[urseus]

America isn't the only home of true military innovation.

www.metalstorm.com

An australian inventor pretty much single-handedly has made the next step over the traditional firearm. This is a completely electronic method of firing, which means, amongst other things, pistols that can fire the equivalent of 60,000 rounds per minute, and whose description is quite close to a Lawgiver pistol from Judge Dredd:

"Presently in the prototype stage, the seven shot single barrel O'Dwyer VLe handgun can fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, provide audible and electronic confirmation of the firing settings, and most importantly, has an in-built electronic security system to limit its use to authorised operators."

"The VLe handgun has been filmed firing a three shot burst in just 1/500th of a second, which equates to a rate of 60,000 rounds per minute.

The ability to fire such ultra-rapid bursts can place multiple rounds on the target in a very effective way. At these extreme rates of fire, even a three shot burst sounds and looks as though only a single shot has been fired, except that three impacts appear virtually simultaneously on the target."

http://www.metalstorm.com/13_techdem...ification.html

Of couse, this technology goes all the way up to multiple-barrel arrays that can fire up to a million rounds per minute, creating a "metal storm" of bullets that is perfect for intercepting missiles, as they pretty much fill a large volume of space with their projectiles.