The Multi-shot Accessory Underbarrel Launcher, or MAUL, is a combat shotgun designed by defunct Brisbane-based company Metal Storm.[1]
| MAUL | |
|---|---|
 MAUL shotgun, mounted under a Colt Law Enforcement Carbine above and standalone below | |
| Type | Shotgun |
| Place of origin |  Australia |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Metal Storm |
| Variants | Underslung, standalone |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 0.8 kilograms (1.8 lb) (underslung) |
| Cartridge | 12 gauge (proprietary) |
| Action | Superposed load, electrically fired |
| Feed system | 5 shot preloaded barrel |
Design edit
The MAUL is a shotgun based on Metal Storm's electronically initiated superposed-load technology. In this concept multiple projectiles, in this case of 12-gauge bore, are loaded nose to tail in a single gun barrel with propellant packed between them. Each projectile is ignited sequentially using an electrically fired primer: the electrical charge is provided by a battery.[2] The weapon fires once per trigger pull: while in effect this is semi-automatic, in strict terms it is not as no energy from firing is used to automate any part of the weapon's operating cycle. Designed to be used as either a standalone weapon or an underslung module of a combat rifle such as M4 or M16[3][4] via the use of Picatinny rail, it can also be used in a standalone configuration through the addition of a pistol grip, folding stock or both.[5] The central module is made of carbon fiber, while the barrels are steel.[2] The resulting weapon weighs less than 800 grams (1.8 lb),.[3]
In its underslung configuration, it was boresight-aligned to the host gun's sighting system.[2]
It was intended to fire a range of loads; buckshot, slug, Door breaching slugs, and several kinds of less-lethal loads including blunt-force, electro-muscular incapacitation and frangible nose chemical and marker munitions.[3] Loads were intended to be provided in their own munition tubes, with the operator switching tubes to change ammunition type.
Metal Storm reported the first shoulder-firing of the MAUL during tests on 24 April 2009 at its test facilities in Chantilly, Virginia.[2]
Contracts edit
Papua New Guinea: As of 3 August 2010[update], Metal Storm signed a contract with the Correctional Services Minister Tony Aimo to supply 500 standalone MAULs and 10,000 less-lethal barrels for use by correctional services officers. The contract was never ratified due to the company failing to produce the weaponry before it folded in 2012.[1]
See also edit
- Knight's Armament Company Masterkey - an originator for the underslung shotgun concept
- M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System - comparable underslung shotgun adopted by the US Army
References edit
- ^ a b "Metal Storm win multi-million contract". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Metal Storm Reports 3GL, MAUL Testing Milestones". Defense Update. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "MAUL". Metal Storm website. Metal Storm Limited. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ "MAUL – Multishot Accessory Underbarrel Launcher". Marines magazine. United States Marine Corps. 5 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ Finniear, Lee (19 November 2010). ""From the Drawing board to the Battlefield"" (Press release). Land Warfare Conference 2010: Metal Storm Limited.
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