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please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . february 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message metal storm limited type public traded as asx mst industry defense fate voluntary administration founded 1994 headquarters brisbane australia key people terence james o dwyer chairman 1 website http www.metalstorm.com metal storm limited was a research and development company based in brisbane australia that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology invented by j. mike o dwyer . 2 3 4 the metal storm name applied to both the company and technology . contents 1 technology 2 products 3 history 4 personnel 5 see also 6 references 7 external links technology edit metal storm used the concept of superposed load ; multiple projectiles loaded nose to tail in a single gun barrel with propellant packed between them . the roman candle a traditional firework design employs the same basic concept however the propellant continues to burn in the roman candle s barrel igniting the charge behind the subsequent projectile . the process is repeated by each charge in turn ensuring that all projectiles in the barrel are discharged sequentially from the single ignition . various methods of separately firing each propellant package behind stacked projectiles have been proposed which would allow a shoot on demand capability more suitable to firearms . 5 j. mike o dwyer an australian inventor observed that these methods did not eliminate the problem of unintended propellant ignition caused by highly pressurized hot gases leaking past the remaining projectiles in the barrel blow by and igniting their charges . j. mike o dwyer s original metal storm patents demonstrated a method whereby projectiles placed in series along the length of a barrel could be fired sequentially and selectively without the danger associated with unintended propellant ignition . in the original metal storm patents the propellant immediately behind the projectile closest to the muzzle of the gun barrel was ignited by an electronically fired primer the projectile was set in motion and at the same time a reactive force acted on the remaining stacked projectiles in the barrel pushing them backwards . by design the remaining projectiles would distort under this load expanding radially against the gun barrel wall . this created a seal obturation which prevented the hot propellant gases expanding behind the lead projectile from leaking past them and prematurely igniting the remaining propellant charges in the barrel . as each of these propellant charges was selectively electronically ignited the force unlocked the projectile in front and propelled it down the gun barrel and reinforced the radial expansion and hence the seal between the projectiles remaining in the barrel and the barrel wall . 6 subsequent designs discarded the distorting shell sealing against the barrel concept in favor of containing the propellant in skirts that form the rear part of each projectile . these skirted projectiles differ from conventional shells and cartridge units in that the skirts are part of the projectile and in that the skirts are open ended at the rear . the rearward seal to the skirt is provided by the nose of the following projectile in the barrel . as in the previous design the firing of a projectile results in a rearward impulse on the remaining projectiles stacked in the barrel . this results in the skirts of the remaining shells in the barrel being compressed against the following shell heads effectively creating a seal that prevents hot gases in the barrel triggering unintended propellant ignition blow by along the length of the barrel . metal storm also introduced inductive electronic ignition of the propellant effectively from outside the barrel . citation needed products edit a minigun with a belt of separate firing chambers also exists . 7 the multi shot accessory under barrel launcher maul is an electronically fired 12 gauge shotgun for use as an accessory weapon to a range of weapons such as the m4 or m16 rifle or as a stand alone 5 shot weapon providing a range of lethal buckshot and slug and non lethal blunt impact door breaching and frangible munitions all preloaded in 5 round stacked projectiles munition tubes . metal storm reported 8 the first shoulder firing of the maul during tests on 24 april 2009 at its test facilities in chantilly virginia . metal storm has created a 36 barreled stacked projectile volley gun boasting the highest rate of fire in the world . the prototype array demonstrated a firing rate of just over 1 million rounds per minute for a 180 round burst of 0.01 seconds 27 777 rpm barrel . firing within 0.1 seconds from up to 1600 barrels at maximum configuration the gun claimed a maximum rate of fire of 1.62 million rpm and creating a dense wall 0.1 m between followup projectiles of 24 000 projectiles . 9 10 11 the 3gl is a semi automatic grenade launcher firing individually loaded grenades with up to 3 rounds being able to be loaded and fired semi automatically . it can be attached to weapons via ris rails or to a stand alone folding stock . 11 history edit sometime in 1983 mike o dwyer sold his trade business in order to work on metal storm . 9 in june 1997 the first 36 barrel prototype was unveiled . 9 11 in 2000 chinese agents approached michael o dwyer and offered him us 100m to go to china to develop the technology . 12 13 o dwyer refused and informed the australian government of the approach . since then a chinese company have developed technology which and calls their military development programme metal storm . 14 15 source needs translation in june 2003 metal storm entered into an agreement to provide technology to thunderstorm firefighting pty ltd to help develop a civilian application of its technology to help with bush fire fighting activities . on 27 june 2003 metal storm received funding from the american military . 16 in 2005 o dwyer left the company with a 500 000 payout and an intention to sell half his stake then valued at 43m but he could not find a buyer . 11 17 on 19 november 2007 it was announced that the us navy was buying metal storm grenade barrels . 11 in august 2010 metal storm signed a contract with a value of us 3 365 000 with papua new guinea s correctional services minister tony aimo to supply 500 mauls and 10 000 less lethal barrels for use by correctional services officers . 18 metal storm requested their shares be suspended from trading on 20 july 2012 . 19 as of 26 july 2012 update the company has been placed in voluntary administration . 19 in late 2015 defendtex an australian based defence r & d company acquired the intellectual property trademarks and other assets of metal storm with a view to the continued development and commercialisation of the technology . 20 personnel edit the company s directors were terence james o dwyer director since 30 march 1998 chairman since september 2005 lee john finniear phd managing director since 24 may 2007 & ceo since 19 february 2007 john r. nicholls director since 1 september 2006 trevor william tappenden director since 1 july 2008 william henkel director since 2 november 2010 see also edit close in weapon system list of modern armament manufacturers list of multiple barrel firearms nordenfelt gun advanced individual combat weapon references edit metal storm limited resolutions passed at annual general meeting . business wire . 21 may 2004 . retrieved 13 february 2007 . dead link metal storm weapons . popular mechanics . hearst corporation . retrieved 22 january 2012 . through his company metal storm ltd. the australian inventor hopes to apply this technology to a variety of military and commercial products worldwide . https www.youtube.com watch v wklnmwuczso & nohtml5 false https www.youtube.com watch v zfjgboyd2ek & ebc anypxkognr0ouezemmnfjnqxiymgeoxjqyxrrs3j7vpkmnaragyjowrvjp4xe vhdpklvnnvpsh mhwdwx78ytst pgtso1edq & nohtml5 false for example scott in 1902 and broyles in 1974 drollette dan april 1999 . taking ballistics by storm an electronic gun with no mechanical parts fires a million rounds per minute . scientific american . nature america inc. retrieved 3 august 2010 . belt fed machine gun pdf . retrieved 23 december 2014 . metal storm completes first shoulder firing of maul shotgun ibt 30 april 2009 accessed 10 may 2009 a b c infernalischer kasten der spiegel 41 1997 1997 nr . 41 p. 218 10 june 1997 gourley scott september 2001 . metal storm weapons . popular mechanics . hearst communications . a b c d e us navy buys metal storm grenade gasm gun lewis page the register 19 november 2007 http www.theaustralian.com.au news nation gun inventor offered us100m by china story e6frg6nf 1111112288436 china s desire for inventor s gun just tip of iceberg . retrieved 23 december 2014 . the application of metal storm system to close in defense fire control and command control 2007 06 . retrieved 23 december 2014 . . retrieved 23 december 2014 . gun whips up a metal storm geoff hiscock cnn.com 27 june 2003 metal storm win multi million contract . the australian . sydney fairfax media . 27 july 2012 . retrieved 30 april 2014 . metal storm win multi million contract . the sydney morning herald . sydney fairfax media . 3 august 2010 . retrieved 3 august 2010 . a b staff 26 july 2012 . metal storm up for sale . the australian . aap . retrieved 27 july 2012 . defendtex acquires metalstorm assets defendtex press release 12 august 2015 . retrieved 2 january 2016 external links edit metal storm has fired last shot theaustralian.com.au official website transcript of interview with mike o dwyer and others in 2000 abc metal storm 36 barrel prototype test firing maul and 3gl on defense update metal storm patents at the european patent office metal storm patents at the us patent office metal storm patents at the australian patent office defendtex v t e multiple barrel firearms handguns arsenal firearms af2011a1 bayl 1879 cobray pocket pal cop 357 derringer garrucha henrion dassy & heuschen revolver howdah pistol flintlock lancaster pistol lemat revolver mossberg brownie msp pepperbox revolver s4m tkb 506 rifles 80.002 advanced individual combat weapon double rifle nock objective individual combat weapon special purpose individual weapon springfield armory salvo paradox gun s & t daewoo k11 tkb 059 xm29 oicw shotguns colt defender mark i double barreled shotgun paradox gun famars rombo winchester liberator combination guns m6 aircrew survival weapon m30 luftwaffe drilling marble game getter tp 82 submachine guns flieger doppelpistole 1919 villar perosa aircraft submachine gun machine guns bira gun caldwell machine gun gardner gun gast gun fyodorov shpagin model 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