Replies to post #17742 on Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

[shlubtastic]

There's one element some folks may be forgetting about when considering a new type of munition - which would require a new weapon system to replace an already widely used weapon system: politics, bureaucracy, and red tape.

I can't stress the point enough to you folks about how many times we've been told over the years that we were getting this new weapon, or that new weapon, or this new piece of equipment, or that new piece of equipment - and it never happened. All the dots connected perfectly as far as why it was a good idea for our fighting force to switch to the new weapon: money, effectiveness, accuracy, reliability, durability, etc. But when the three things in my first sentence came in to play, all bets were off and plans got scrapped.

It's why we're still using M16A2's across the Army, while many chairborne rangers (paper pushing 42A's and supply NCO's) are sporting M4's with ACOG's, bi-pod collapsible legs, and infrared targeting lasers. It's why we're still using this incarnation of weapon style at all when there are FAR SUPERIOR weapons on the market, all of which the military has tested and approved for use, but still do not.

If the idea of a new weapon system for the military which includes LQMT gives you a big chubby, then you better be prepared for having said chubby and blue balls for the next 10 years. It takes FOREVER for these things to come to fruition in the military, with one exception: USASOC. Those guys get whatever they want, when they want it, with really no spending limits. But a deal with them wouldn't be along the lines of millions of parts delivered. It's a small community in comparison to the rest of the military.

Lastly, the military doesn't put something in the hands of regular grunts where they could all just blow through a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of ammo in a few minutes if they tried hard enough. You'd likely see a squad carrying 5-10 rounds at the most, just on the dollar cost alone. Those M203 40mm grenades cost almost nothing in comparison.