a rifle can give.
The spare electronic unit can be stored in a completely sealed metal container.
True, there remains the problem of the impact of EMP - the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear explosion. The consequences of its impact can indeed be very serious. For example, it seems that it is known that an explosion at an altitude of 300 km of just one ammunition with a capacity of 10 Mt will disrupt the operation of electronic equipment in an area equal to approximately the entire territory of the United States, and the time for its restoration will exceed all the permissible terms for the adoption of any response measures. Therefore, wherever there is electronics, and not electrovacuum devices - these are not too susceptible to EMP (well, who would have thought ?!), and semiconductor, they try to provide it with appropriate protection. However, there is much more electronics on ships, but they are being built, there is a lot of it on tanks and other military equipment, which no one refuses. So the electronics may well be on the rifle. Well, as for protection against EMP, the best means of protection against it would be … a spare electronic unit, placed in a package of fine copper wire sewn into a leather case. By the way, the same mesh will need to be inserted into the plastic of the rifle body in the area of the microwave emitter inside the barrel block connected to the control unit on the body. After all, each warhead is set on fire in the table by a signal received from the electronic control system through a touch trigger. For this, “devices” are needed that can work without batteries solely due to the energy transmitted to them through radiation.
