BRITISH Aerospace chiefs say Chorley's Royal Ordnance factory is not involved in making a supergun for the US army and marines.

The Rambo-style gun - which combines an automatic rifle, grenade launcher, laser range finder and mini computer - is said to be able to stop an armoured car.

Royal Ordnance, owned by British Aerospace, has won a contract for the weapon, which is due to go into service in the States in 2006.

The gun is being developed by BAe with the help of its British-owned specialist company Heckler and Koch.

But a spokesman for Royal Ordnance said: "Chorley has got no involvement at all. It is going to be made in the United States, although the development is taking place in Germany.

"The UK involvement is British Aerospace owns Royal Ordnance which owns Heckler and Koch."

The spokesman revealed the gun was "very advanced" but said he was not certain it could take out an armoured car, as some reports have claimed.

The Objective Individual Combat Weapon weighs only 14lbs. Grenades are programmed by its range finder and computer to explode in the air close to the enemy.

The gun's range is said to be twice that of conventional present day rifles and it can fire 1,000 rounds a minute.

British army chiefs are believed to be monitoring its progress with a view to getting it here.

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