Breaching shotgun

Boise, Idaho-based proSWAT has signed an exclusive license with the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory to manufacture a new type of shotgun that combines two firearms into one.

The so-called Breaching Shotgun, a combination of a 12-gauge shotgun and a powerful rifle, was a collaborative project that involved several engineers and designers within the Lab’s National and Homeland Security Division.

The original proposal called for the development of a multifunctional breaching shotgun that could be attached to the frame of a standard issue M4 or MP5 rifle. It also specified that the shotgun’s trigger be front-mounted, allowing the user the ability to fire both weapons simultaneously.

Designers spent more than a year developing the firearm into a functioning model that met all the requirements, including a non-lethal element that allows users to fire bean bags, rubber bullets or tear gas from the shotgun chamber. Once a prototype firearm was complete, federal law enforcement agents, local police and INL security personnel tested it.