Telescoped ammunition for the 40 mm Cased Telescoped Armament System (CTAS) by CTA International
(right) 4.73×33mm telescoped and caseless ammunition, with .223 Remington cased ammunition for comparison

Telescoped ammunition is an ammunition design in which the projectile is partially or completely enveloped by the propellant. Examples include ammunition for both hand weapons and artillery. Caseless ammunition is often telescoped.

Telescoped ammunition has advantages in comparison with traditional ammunition cartridges. They can have reduced overall length with similar ballistics to a traditional round of comparable mass. Also, they may avoid the risk of damage to the projectile during the loading process, and may simplify and increase the reliability of magazines and other feed mechanisms.

The Rikhter R-23 autocannon was chambered in the 23x260mm telescoped round.[1] It took some time to develop as it remained a military secret for a long time, and was not used operationally until 1964.[2][3] It was used only in the tail turret of the Tu-22, and experimentally on the Salyut 3 space station.[4][5] A modified version of the weapon was the only cannon to have been fired in space.[6][7]

Cased telescoped ammunition for the LSAT light machine gun has reached technology readiness level 7.[8] In August 2013, AAI Corporation was awarded a $US2.05 million contract to continue developing parts of the US LSAT program. Part of the contract is to further refine 5.56mm cased telescoped ammunition, and develop 7.62mm cased telescoped cartridges.[9]

Beginning in late 2020, a polymer telescopic case based rifle designed by Textron, a US based defense contractor, was under consideration in the Next Generation Squad Weapon trials run by the United States Army.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Here's Our Best Look Yet at Russia's Secretive Space Cannon, the Only Gun Ever Fired in Space". 16 February 2021.
  2. ↑ Широкоград А.Б. (2001) История авиационного вооружения Харвест (Shirokograd A.B. (2001) Istorya aviatsionnogo vooruzhenia Harvest. ISBN 985-433-695-6) (History of aircraft armament) p. 162
  3. ↑ "The R-23M - Secret Russian Space Cannon". 2 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Rikhter R-23: The cannon the Soviet Union sent into space". 14 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "The Russian Rikhter-23M Kartech Autoloading Space Cannon". 3 January 2021.
  6. ↑ Tacla, Joaquin Victor (16 May 2022). "Rikhter R-23: The Engineering of Soviet Union's Space Weapon in the 70's". Tech Times. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  7. ↑ "Cased telescoped ammo readiness level 7", Militarytimes Gearscout.com, 7 November 2012, archived from the original on 2015-05-06
  8. ↑ AAI Awarded $2.05 Million Contract for Continued Lightweight Small Arms Technologies Development - AAICorp press release, 6 August 2013
  9. ↑ "Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW)". USAASC. Retrieved 8 September 2021.


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