The AAI CAWS (Close Assault Weapon System) is a prototype
automatic shotgun
An automatic shotgun is an automatic firearm that fires shotgun shells (thereby making it a shotgun) and uses some of the energy of each shot to automatically cycle the action and load a new round. It will fire repeatedly until the trigger is r ...
—designed as a
combat shotgun
A combat shotgun is a shotgun issued by militaries for warfare. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I. While limited in range, the multiple projectiles typically us ...
— produced by the
AAI Corporation
AAI Corporation is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, US. Formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, AAI was acquired by Textron in 2007. It currently operates ...
during the 1980s. It was AAI's entry into the U.S military's
Close Assault Weapon System program.
It is a 12-round,
12-gauge shotgun with two firing modes: semi-auto and full-auto.
Development
In 1982, the United States was seeking entrants for their Close Assault Weapon System program. Grown out of previous combat shotgun programs, this program had inherited the specification from the RHINO program that had preceded it. These specifications required a magazine capacity of 10 rounds, a requirement for the new ammunition to be incompatible with commercial 12ga shotguns, that felt recoil be no greater than a
Remington 870P firing M162 or M257 buckshot cartridges and that the system provide penetration and incapacitation capability significantly better than M162 and M257.
In response to this, AAI developed their entrant, the AAI CAWS - a
select fire
Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire we ...
, recoil operated, magazine fed shotgun. Using the standard M-16 stock and pistol grip, recoil operation and with an inline design, felt recoil was supposedly less than an M16. A shorter version, without stock, was also developed for
Airborne forces
Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...
. A day/night
Reflex sight
A reflector sight or reflex sight is an optical sight that allows the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see an illuminated projection of an aiming point or some other image superimposed on the field of view. These sig ...
was offered as standard.
[Hogg, Ian V. Jane's Infantry Weapons 1993-1994. Jane's Information Group. 1993]
To meet the requirements to both provide ammunition that could not be fired by commercial shotguns, but also for the weapon to fire commercial ammunition, AAI developed a special cartridge larger than 12-ga and then provided a chamber adapter for the weapon to fire regular 12ga. The standard antipersonnel cartridge developed by AAI was loaded with 8, drag stabilized
flechette
A flechette ( ) is a pointed steel projectile with a vaned tail for stable flight. The name comes from French , "little arrow" or "dart", and sometimes retains the acute accent in English: fléchette. They have been used as ballistic weapons sinc ...
s.
All 8 flechettes were able to hit a circle at . The flechettes at that range had a velocity of and were capable of penetrating of pine or of mild steel.
Although tested by the
U.S. military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
, the CAWS was canceled, and production, both military and civilian, has halted.
See also
*
SCMITR
SCMITR was part of an experimental military shotgun ammunition created in the 1970s by AAI Corporation. It was a variation on flechette ammunition, but instead of containing a bundle of tiny needle-like steel darts, the cartridge contained a stack ...
- another product of the CAWS program from AAI
*
HK CAWS
The Heckler & Koch HK CAWS (Close Assault Weapon System) is a prototype automatic shotgun—designed as a combat shotgun—co-produced by Heckler & Koch and Winchester/ Olin during the 1980s. It was Heckler & Koch's entry into the U.S military's ...
- another product of the CAWS program from Heckler & Koch
*
List of shotguns
This article is a list of shotguns. Shotguns have traditionally fired iron, stone or lead shot stored in large shells that are normally loaded.
See also
* Assault shotgun
*Automatic shotgun
*Combat shotgun
*List of bullpup firearms
*List of ...
*
List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
References
Flechette firearms
Automatic shotguns
Trial and research firearms of the United States
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