Photo By Staff Sgt. Andy Orozco | Staff Sgt. Partridge, a crew chief with Marine Operational Test and Evaluation...... read more read more
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KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. - U.S. Marines tested the Defensive Weapon System, commonly referred to as the “belly gun” of a MV-22B Osprey at Red RIO training range near Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 6.
The Marines with Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 put the weapon through various scenarios it would face in a combat environment to see how effectively it could engage an enemy.
“We would go in for a landing and when we were [approximately 50 feet] to the ground we would [simulate being] under enemy contact,” said Jeramiah Serfling, a Crew Chief with VMX-22. “Then we practiced how fast and effectively we could engage the target firing at us.”
Serfling also said that in the instance they did come under fire, this weapons system would be better than a weapon manipulated directly by the user without aid.
“With your standard 7.62 millimeter weapon you could reach out to 1,200 meters effectively with a person doing all the work, but with this system [everything is] calculated by the computer taking into consideration things such as air speed, crosswind, and range,” said Cpl. Jeramiah Serfling, a crew chief with VMX-22.
The system isn’t entirely human dependent, having a sensor that makes the weapon more effective.
“We’ve been able to shoot this weapon as far out as 2,200 meters and hit the targets accurately,” said Serfling.
The weapons system has undergone several upgrades which increased its effectiveness, according to Staff Sgt. Edwin Partridge, a crew chief with the squadron.
“Now we have the ability to record video and there’s a video feed that relays what the shooter is seeing up to the pilots in the cockpit,” said the Michigan native.
The Marines were able to conduct a number of scenarios in which they could test the effectiveness of the system.
“The training is important to make sure we get an effective weapon with accurate data about it to the operational forces,” said Partridge. “I feel the training went great. We did what we needed to do and accomplished what we set out to accomplish.”
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2015 10:32 |
| Story ID: | 161125 |
| Location: | KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, NM, US |
| Web Views: | 877 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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