XM109 + G11 = ???

I'm not a gun hobbyist, but I

I was looking at Barrett's latest, the XM109

http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/articles/military_photos_200481522.asp

And meanwhile I was also reading about the G11

http://world.guns.ru/assault/as42-e.htm

I was amazed by how elegant and cool each of these rifles is in its own
way, and wondering why the unique design features of each couldn't be
combined together for a superior long-range anti-materiel rifle.

The sealed design of G11 afforded by its caseless ammunition also gives
the G11 a muzzle speed of over 3000fps, which is even faster than the
XM109. Obviously it's for a much lighter bullet grain, but still, it
shows that the seals for caseless make for higher muzzle velocity. This
translates into flatter bullet trajectory for improved hit probability,
over longer range, and with better kinetic impact. It also reduces the
barrel length requirement, which can help to make the rifle more
portable and more easily handled.

Why can't a long-range anti-material rifle be made that combines the
features of the XM109 with the G11? This could be an economical
alternative to the RPG or the TOW.

The complaint about anti-materiel/anti-tank rifles is that they can
only penetrate lighter armour, and even then not at range. But if
you're talking about a G11-style 3-shot burst salvo of penetrator
rounds, this could increase the penetration capability. Electric
ignition could be used to enable the extremely rapid rate of fire
within the 3-shot burst sequence.

Caseless ammo would increase the amount of ammunition you can carry,
relative to cased ammo. And one could carry far more of these rounds
than one could carry RPGs, with the cost of such rounds being far less.
And even though you couldn't fry a target like the RPG or can, you
could still disable it, and from much longer range. TOW is obviously
even longer-range, but with even greater expense. So the idea here
would be an accomodation of affordability and long range with
reasonable armor penetration.

The concern about cookoff of caseless ammo due to chamber overheating
would be mitigated by the fact that long-range sniper rifles don't have
to put out as high a volume of fire as closer-range assault rifles.
With sniping, it's carefully aimed single shots. Therefore the heat
buildup problem is much less likely to occur.

Another alternative to the G11 speediness-thru-caselessness, is the
speediness of the AN-94, which is supposed to use some kind of clever
cable-rigged loading mechanism.
This allows AN-94 to have a 2-shot burst capability which is
technically at 1800 rounds/min.
Could the XM109 alternatively be modified with AN94's 2-round burst
feature?

I was just musing about a fantasy sniper weapon, but one that was
plausible and using today's available technologies -- not some railgun
or other sci-fi vaporware. What are the inherent limitations, here?

.

Relevant Pages

  • XM109 + G11 = ???
    ... And meanwhile I was also reading about the G11 ... I was amazed by how elegant and cool each of these rifles is in its own ... this could increase the penetration capability. ... and from much longer range. ...
    (rec.guns)
  • Re: Reverse engineering of MG42 and 88mm gun
    ... I would also like to question how the Taliban or Al Qaida would "outrange" forces with the G11? ... Of course they have machine guns and sniper rifles, but so would the German forces with the G11 have... ... In Iraq urban fighting is common and in that the supremely controllable three round burst mode and easily controllable full auto mode of the G11 would excel. ... In WW2, if we forget the Fedorov automatic rifle and MP43, the ultimate personal weapon composition would have been a mix of semi-auto rifles and good 7.62x25 or 9mm Para SMGs at squad level. ...
    (soc.history.war.world-war-ii)