Army Testing XM-25 "Smart Weapon"

military.com ^ | 11/11/09 | Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner

[jdfromny]

..At first glance, the XM-25 looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie. It features an array of sights, sensors and lasers housed in a Target Acquisition Fire Control unit on top, an oversized magazine behind the trigger mechanism, and a short, ominous barrel wrapped by a recoil dampening sleeve.

Unlike a Hollywood prop, however, this weapon is very real and designed to accurately deliver an explosive round that neutralizes targets at distances of up to 700 meters - well past the range of the rifles and carbines that most Soldiers carry today....

[jdfromny]

"What makes this weapon system truly revolutionary is the ability to target the enemy, pass on this information to the sensors and microchips of its 25mm HEAB round, and have that round detonate over the target," explained Maj. Shawn Murray, a Soldier Weapons assistant product manager in PEO Soldier, the organization responsible for developing the XM-25. Hopefully this weapon will hold up on the battlefield. I believe Obama is probably negotiating to have the Chinese make them for us.

"When the HEAB round explodes, the target is peppered with fragmentation," Murray said. "Our studies indicate that the XM-25 with HEAB is 300 percent more effective at incapacitating the enemy than current weapons at the squad level."

[Candor7]

Ping to new weapon.

[Candor7]

Why publish the specs and performance on this weapon? Whatever happened to secrecy?

The tangos will read this and have 3 years to plan a strategy to counter this weapon, like seeking overhead cover for ambush positions, and acquiring body armor.

Without surprise this weapon may be a waste of money.

Sheesh.

[ASOC]

HUmmm

An M-14 with an ART scope will allow you to drop a gomer at 1 Km. Old school, requires something called Marksmanship.

You have heard of it, the Marines dish it out every day.....

[RWB Patriot]

I can understand making things like tanks, aircraft, and the like high-tech (to a degree), but I think it’s a bit overkill when they start doing it with infantry weapons; they don’t have whole crews geared towards keeping them working.

Does anyone besides me think all this technology is making us more vulnerable? All it would take is one good EMP to make it all useless (if you want a good example of how vulnerable, read the newest War of the World’s novel; in it, the aliens first use EMP weapons, to very devastating effect, to disable the Earth’s defenses.)

[ctdonath2]

This is one of the offspring of the widely-known and horribly-doomed OICW (the other being the XM-8, destined to replace the M16 until it...er...melted). It’s an “open secret” already.

[ctdonath2]

A .308 will drop someone visible at 1000m.
A 25mm smart-fuse grenade will drop someone behind cover at 700m.
Each has its uses.

[Candor7]

Looks like a pork barrel project foisted on the military to me.

If that thing is designed to be a squad weapon, it will have to operate in all kinds of weather conditions, something I doubt it can do.

Hey, go back to the Stoner, and a flame thrower.

[MindBender26]

"the new 25mm HEAB round,"

We got this round from Israel?

[Deagle]

Looked like a great weapon on the military channel (saw the advertisement). It is a great idea and seems to be implementable. I think that it will be successful as long as batteries are available... I can just see that those in the brush are calling in for new batteries though... geez. May not be a major problem, but it will be a problem.

Another great solution that is technology limited (especially in battle conditions).

[Vendome]

lol

[PugetSoundSoldier]

A .308 will drop someone visible at 1000m.
A 25mm smart-fuse grenade will drop someone a dozen people behind cover at 700m.
Each has its uses.

Fixed that for you...:) And it highlights the REAL advantage!

[BobbyT]

And a Barrett will turn cover into concealment, letting you drop someone behind “cover” at 1000m+.

But I guess it does it in a really boring way.

[TChris]

And a Barrett will turn cover into concealment, letting you drop someone behind “cover” at 1000m+.

.50 is still stopped by sand bags, like nearly everything else.

[anymouse]

Zorg: Voila! The ZF-1.
[the weapon opens, and Zorg picks it up]
Zorg: It's light. Handle's adjustable for easy carrying, good for righties and lefties. Breaks down into four parts, undetectable by x-ray, ideal for quick, discreet interventions. A word on firepower. Titanium recharger, three thousand round clip with bursts of three to three hundred, and with the Replay button - another Zorg invention - it's even easier.
[lights reveal a mannequin in police gear] One shot...
[shoots mannequin]
...and replay sends every following shot to the same location.
[turns around, shooting in the direction of the Mangalores; bullets curve their trajectory and hit the mannequin instead]
And to finish the job, all the Zorg oldies but goodies.
[fires every weapon at the mannequin as he mentions them] Rocket launcher... arrow launcher with exploding or poisonous gas heads, very practical... our famous net launcher... the always-efficient flamethrower, my favorite...
[winks to the Mangalores]
and for the grand finale, the all-new 'Ice-cube System'.
[fires a cloud of liquid nitrogen which freezes the remains of the mannequin. Mangalores applaud politely]

I don't like warriors. Too narrow-minded, no subtlety. And worse, they fight for hopeless causes. Honor?
Huh! Honor's killed millions of people, it hasn't saved a single one. Tell you what I do like though: a killer. A dyed-in-the-wool killer. Cold-blooded, clean, methodical and thorough.
Now a real killer, when he picked up the ZF-1, would have immediately asked about the little red button on the bottom of the gun.
[a Mangalore presses the button, detonating a large explosive]
Bring me the priest.

[American Constitutionalist]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33RhuzUrx_A

[American Constitutionalist]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/MK53_fuze.jpg/423px-MK53_fuze.jpg

[PugetSoundSoldier]

And a Barrett will turn cover into concealment, letting you drop someone behind “cover” at 1000m+.

Operative word being someONE. A HEAB round from an XM-25 will do the same thing to a dozen people.

One shot, one kill - OR - one shot, a dozen kills.

Your choice...

[NutCrackerBoy]

(Off-topic)

That's a pretty funny and strange movie (The Fifth Element (1997)). I love the music that plays under the closing credits.

[Right Wing Assault]

I believe Obama is probably negotiating to have the Chinese make them for us.

Oh. How about outsourcing all of our weapons systems to them?

[Erik Latranyi]

An M-14 with an ART scope will allow you to drop a gomer at 1 Km. Old school, requires something called Marksmanship.

I agree for the constant need to emphasize marksmanship, however, your ability is setup your shots is negated by the reality of the combat arena.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Army Testing XM-25 'Smart' Weapon

[jdfromny]

OOps, looked it up and didn’t see anything.

[TigersEye]

I saw this on the show Future Weapons. It looks pretty good. 25mm HE rounds are already commonly used. This puts instantaneous computer feedback from the ranging sensors in the weapon into the round itself allowing it to detonate within inches of the range programmed into it. Pop one through a window and it detonates in the middle of the room not on the back wall.

[Candor7]

I hope its worth the trouble.So many horror stories about weapons issued to soldiers that are suppposed to work but do not. This unit has not been combat field tested.A squad weapon saves the whole squad in difficult situations. If this sucker doesn’t work, there is going to be a lot of hurt.

I think its a cool weapon. Will it work after being drug through the mud, frozen overnight and used at dawn the next day? No idea.

[TigersEye]

Those are all good questions. Hopefully they do some good testing before putting them out in the field. Weapons like that are also darned expensive with all that tech built into them. A brass jacketed lead bullet is just so simple and foolproof.

[SuziQ]

Day-um!

[SuziQ]

I saw this on the show Future Weapons.

I like that show! The host's soft speaking is in stark contrast to the violence of the weapons he presents, and makes them seem that much MORE ominous.

[TChris]

Nobody posted any pics yet?

[Pyro7480]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pxjnl1yuXk

[TigersEye]

LOL I know what you mean. They picked a good guy to host Future Weapons. He has a combination of being the tough Navy Seal guy with the mischievous boy thing who is all excited about letting you in on a secret. Like he’s got some M-80s stashed in the woods and “sssshhhhh, come with me, you’re gonna love this.” When you get there he doesn’t have 5 of ‘em or 10 of ‘em he has a huge case of M-80s.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

“Multi-pass.”