I just got a heads-up from Lewis Machine & Tool Company (press release after the jump). LMT’s trumpeting the fact that “Royal Air Force soldiers assigned to protect the Olympics have been armed with the LMT L129A1®Sharpshooter rifle, which is highly accurate over long ranges.” LMT refers readers to the UK’s Daily Express for news of the deployment. “RAF Typhoon fighters, military helicopters with highly-trained snipers and the Royal Navy’s largest warship, HMS Ocean, were in place last night [July 13], two weeks before the opening ceremony. The Typhoons are to deter attacks by fast jets while snipers in Puma and Lynx helicopters will tackle ‘low and slow’ airborne threats, such as microlights or single-propeller planes which stray into the restricted zone. The Olympics air security commander, Air Vice-Marshal Stuart Atha, said: ‘As a last resort, we will have lethal force as an option.'” How doable is that? And how’s the shotgun figure into the equation?
Proud to Protect the Olympics
Privately-Owned Midwest Company Makes Weaponry Used to Defend the Olympics Against Terrorism
IA/IL QUAD-CITIES – Weapons produced by Lewis Machine & Tool Company (LMT®), a privately-owned Midwestern maker of elite weaponry, are being used by the Royal Air Force to protect the 2012 Olympics in London, England, against terrorist attacks.
According to a recent Daily Express U.K. article, Royal Air Force soldiers assigned to protect the Olympics have been armed with the LMT L129A1® Sharpshooter rifle, which is highly accurate over long ranges.
“From the beginning, LMT® has been proud to assist soldiers and law enforcement officials in protecting our country,” said Monica Sipp, Director of Sales and Marketing for LMT®. “We are equally proud that our products are being used to protect the Olympics, an event which fosters global unity.”
Since 1980, LMT® has provided the U.S. military, law enforcement and government agencies with high-quality weapons, components, and modular weapon systems. LMT® is based in Milan, IL, a village with a population of approximately 5,100, located on the Rock River near the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities.
LMT® was founded by Karl Lewis, and has 130 employees. The company has a family-like atmosphere, and works to be an asset to their local community while providing employees with a rewarding workplace.
“Our company philosophy can be summed up in five words: Failure is not an option,” said Lewis. “Police officers, soldiers and other brave defenders who use our products need to know that their weapons will not fail them. The soldiers guarding the Olympic Games can feel confident, knowing that they are holding precision instruments which will not let them down if a conflict should arise.”
The Ever-Present Threat of Terrorism
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 205 countries are sending more than 10,000 athletes to compete in 300 events at this year’s Summer Olympics. London is the first city to host the modern Olympics three times, having done so before in 1908 and 1948.
In an interview at Phys.org, Stanford terrorism expert Martha Crenshaw has stated: “From the point of view of this year’s Olympics, London could be as much of a target as the Olympics themselves.” The interview reveals that there are now more British troops guarding the streets of London than in Afghanistan.
“It seems unthinkable that anyone might want to disrupt the Olympic Games,” Sipp said, “but unfortunately, the threat of terrorism is ever-present in today’s world. That’s why we work so hard to make our weapons the very best. When it comes to fighting terrorism, failure is not option.”
To find out more about LMT®, visit www.lmtdefense.com.
— End —
Fire a round to signal the guy on the ground with the Stinger to shoot? Otherwise, good luck.
I would hope that “warning shot” would be aimed at his skull….with a quick follow-up
I would think if highly trained snipers can fire coordinated shots from one bobbing ship in the sea to another smaller boat bobbing in the sea, take out a window just before removing some pirates then sure why not.
Training, training, training and more training.
Some good and imo amusing pics of the times we are living in:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2173122/Royal-Navys-largest-warship-sails-Thames-armed-forces-strength-Olympics.html
The old Cold War ended, and then conveniently for the Military-Industrial Complex, there is now the War on Terror. The real ‘terrorists’ (whoever the true terrorists really are) will help the West to bankrupt ourselves.
When using a semi-auto shotgun from a helicopter itis important to note that gas operated guns will experience increased gas pressure due to the increased air pressure when the muzzle is faceing into the slip stream. In the past this has caused malfunctions and excessive wear on the firearm. Recoil operated guns due not suffer this condition to a noticable extent.
As for the use of the shotgun I can think of two circumstances off the top of my head; small drones and motorcycle deployed explosives
Plausible: Ventilate the pilot or the engine and the plane is done; US Coast Guard does helicopter interdiction on speedboats carrying illegal drugs, should be able to do the same with a slow cessena type plane?
we have occasionally gotten into the 1 shot stop debate here. never debated 1 shot stop on an explosive laden cessna over a densely populated city before. would make for an interesting moment. the shotgun may be so that when the crew lands they can protect themselves from the mob of angry survivors from whatever neighberhood the wreckage landed on.
Why would they need to protect themselves from the mob? After all, the mob doesn’t have firearms, being in London and all.
the mob has numbers and bricks and firebombs and whatever else they can scrape up.
What would a spread of #2 buckshot do if not-so-gently introduced into the air intakes of a prop or jet plane, especially head-on? I know that commercial aviation does not respond well to birds in the same circumstances.
Catastrophic failure is the usual result of any foreign object being introduced into the intake of a jet turbine. Can be rather spectacular. Best viewed from a distance. 😉
I have a SCAR 17. From a design standpoint, finest weapon I own. That having been said, I have a completely irrational love affair with my LMT MWS and I am thrilled they are representing on the streets of London. That rifle is boneriffic… it shoots 1/2 MOA with good ammo off a chrome lined barrel.
I think the purpose of the shotgun carrying man is to shoot out of sky what looks like ducks yet are actually flying robots carrying mini-bombs.
Okay so they have the fast moving Typhoons. What about going old school and run a couple Hawker Tempests to take care of the “low and slow” stuff.
Sorry. Double post.
Shotguns in helicopters?
If you cannot figure this out then I am not going to explain it – because it is highly likely that there could be some people reading this blog who both cannot figure it out and who do not need to know. I am impressed that these teams are prepared for a range of security contingencies. Also, I am struck by the ignorance of some of those weighing in on this topic who know less than they pretend.
If those reading this blog CAN figure this out, maybe they could remain discrete.
A gold for Team GB in the double trap, please note.
Love me some LMT! Glad to see a hometown company getting some international publicity. I live in the Quad Cities, us “People of the Gun” here refer to the quad cities as the AR Golden Triangle. Many of the big names are under an hour away.
As to your question.: I would imagine the shotgun is meant as a means of defense in the case of a crash or similar circumstance. I know our rotary wing pilots carry am M4 or M9. But new PDW’s are being looked at like the MP7.
Comments are closed.