Advanced Individual Combat Weapon

The Advanced Infantry Combat Weapon (AICW) was a prototype assault rifle developed in Australia. The AICW combined a standard 5.56 mm assault rifle based on the successful Steyr AUG platform with a superposed load grenade launcher developed by Metal Storm.

History

The AICW was developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in alliance with Metal Storm and Tenix Defence Systems, receiving funding primarily through the Australian Government's Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) program.

The AICW aimed to provide the infantry soldier with the ability to fire multiple grenades without having to reload, and to switch between 5.56 mm ballistic rounds and 40 mm grenades without changing sights, trigger or stance, giving the operator more versatility and reduced reaction times in combat.

AICW, with its stacked round grenade launcher, did not require conventional mechanical loading. This made the weapon more compact and potentially far lighter, though this potential does not appear to have transferred to reality since the loaded weapon was heavier than the XM29 OICW.

Development of the weapon ceased following the successful demonstration of the technology and the completion of the CTD program.

See also

• List of bullpup firearms
• List of assault rifles

References

• "AICW: Australia's Revolutionary Weapon" by Abraham Gubler in DefenceToday, Volume 3, Issue 5, 2005.
• "New super-gun to be tested in Feb." by Pamela Hess, United Press International (UPI) Pentagon Correspondent, Washington, January 20, 2006.

External links

• Metal Storm homepage
• Metal Storm AICW presentation at National Defense Industrial Association conference
• Metal Storm AICW photos
• Article from world.guns.ru
• AICW brochure on Tenix Web-site, including picture
• Image of the AICW
• Space War article