Military

XM-25: The US Army's first smart shoulder-fired weapon

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The XM25 smart weapon
The XM25 smart weapon

May 27, 2009 The XM25 Individual Air Burst Weapon is looking likely to be the shoulder-fired weapon of choice for the US military to kill or neutralize hidden targets. Due for field test this summer, the lightweight XM-25 "smart weapon" uses High Explosive Air-Burst (HEAB) munitions that can be programmed to detonate at a precise point in the air without the need to impact, spelling trouble for elusive targets, be they behind a wall, inside a building or in a foxhole.

The XM25

Developed jointly by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and the US company Alliant Techsystems (ATK Corporation), the XM-25 is a semi-automatic, shoulder-fired weapon with a five-round magazine and weighs in at around 14 pounds (6.3kg) – about the same weight as an M-16 with a 203 grenade launcher. The weapon's XM116 integral fire system provides the weapon with its precision and is capable of controlling individually each of the 25mm rounds in real time. Based on a thermal optic, day-sight, laser range finder, compass and infrared light, the system can precisely measure the distance to the target and program each round to explode close to the mark via the wireless connection. Capable of hitting a point target at 500 meters and area targets at 700 meters with a range of munitions including HEAB, anti-personnel, two types of non-lethal munitions – blunt and agent dispersing airburst - plus armor piercing, and door breaching munitions, this is one very nasty piece of ordinance and a must have on any soldiers list.

In a nutshell, it operates with the soldier sighting the target and the advanced laser rangefinder transmitting range information to the chambered 25mm round. The soldier then essentially points and fires. After the round leaves the chamber and moves towards its target, the system precisely measures the distance traveled and detonates it at exactly the right moment to deliver maximum effectiveness. ATK says that the XM25 increases the warfighter’s probability of hit-to-kill performance by up to 500 percent over existing weapons and extends the effective range of the soldier’s individual weapon to more than 500 meters.

The LW50MG

Another high-tech weapon recently field tested by the military is the Lightweight .50 Caliber Machine Gun (LW50MG). Unlike the XM25, which doesn’t 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.

For more information visit ATK and Heckler and Koch

David Greig

Via: US Army.

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16 comments
Shane
XM25 Air Burst Weapon fires an air-bursting round at a target from 16 to 600 meters away with a highly accurate, 360-degree explosive radius.
mhenriday
Think if the efforts, both financial and intellectual, devoted to finding ever better ways to kill (or 'neutralise', as the phrase goes) people could be devoted to more useful pursuits !...
Henri
Jennifer Manglass
I like its fancy costume.
TogetherinParis
Correction XM25 Air Burst Weapon fires an air-bursting round at a target from 0 to 750 meters away with a highly inaccurate, 180-degree explosive radius. 99% of the shrapnel fails to hit a target. Where are you getting your figures, Shane?
Pablo9176
I think Shane is getting his mis-information from the same people who like to tell us that wars are for our benefits.
That the Iraqi's had weapons of mass destruction. Plus they didn't kill Kennedy because he wanted to pull out of Vietnam, and that would've cost the arms manufacturers so much in lost revenue.
Mudd
RF Noise source operating in the area to interfere with the wireless connection and there won't be any bang when it gets to where it's going.
bio-power jeff
the Republic of Korea\'s Army already developed and deployed an indivisual air burst weapon which can change from K2 automatic 30 rounds from a flick of a switch.
\"The double-barreled K-11 assault rifle lets the shooter fire either NATO 5.56- or 20-millimeter grenades, all off the same trigger. Day and night aiming is accomplished with a thermal target seeker and laser that calculates distance automatically--a true point-and-shoot.\"
i don\'t know a lot about this gun, so if you want more information google \'K11 aussault rifle\'
cwolf88
I worry more about the shoulder-stock interface, the lack of an adjustable length stock, and the recoil.
Ideally there will be golf ball buckshot and flechette rounds for the close fight.
Chris7527
it just needs some kind of umbrella armor to counter this weapon.
Chris Weiss
Scenario - This gets reasonably widespread adoption in the field. Enemy steals/hacks signal/encryption on the detonation program and constantly broadcasts \"range=0\" all over the battlefield. How many friendlies die before someone gets clued in and they stop using it? Imagine the media feeding frenzy after that.