Exciting Things at AUSA 2012
While attending the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting, also known as AUSA, I saw many things which were pretty cool, but did not really fit into any category I normally write about on my blog. Still, because they were cool, I will post them here.
Shiny tank engines!
Bored French soldiers with 13lb FAMAS rifles!
Tactical stuffed animals!
Fast helicopters!
Men negotiating the purchase and sale of rockets!
Things that no one asked for, like tracked Strykers!
Spinning AESA radar!
Tiger stripe Colt 6720s!
Rail guns!
Missiles and rockets and guns, oh my!
Modular, extendable, low profile Colt handguards!
Sharp things!
I might go play tourist for a while after this, so you may or may not see a whole lot more exciting AUSA coverage from me. Check out Gear Scout for more stuff, though.
October 22nd, 2012 - 20:40
Ooooh! Shiney! DO WANT!
October 22nd, 2012 - 20:55
That rail gun looks different than yours.
October 23rd, 2012 - 05:25
I assume those were dummy rounds in the M240, otherwise it could have been an interesting live demonstration…
October 23rd, 2012 - 06:46
No ED-209?…
October 23rd, 2012 - 08:01
a lot of cool stuff. personally i liked the long rail on the colts. after all it’s one on the few things other than the stuffed dog i think they would let me buy or that i could afford.
October 23rd, 2012 - 09:30
I’d like to place an order for half a dozen sharp things.
October 23rd, 2012 - 09:40
Nice watermark placement on those photos; they’re quite unobtrusive and they almost look like part of the original piece on some of the pictures.
Seriously, though? A rail gun? That’s awesome. I’m kind of a fan of the tank engine and the tactical stuffed dog, too.
October 23rd, 2012 - 19:20
It’s kinda like “Where’s Waldo”, only way cooler.
Now if only your blog really owned those things…
November 8th, 2012 - 19:36
I found them all! It was like finding Waldo, except, you know….cool!
November 8th, 2012 - 19:37
Oh. No. Missed one!
October 23rd, 2012 - 10:37
“We got tactical smart missiles, phase plasma pulse rifles, RPGs. We got sonic, electronic ball breakers! We got nukes, we got knives, we got sharp sticks…!”
October 23rd, 2012 - 10:46
Thank you for the pictures. The AR’s, RPG’s are real nice.
October 23rd, 2012 - 12:07
I’ve decided that the day someone who doesn’t have to carry the POS tries to make my rifle look like that poor frenchies FAMAS I’m getting out. I’m glad to see the move towards UL even in line-units over on my side of the pond, I’m just waiting to see how the army will fuck it up.
October 23rd, 2012 - 14:43
Bahaahahah nice update on AUSA!
October 23rd, 2012 - 18:46
based on your picture captions you sure seem excited about all the products that coincidentally have your logo on them…. Hmm, I smell conspiracy.
All seriousness aside, i really want to see rail guns in the navy, as I think it would be a very effective weapon system.
October 23rd, 2012 - 19:29
rail gun please, i am tired of the throwing lead rocks and needing an explosion to do it.
October 24th, 2012 - 05:29
So, where was Tony Stark and his Iron Man suit?
October 24th, 2012 - 15:37
A tracked Stryker sounds like it could alleviate some of the vehicle’s mobility issues… But at that point, I’m not sure how it’s different than an M113.
October 24th, 2012 - 17:34
double-V hull? I think the M113 is about an 1.125″ of flat aircraft-grade aluminium armour on the hull floor (is that the term?), so it’s less mine survivable.
October 25th, 2012 - 14:38
I was not under the impression that the Stryker was a V-hulled machine.
October 25th, 2012 - 14:41
Oh, lol, it’s stamped on the side.
OK, that does seem to have legitimate merits. The biggest issue with the Stryker is that it’s wheeled. Tracks would go a long way to making it more mobile.
Whether that matters when they’re just shuffling up and down Middle Eastern highways, I dunno, but we won’t be doing that forever.
October 26th, 2012 - 18:02
Tires have advantages over tracks, in some ways. Noise being the big one; plus of course weight, fuel economy, etc.
The tracked Stryker in any case is for the AMPV program specifically to replace the 113. It makes alot of sense; the way the Stryker operates on the battlefield is more or less how the 113 was used when it still carried infantry around.
October 26th, 2012 - 20:59
I don’t recall saying that tracks were rotely better than wheels.
October 27th, 2012 - 09:21
I wasn’t saying wheels were rotely better, either. Just pointing out that mobility isn’t everything.
October 25th, 2012 - 07:16
Andrew….if you have anymore pics of that tracked stryker i think we’d all be appreciative. its a hot topic.
October 26th, 2012 - 23:01
I don’t think I do. I will ask my friends if they took any.
October 25th, 2012 - 14:39
Did they have the S-97 Raider there?
November 1st, 2012 - 08:36
“Bored French soldiers with 13lb FAMAS rifles!”
But it’s a bullpup, which counts for +10 extra awesome points on the internets, for some reason…