Shooting whirlwinds. Vortex ring gun
One of the most recognizable features of the caricature bourgeoisie is the smoking of cigars followed by the release of smoke rings from the mouth. Apparently, this procedure should demonstrate how much free time and cigars a character has in order to practice doing this. In general, smoke rings can, with some stretch, be recognized as a sign of idleness. Who would have thought that people would try to make this very sign of idleness useful and put it into practice? And yet it happened.
It all started with the fact that the Directorate for non-lethal arms The US Marine Corps wanted to get some kind of non-lethal weapon that could be quickly installed on a vehicle instead of the standard Mk19 automatic grenade launcher. Quite a strange decision, but for the middle 90-x, when this all happened, it was not so incomprehensible. Among others, the ARL laboratory received an offer to participate in the competition, which eventually made the most unusual sample. The fact is that other design organizations have decided to go the beaten track - rubber bullets, gas grenades and other representatives of the non-lethal arsenal, which no one will be surprised for a long time. The ARL, in turn, did not begin to develop the existing directions and went their own way, delving into aerodynamics.
Probably, at first, ARL also wanted to make gas weapons, but over time, the shortcomings of the existing systems of such action surfaced. For example, it is impossible to send a stream of gas or liquid beyond a certain distance - it will simply collapse into separate drops when exposed to air. Gas grenades are commonly used to deliver tear gas and other similar chemicals over a considerable distance. However, they create a larger cloud, which may be unacceptable for some operations when it is necessary to “hit” a small target. It was necessary to look for an alternative version of a gas dispenser or aerosol.
After a series of experiments, the option of vortex spraying was chosen as the most simple and reliable in 1998. To put it simply, a small amount of a damaging substance is ejected from a special nozzle, which, under the action of a stream that ejects it, collapses into a toroidal vortex and flies towards the target in this form. For the method of delivering the chemical to the target, the new system was called the “vortex ring gun” (Vortex ring Gun - VRG). The advantages of this scheme over the existing ones were obvious:
- ease of manufacture. As a pressure generator, you can use any suitable mechanism. For example, the ARL built the first copy of the gun on the vortex rings based on a simple motorcycle engine. Impulsively moving exhaust gas was taken directly from its exhaust pipe;
- ease of use. A cylinder with a damaging substance is attached to the intake device of the finished gun, the engine is started and the shelling can be started;
- fighting qualities. Due to the nature of its work, VRG can send tear smoke rings with much greater accuracy than simple jet nebulizers or smoke grenades.
To control the fire behind the "barrel" of the gun there was a special ring sprayer with many small holes. When the trigger was pressed, the valve of the chemical tank opened and the latter through the sprayer was fed into the exhaust stream from the motorcycle engine. There thin streams broke into drops and, mixing with exhaust gases, moved to the target chosen by the shooter.
Experiments on the first "artisanal" copy of the VRG proved that such a system has the right to life. However, the customer did not like the miracle weapon on the petrol course. With all its advantages, the gun on the vortex rings weakly fit into the original task. In addition, the leadership of the Marine Corps eventually wanted to see something that does not require dismantling an automatic grenade launcher. ARL designers had to get to work again. As a result of the latest research, a special kit appeared for turning an automatic grenade launcher into a cannon on vortex rings. To do this, the tape Mk 19 was filled with blank shots, and a special unit was inserted into the barrel. Inside this nozzle (or perhaps a fit, because it was inserted into the barrel?) There was a channel of the same configuration as on the first copy of the VRG, as well as a spray dispensing system. Two variants of chemical supply of chemicals were considered: one meant placing gas or liquid directly inside the receiver, and the other - feeding from a separate cylinder through a hose. The rest of the principle of action of the modernized grenade launcher corresponded to the first VRG, of course, adjusted for the design. The powder gases, passing through the nozzle, carried the sprayed chemical behind them, and formed a vortex ring, which moved towards the target. Due to the configuration of the nozzle installed in the barrel, the return from idle shots was sufficient for the operation of the Mk 19 automation.
And yet the customer did not accept this version of VRG either. That project was closed, and research on the topic of vortex ring shooting continued in other laboratories. At the moment, American scientists from several scientific organizations, experimenting with the configuration of the nozzles, the speed of the ejection flow and the parameters of the ejected substance, have achieved some success. So, modern experimental VRGs can send a vortex ring with a diameter up to 2-2,5 inches (5-6,5 centimeters) at speeds up to 150 meters per second. In the future, it is planned to create even a handgun operating on this principle. However, the whole thing is a very remote perspective. There is no time limit above American developers, so they have time to significantly improve existing VRG types and create new ones. And the gunsmiths of other countries have enough time to catch up and catch up with the Americans.
It all started with the fact that the Directorate for non-lethal arms The US Marine Corps wanted to get some kind of non-lethal weapon that could be quickly installed on a vehicle instead of the standard Mk19 automatic grenade launcher. Quite a strange decision, but for the middle 90-x, when this all happened, it was not so incomprehensible. Among others, the ARL laboratory received an offer to participate in the competition, which eventually made the most unusual sample. The fact is that other design organizations have decided to go the beaten track - rubber bullets, gas grenades and other representatives of the non-lethal arsenal, which no one will be surprised for a long time. The ARL, in turn, did not begin to develop the existing directions and went their own way, delving into aerodynamics.
Probably, at first, ARL also wanted to make gas weapons, but over time, the shortcomings of the existing systems of such action surfaced. For example, it is impossible to send a stream of gas or liquid beyond a certain distance - it will simply collapse into separate drops when exposed to air. Gas grenades are commonly used to deliver tear gas and other similar chemicals over a considerable distance. However, they create a larger cloud, which may be unacceptable for some operations when it is necessary to “hit” a small target. It was necessary to look for an alternative version of a gas dispenser or aerosol.
After a series of experiments, the option of vortex spraying was chosen as the most simple and reliable in 1998. To put it simply, a small amount of a damaging substance is ejected from a special nozzle, which, under the action of a stream that ejects it, collapses into a toroidal vortex and flies towards the target in this form. For the method of delivering the chemical to the target, the new system was called the “vortex ring gun” (Vortex ring Gun - VRG). The advantages of this scheme over the existing ones were obvious:
- ease of manufacture. As a pressure generator, you can use any suitable mechanism. For example, the ARL built the first copy of the gun on the vortex rings based on a simple motorcycle engine. Impulsively moving exhaust gas was taken directly from its exhaust pipe;
- ease of use. A cylinder with a damaging substance is attached to the intake device of the finished gun, the engine is started and the shelling can be started;
- fighting qualities. Due to the nature of its work, VRG can send tear smoke rings with much greater accuracy than simple jet nebulizers or smoke grenades.
To control the fire behind the "barrel" of the gun there was a special ring sprayer with many small holes. When the trigger was pressed, the valve of the chemical tank opened and the latter through the sprayer was fed into the exhaust stream from the motorcycle engine. There thin streams broke into drops and, mixing with exhaust gases, moved to the target chosen by the shooter.
Experiments on the first "artisanal" copy of the VRG proved that such a system has the right to life. However, the customer did not like the miracle weapon on the petrol course. With all its advantages, the gun on the vortex rings weakly fit into the original task. In addition, the leadership of the Marine Corps eventually wanted to see something that does not require dismantling an automatic grenade launcher. ARL designers had to get to work again. As a result of the latest research, a special kit appeared for turning an automatic grenade launcher into a cannon on vortex rings. To do this, the tape Mk 19 was filled with blank shots, and a special unit was inserted into the barrel. Inside this nozzle (or perhaps a fit, because it was inserted into the barrel?) There was a channel of the same configuration as on the first copy of the VRG, as well as a spray dispensing system. Two variants of chemical supply of chemicals were considered: one meant placing gas or liquid directly inside the receiver, and the other - feeding from a separate cylinder through a hose. The rest of the principle of action of the modernized grenade launcher corresponded to the first VRG, of course, adjusted for the design. The powder gases, passing through the nozzle, carried the sprayed chemical behind them, and formed a vortex ring, which moved towards the target. Due to the configuration of the nozzle installed in the barrel, the return from idle shots was sufficient for the operation of the Mk 19 automation.
And yet the customer did not accept this version of VRG either. That project was closed, and research on the topic of vortex ring shooting continued in other laboratories. At the moment, American scientists from several scientific organizations, experimenting with the configuration of the nozzles, the speed of the ejection flow and the parameters of the ejected substance, have achieved some success. So, modern experimental VRGs can send a vortex ring with a diameter up to 2-2,5 inches (5-6,5 centimeters) at speeds up to 150 meters per second. In the future, it is planned to create even a handgun operating on this principle. However, the whole thing is a very remote perspective. There is no time limit above American developers, so they have time to significantly improve existing VRG types and create new ones. And the gunsmiths of other countries have enough time to catch up and catch up with the Americans.
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