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| Tom Maffin, senior gunsmith for Transformational Defense Industries Inc. demonstrates the company's revolutionary Kriss Super V 45 caliber submachine gun at a range on the Blackwater USA campus in Moyock, N.C.
(Stephen M. Katz photos | The Virginian-Pilot) |
By Jon W. Glass
The Virginian-Pilot
MOYOCK, N.C.
His Ford Crown Victoria disabled by hostile fire, driver Tom Maffin scrambled from the car, crouched behind the hood and sprayed a target with automatic gunfire to cover for a passenger.
Maffin's weapon: a KRISS Super V .45-caliber submachine gun.
If you're military or law enforcement and haven't heard of it, chances are you soon will.
Maffin is senior gunsmith for Transformational Defense Industries Inc., a weapons technology firm that conducts its research and development from a Virginia Beach office park near Lynnhaven Mall.
By early next year, the Washington-based TDI plans to open a production facility in Virginia Beach to begin manufacturing the submachine gun for police and military use and a .45-caliber semi automatic carbine for the commercial shooting market.
Industry experts say the weapons are unlike any other now on the market and could shake up the firearms world.
What makes the weapons special, company and industry officials say, is a new patented operating system that substantially reduces recoil and muzzle climb when fired.
The recoil, or kick, of a conventional weapon is directed backward into a shooter's shoulder, causing the gun to rise off target. TDI's "Super V" bolt-and-slide mechanism directs the energy downward in front of the trigger.
Company tests indicate the mechanism reduces recoil by 40 to 60 percent and muzzle rise by about 95 percent over conventional gun operating systems.
At a Thursday demonstration for media at a Blackwater USA firing range in Moyock, officials said their system improves accuracy and reduces user fatigue. The submachine gun can be fired with one hand and remain on target.
"This is the future of weapons right here," said Andrew Finn, TDI's senior vice president.
TDI has worked with the Army and special operations forces to develop the technology. It uses Blackwater's facilities to field test the weapons.
Officials set up the disabled vehicle scenario to demonstrate the maneuverability and firepower of the .45-caliber submachine gun, which TDI says is ideal for close-quarter situations the police and military encounter in urban settings.
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The gun, which weighs about 5 pounds unloaded and collapses to a length of 16 inches, can be easily carried in helicopters, Humvees and other vehicles, said Maffin, a retired Marine who began working at TDI's Virginia Beach operation about a year ago.
"Seeing this product for the first time in my interview, I was sold," Maffin said. "It's got the knockdown power a lot of guys want."
Members of the media at the Thursday event, heavy in such trade publications as Guns & Ammo and Small Arms Review magazines, were allowed to shoot the submachine gun and the carbine.
"The reduction in recoil is absolutely amazing," said Wendy Henry, who works in Pennsylvania for Women In Scope, a TV series that promotes women's awareness of firearms. "It's very easy to maintain your control over it."
Frank Borelli, a law enforcement and military consultant in Maryland, said the weapon is "going to rock the firearms industry." He has fired the TDI submachine gun but did not attend the event.
"What they're doing is very different," Borelli said.
Some industry experts question whether the company will make significant inroads with military and police, which have moved away from submachine guns - in part because their pistol-caliber rounds can't pierce body armor. The gun's price tag - now expected to retail in the $1,200-to-$1,300 range - also could chill sales.
Company officials said interest is high, noting that they worked with the Army's Picatinny armament research and development arsenal in New Jersey to develop the technology.
These guns are the first product that TDI, a five-year-old subsidiary of Switzerland-based Gamma Research and Technologies Holding SA, has brought to market.
Chuck Kushell, TDI's chief executive officer and director, said the Virginia Beach operation, dubbed Viking Works, will grow once production starts in January or February.
 Prototypes of the KRISS Super V .45-caliber submachine gun and carbine are displayed at TDI’s production facility in Virginia Beach. |
Currently, eight engineers, machinists and gunsmiths work in a 4,000-square-foot facility. Kushell said he expects to more than double the space and add 15 to 20 employees as the company ramps up over the next few months.
To reach the civilian market, the company developed the .45-caliber carbine. Plans call for marketing it primarily to shooting enthusiasts who would use it for competitions and target practice, but it also could be used for hunting.
"This is not going to be a gun for everyone," Kushell said.
Company officials said the Super V mechanism can be adapted to any caliber weapon. Work currently is under way on a 12-gauge shotgun. And the company has won an Army contract valued at a little over $1 million to develop a lighter-weight, more user-friendly .50-caliber machine gun, Kushell said.
Jon W. Glass, (757) 446-2318, jon.glass@pilotonline.com
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It never fails...
It took longer than expected, but some miseducated soul always has to inject negativity. This story has nothing to do with this TI person, so why bring him/her up? There is no need to fuse guns and rap, guns permeate everyones lives, its not specific to race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity or other classification. Get on the ball PilotOnline, that was copied from your rules....
Rapper T.I. probably just placed his order
Sure, you can't get sub-machine guns in this country; never happens... unless maybe you're a convicted felon or your mother buys them for you like that kid in Pennsylvania or you have a documented history of mental illness like the kid in Blacksburg or your an off duty deputy who's high school girlfriend doesn't like him any more.
But guns aren't the problem, its people that are the problem. OK...
Scarin me...
They are actually going to give this weapon to cops? Cops are the worst aim ,no shooting people in the world and everybody knows it. And so did the North Hollywood bank robbers. My heroes.
Great gun.....lousy caliber
Great looking gun.....absolutely lousy caliber for armed forces, unless you're at 50 yards or less. For close up fighting, or personal self-defense distances, the .45 ACP cartridge is the gold standard for pistols, not for rifles. In an automatic rifle, at 100 yards, I'd rather have a 30-06, .308 or, better yet, the 7.62x39mm round used by the AK47. Forget the .223.....it's for spraying squirrels.
Another tool
This technology certainly makes it more useable by females, as well as those of short stature or disabled people. Statistics show a high percentage of "kids" who kill each other are gang bangers and illegal immigrants (not politically correct to say). The media hype makes it look like it's comon, but statistically it's quite rare.
Guns are fun.......
This whole gun thing is so over-rated. I own several of these "killing tools" of various calibers and I'm telling you they don't work as well as you might think. Except for my trusty shotgun, none of them has ever killed anything. Pistols are fun though. Once I shot a full can of shaving cream with interesting results and few activities are more exhilarating than shooting up a junk car with a .45
Lot of people out there who obviously know nothing...
...about firearms or the strict firearms regulations like the National Firearms Act of 1934 which strictly regulates civilian possession of fully automatic weapons such as this. You can't easily purchase a fully automatic weapon, they are tightly controlled. Hoping that all guns will go away because they're "bad" is not only childish, it's insane. Guns have many legitimate uses--law enforcement, security teams, and private citizens who know that police not only have no obligation to protect them as individuals, they can't possibly do so. That's been upheld by the Supreme Court repeatedly--ruling against citizens who called police but the police didn't help them and their relatives were killed. Killing tools? Try negotiating with a criminal.
Here is an opportunity........
I am not so much in favor of gun registration but with this weapon maybe the Feds could keep track and find the paths from legal to illegal ownership. It is those paths that are the problem, not legal ownership by US citizens. Oh by the way, a real look at the statistics reveals that out of 172 deaths and injuries of police officers, only 58 are caused by guns, the rest are caused by automobile "accidents". Interesting, eh?? And out of those 58 several are self inflicted and "friendly fire" incidents.
re: New submachine gun could shake up the firearms world
Wow. A new submachinegun is designed, and folks are commenting about how it will be used by criminals.
Wrong. Absent changes in federal law, this gun will never be publicly available. BTW - the stuff about "knockdown power" is a fantasy. If a pistol round would actually take someone off their feet, it would do the same to the shooter. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." People only get blown off their feet in the movies. And criminals don't have access to modern subguns. Further, legally owned machine guns are almost never used in crimes. In fact, since the original gun control act banning automatic weapons, only a handful have been used in crimes. You have more to fear from the sky falling.
Kriss Super V .45 Caliber SMG
This revolutionary SMG has superior knockdown power to the reliable Heckler & Koch MP5A2 SMG in 9mm. Just pray no terrorist or criminal gets hold of this deadly SMG. Every HRT and SWAT team may be equipped with this in the near future. It is not as good looking as the H & K MP5A2 but it sure packs a punch with a low recoil bonus. Dr. Michael Lim is The Travelling Gourmet
Yes, the U.S. military went for the 9mm some years ago but current experience in the Middle East has shown it to be ineffective. The 9mm simply won't stop a determined enemy. That is why the army moved from the .38 caliber revolver to the .45 ACP early in the 20th century. Now, special forces, seals, etc. are going back to the .45 ACP because of its effectiveness. The .45 ACP is not a hunting cartridge but it is very effective for police and military purposes.
Reality Check!
What is wrong with some of you people? Cars kill more people than most anything, where is your diatribe about how "evil" cars are?!?! Are you politically fighting to ban cars? When cars hit people, do you cry to your state representative about the extreme necessity to develop cars that can't hurt people? The answer to all the above is NO! Why not? Frankly because the media didn't tell your walnut sized common senseless brain to think this. The other reason is because IT'S STUPID! A) Natural selection will always exist and no matter how many laws you people fight to pass, or civil liberties you trample, stupid people will kill other people and eventually die from their stupidity. B) Inanimate objects hurt no one. NO ONE! The PEOPLE using them do. This is called "common sense", which unfortunately should be renamed "rare sense" in todays brain dead world that depends on television and movies to form most or all of their opinions for them. Buy a clue, then buy a gun, then do us all a favor and use it on yourself before you reproduce and force the cops to have to buy expensive SMGs to deal with your out of control kids because their parents had no common sense when raising them.
Sweet!!!
Very, very good weapon. I have fired the 9mm and the .45. Going to the 9mm side arm was the worst mistake the military ever made. The KRISS and it's technology need to be miniaturized to make it a side arm.. if of course that can be done. But, the next standard issue US rifle could do well with the the ideas of the KRISS in mind.
New Machine Gun
This firearm appears to be fun to target practice with if you could afford the ammo! The problem isn't in the firearms, it's the lack of respect for life. Seems only the bad guy can have firearms. As a great grandmother I would support gun education in our schools and have always supported gun safety. As I see it, firearms are to protect and defend as well as to have fun....safely.
pfft
more weapons!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!! exactly what we need....disgusting
Oh goody....
another gun that'll eventually end up in the hands of criminals. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not anti-gun. My problem is that "too many" guns are out on the streets being used by people who have no business having them -- especially the young people we hear about in the news every morning and every night who are out there killing each other.
Machine gun
How sad. Such high interests in more killing tools. Just more ways to kill people. How long before these hit the streets. More drive by shootings. Very affordable for the average drug user and thugs to use.
Another weapon to be used by criminals
Anyone with any knowledge of firearms knows that automatic .45 caliber weapons went out decades ago with the Thompson submachine gun ("tommy" gun) because of their notoriously low muzzle velocity, short range, minimal penetrating power, and consequent inaccuracy. The idea that the carbine will have any use in competition or for hunting is literally a joke - no one uses a .45 to hunt specifically for the above reasons. Even the military and law enforcement have moved away from .45s in favor of 9mm and other higher muzzle velocity weapons. I'm not a gun control advocate by any stretch, but this looks like a set of weapons that will have no practical use other than in the hands of criminals.
How long?
How long do you think it will take before these new "super weapons" are on the street and killing police officers? Just think..virtually no recoil, no rise.....they can aim directly for the space outside the body armor.