'Paintball Gun On Steroids' Goes To Iraq (Updated)

Soldiers in Iraq are being issued with an unusual new weapon -- a paintball gun. The weapon, known as the FN303 or Individual Serviceman Non-Lethal System(ISNLS), fires a 6.5 gram projectile containing a mixture of paint and the brittle metal bismuth. RDECOM magazine (warning, giant .PDF!) says that *"*the shoulder-fired weapons have been deployed to troops for non-lethal crowds and riot control during detainee operations."

While the ISNLS is somewhat similar to what one would find on a paintball course, Picatinny technical trainer Jeff Teats said a typical paintball is regulated at approximately 300-500 pounds per square inch, while the ISNLS is regulated at approximately 900 PSI.

*“Basically the Non-Lethal Launcher is like a paintball gun on steroids,” *explained Maj. Thomas Aarsen...

*Aarsen said the increased non-lethal capability gives Soldiers another option to influence the actions of targeted personnel before the situation necessitates lethal force... [T]he weapon [also] supports Soldiers by allowing them to engage individuals in the crowd with paint, so instigators can’t later deny their part in a disturbance. *

The Army are a bit vague about the effects of the FN303. The bismuth body is designed to fragment on impact, but the makers FN Herstal stress the sheer physical force of these rounds*. *"The shock and pain caused by the impact instantly stop and neutralize the suspect," the company says.

Dave Young, of the PoliceOne Training Network, experienced the effects of the FN303 and a similar launcher for himself:

Both left small dime- to quarter-size markings on my calf, called a hematoma, from the internal bleeding that was caused from the impact. Both minor blunt trauma marks, the FN303 rounds lasted about 12 days and the others about nine days.

The projectiles can be dangerous. After the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, a college student was accidentally killedwhen she was shot in the eye with a FN303. The power of these weapons should not be underestimated: they are far preferable to shooting with live ammunition, but cannot be used carelessly because they're not "real" guns.

According to RDECOM, this is only the second time there has been an "Urgent Materiel Release" (UMR) of the paintball guns.

During the previous UMR in January 2005, approximately 80 ISNLS were fielded within 60 days of the requirement arriving to Picatinny. The initial UMR resulted from a critical need for non-lethal force at a detainee camp in Afghanistan.

My question: if the potentially-lethal FN303 is sent out to both Iraq and Afghanistan, why is the much safer (by all accounts) Active Denial System still stuck in the US after repeated requests to deploy it?

UPDATE: It turns out that -- as some of our readers have pointed out -- the FN303 has been sent to Iraq before, but apparently apparently for use in detention facilities. Back in 2004, National Defense Magazinesaid that: "The REF deployed a limited quantity of this high-rate of fire, multi-shot, blunt impact marking capability. "

A DR reader has used the FN303 at one such facility in Iraq, and reports:

"As far as their performance, they certainly worked better than harsh words during riots and such, but the range and accuracy left a lot to be desired. Plus the effect could be blunted quite a bit by putting on extra clothes or using a mattress as a shield (which was a common tactic during riots)".

This video shows the FN303 being used in a riot at Camp Bucca -- look at the segment from 2:06 - 2:54.