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XM-25: The US Army's first smart shoulder-fired weapon
Gizmag.com ^
| 05/27/09
| David Greig
Posted on 05/27/2009 10:37:30 AM PDT by Reaganesque
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To: griffin
Well I don't know about the XM-25 but I want one of these as soon as they can ship it to me(wishful thinking I know)
Another high-tech weapon recently field tested by the military is the Lightweight .50 Caliber Machine Gun (LW50MG). Unlike the XM25, which doesnt offer a weight advantage, the LW50MG weights in at 64 pounds (29kg) complete with tripod, i.e., half the weight of the M-2 .50 caliber machine gun. With 60% less recoil than the M-2, the LW50MG will also offer greater accuracy and speed than the veteran M-2.
61
posted on
05/27/2009 11:35:48 AM PDT
by
calex59
To: wysiwyg; Eaker
unless Im terribly mistaken, thats the 50-yard range at American You are absolutely correct!
I used to purposely set up to the left of Eaker so as to rain hot brass from my SKS on him. It was great fun!
To: wysiwyg
That photo reminds me of something: I was set up at the bench just to the right of that one a few months ago (unless Im terribly mistaken, thats the 50-yard range at American). I was trying out my new Bushmaster and there was some guy at the pictured bench with an AK-47. Now, not having spent much time around Kalashnikovs, I didnt realize the force at which they eject the spent brass. After the other shooters friend noticed my efforts at dodging, they moved to the other side of the partition. It didnt help much. I ended up having to move to the other side of the partition at my bench to avoid the incoming brass! The same thing happened to me about 3 months ago. Guys trying out their new AKs and the 7.62X39 brass flying about 5 shooting stations and landing on me! Quite an ejection system the AK has.
63
posted on
05/27/2009 11:38:00 AM PDT
by
calex59
To: MaxMax
Does it come with those pants?
64
posted on
05/27/2009 11:39:05 AM PDT
by
TalonDJ
To: Reaganesque
Cute little weapon. Reminds me of the FN model FS2000 I keep seeing at the gunshows for $2500. I wonder how it's going to compare to the old M14 or even better the Garand when it comes to CQB and a needed buttstroke to the skull?
65
posted on
05/27/2009 11:39:38 AM PDT
by
ExSoldier
(Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on dinner. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.)
To: Jeff Head
The real test will be how reliable it is in rough field conditions, day in and day out. If it is always jamming, breaking down, or doing an electronic "reset", it will have limited field usefulness, regardless of its clinical specs. We shall see. I hope it is reliable and rugged and can be produced in numbers as such. IMO, It would be better to have these mounted on vehicles such as the Bradly or the Striker, seeing as how they need batteries etc and may prove to be fragile in use. However it is a great concept and one per squad would be devastating fire power.
66
posted on
05/27/2009 11:41:04 AM PDT
by
calex59
To: Reaganesque
Looks like a Mobile Infantry rifle from Starship Troopers.
67
posted on
05/27/2009 11:45:24 AM PDT
by
Gideon7
To: ctdonath2
Rumor has it an early prototype (from the OICW days) was demoed to a bunch of very high-ranking officers. One was given the opportunity to fire it. He took it, entered the desired distance, and pulled the trigger. It fired, the distance was automatically measured, and it duly detonated at the indicated range: 1 meter. Sounds like an urban legend to me. I would bet these rounds have a safety device that stops them from detonating within a specified range, something out of the blast area like 10-15 meters. Our torpedoes have such a device why not a round like this? Some fool is bound to program 1 meter, or even 1 foot, into this thing. I bet the weapon won't even fire with that programmed into it.
68
posted on
05/27/2009 11:47:04 AM PDT
by
calex59
To: Reaganesque
69
posted on
05/27/2009 11:47:38 AM PDT
by
Gideon7
To: griffin
We at FR, have had the M-16 vs. .308 argument till the cows come home. The .223 argument was that the round was lighter, so you could carry more, Smaller, so it costs less, and was fast and accurate. Always the last comment would be, “Well, I know you are but what am I” and “Look what they ended up choosing”. Now, I’m supposed to believe we need a gun that holds 5 rounds and the ammo is made of gold with platinum pinstripes? Nothing wrong with experimenting, but when it comes to war, cheap and plentiful usually wins.
70
posted on
05/27/2009 11:48:10 AM PDT
by
chuckles
To: calex59
IMO, It would be better to have these mounted on vehicles such as the Bradly or the Striker, seeing as how they need batteries etc and may prove to be fragile in use. However it is a great concept and one per squad would be devastating fire power.
The guts of the system are the rounds and the targetting system. Those should be nicely portable. I want to see one on a striker combined with image recognition and belt feed. Something that could put one through everyone window in a building in a couple seconds. *tump*tump*tump*tump* Brababoom! Building clear.
71
posted on
05/27/2009 11:48:28 AM PDT
by
TalonDJ
To: chuckles
Now, Im supposed to believe we need a gun that holds 5 rounds and the ammo is made of gold with platinum pinstripes? Nothing wrong with experimenting, but when it comes to war, cheap and plentiful usually wins.
It is not a replacement for the basic rifle. No more so than the grenades a trooper carries, or a bazooka.
72
posted on
05/27/2009 11:51:30 AM PDT
by
TalonDJ
To: gaijin
Sounds complicated. Wouldn't a simple (D / R = T) calc work just as well? With most the math being done in the weapon, and the projectile programmed with time to distance value.
Seems to me that the simpler the projectile electronics are, the more reliable it would become.
To: Reaganesque
Yeah... the military will spend billions of dollars on the “new high tech weapon of the future” but when it comes to training with that weapon... the soldiers get screwed. This last month we had soldiers leave Ft. McCoy (for Iraq) who had just barely qualified (after 5-6 attempts). Why? No class on their assigned weapon. Commanders are signing off that their unit is trained when they are not. If you are in a position that you could do something about the atrocity... Freep mail me. The chain of command has failed.
- A Senior Weapons Instructor.
74
posted on
05/27/2009 12:01:30 PM PDT
by
jprobst
(Who is John Galt?)
To: MaxMax
But in the movies they all look like they weigh 4 ounces.....
To: Reaganesque
This may sound like a stupid question, but the why the hell is an American Company partnering with a GERMAN firm to manufacture weapons for the AMERICAN military???
Winchester isn’t interested? There are no manufacturers in the U.S. who can produce it??
I smell somebody’s buddy getting a kickback or contract here.
Suppose we get involved in a major war and the supply of weapons from Germany is cut off?
76
posted on
05/27/2009 12:25:34 PM PDT
by
ZULU
(God guts and guns made America great. Non nobis, non nobis Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.)
To: calex59
NOW they have the safety mechanism.
I was talking
early prototype.
I find many of the most interesting bits of history are reported once, then forgotten (sometimes deliberately).
77
posted on
05/27/2009 12:28:15 PM PDT
by
ctdonath2
(John Galt was exiled.)
To: lormand
"..how to use "sudo" access before the trigger can be pulled." Forget sudo, just give me root access and get out of my way.
78
posted on
05/27/2009 12:40:14 PM PDT
by
libs_kma
(F.U.B.O.)
To: chuckles
I'm an old .45 ACP guy and love the M1A. However, while I agree with you I've got to point out the effectiveness of precision guided munitions. We've all seen what they can do from an air launched platform. Now we're using them in artillery (Excalibur XM-982).
I'm stretching here but...this probably won't be the gold standard of Infantry fielded precision guided weapon systems, it is a ‘bridging’ weapon system. Paradigms should always be shifting to cutting edge strategies, tactics and equipment. To do otherwise is to be caught off guard with the next Blitzkrieg tactic or panther tank. Sometimes ya get bit and the idea doesn't work so bad that ya hafta throw the whole thing away. Sometimes it works enough that you spend money refining it. Rarely is it a smash hit right from introduction...IMHO.
79
posted on
05/27/2009 12:40:42 PM PDT
by
griffin
(Love Jesus, No Fear!)
To: TalonDJ
“I want to see one on a striker combined with image recognition and belt feed. Something that could put one through everyone window in a building in a couple seconds. *tump*tump*tump*tump* Brababoom! Building clear.”
THAT would be titties!!! :D As long as the goberment don’t use it on civies. :O
80
posted on
05/27/2009 12:42:25 PM PDT
by
griffin
(Love Jesus, No Fear!)
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