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Army Sending New Airburst Gun to 101st
The Army is set to field the first prototype of a new weapon that could deny the protection of buildings and canals to an enemy in Afghanistan that frequently uses the cover of local villages to fire on American troops.The XM-25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System is a new shoulder-fired gun that shoots a fist-sized round packed with an explosive warhead that detonates over the heads of enemy forces at pre-determined ranges. Call it a cross between an M203 grenade launcher and a 60mm mortar. Though the weapon was originally set to go to an Army Special Forces detachment in Afghanistan this summer, senior Army officials received an urgent request from a battalion with the 101st Airborne in Afghanistan for a more effective weapon to beat back their wily Taliban foe. As a result, the Army's top gear buyer, Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller, orchestrated the moves to get the Screaming Eagles the XM-25 first. Army officials would not disclose which specific 101st battalion would receive the XM-25, citing security concerns. "The field wanted that capability and the leadership supports us providing that capability," Fuller said during an Oct. 14 media roundtable at the Pentagon. "They actually wanted a large number [of XM-25s] and we just can't build them that fast." The Army agreed to set aside $10 million to purchase 36 of the airburst weapons. PEO Soldier Weapons has five XM-25s on hand and will send those, along with two civilians who will help maintain the weapons and teach Soldiers how to operate the gun. Though the XM-25 emerged from the ashes of the ill-fated Objective Individual Combat Weapon, which was canceled early this decade, the technology has quietly progressed while Army engineers refined the fire control system and ammo and reduced the gun's weight. Made by Heckler and Koch and firing Alliant Techsystems-made high explosive air bursting 25mm rounds, the XM-25 is a semi-auto bullpup design weighing about 12 pounds. It uses an L3 Communications-made laser targeting optic to determine a target's range and compensate for altitude and other environmental conditions to dial in precisely where the round is going to impact or explode. Officials say the new weapon will address the range and firepower problems Soldiers face with an Afghan enemy that often fires from long distances behind tough cover. "A squad's pinned down and they're getting fire from 600 meters away," explained the Army's top weapons buyer, Col. Doug Tamilio. "That [XM-25] gunner's going to come out and go 'boom, boom, boom,' fire five rounds, and there isn't going to be anybody shooting back at them." "They're going to go 'oh my God, I want more!' " Tamilio said that the deployment to a line infantry unit as opposed to a special ops team will help developers refine the weapon design and its use. "The accuracy and the range of this thing are going to open up whole new ideas on how to use it," he said. "As we find lessons learned here, we'll make a better weapon system so when we finally produce this weapon on the production line, we'll have a lot of good Soldier feedback." The Army plans to buy thousands of the XM-25 in the future, placing one airburst weapon in each infantry squad. Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-10-16 |
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