China’s Metal Storm Poised to Shred Hypersonics

Machine gun aims to revolutionize defense, surpassing traditional systems in speed but facing range and efficacy limits

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Asia-Pacific Research, January 09, 2025
Asia Times 7 January 2025
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China has unveiled a hyper-fast machine gun that could revolutionize defense against hypersonic missiles, posing a bold challenge to conventional missile defense systems.

This month, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Chinese scientists are developing a groundbreaking machine gun, dubbed the “Metal Storm,” capable of firing bullets at an unprecedented rate of 450,000 rounds per minute per barrel.

SCMP notes that the weapon, which could become the most powerful machine gun in history, features five or more barrels and is designed to intercept hypersonic missiles traveling at speeds exceeding Mach 7.

According to the report, the project, led by Lu Xutao, an associate professor at the North University of China, employs a novel box-type rotary firing technology with replaceable magazines filled with disposable barrels. This innovation addresses the challenge of refilling ammunition for a weapon that consumes millions of bullets per minute. The electronic trigger system, developed by Lu’s team, uses coils to create a high-energy metal jet that ignites the explosive, achieving a firing time of just 17.5 microseconds.

SCMP mentions that Australian inventor Mike O’Dwyer proposed the Metal Storm concept in the 1990s, but his company declared bankruptcy in 2012. It says that China’s continued investment in this technology aims to surpass the Western prototype by at least ten times in firing rate, making it essential for defending territorial waters and airspace in future conflicts.

Gun-based defenses such as China’s “Metal Storm” have a key advantage over missile defense systems in the sense that they have faster reaction times – they can begin firing almost instantaneously at an incoming threat’s general direction, in contrast to missile-based defenses that take time to detect, identify, track, and engage targets.

However, unlike missile defense systems, gun-based defenses have a very short range – just 5 to 9 kilometers in the case of the US Navy’s Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS), limiting their use to point defense scenarios.

Click here to read the full article on Asia Times.

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Featured image: The machine gun’s rapid fire can stop missiles traveling faster than Mach 7. Representational image: We Are the Mighty (Source: Asia Times)

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