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| Military close to replacing the M-16 |
| 2004-08-10 |
| Actual Article includes pics and a video. NEW YORK — U.S. soldiers have been waiting for a long time for weapons to replace current ones that rely on Vietnam-era technology. And the new weapons are right around the corner. One of these weapons is the XM-8 (search), a rifle with chameleon-like qualities that allows soldiers to interchange parts, outfitting it for urban warfare or long-range sniping. Military and civilian weapons experts are still working out the kinks in the XM-8, which will replace the M-16. "The ability to reconfigure the weapon to the mission was very, very important. ... It grew out of soldiers telling us they need these kinds of capabilities," said Col. Michael J. Smith, project manager for Soldier Weapons. The XM-8 is designed to be lighter and more user-friendly than current weapons. It is part of a new family of weapons, including machine-gun type weapons like the XM-307 and XM-312 that are lethal at more than a mile away. In addition to being lighter, the new technology in the XM-8 makes hitting targets extremely easy. The rifle could be in soldiers' hands as early as next summer. |
| Posted by:2% |
| #20 John Muhammad was also operating under much more favorable conditions than the average soldier, or even the average sniper, on the battlefield: he could pick a target, take his time, worry about shot placement, and leave, all without having to deal with return fire or other soldiers. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-09-01 9:23:59 PM |
| #19 Apropos of nothing, John Muhammad the DC sniper used .223 ammo, and killed every one of his targets. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-09-01 9:13:34 PM |
| #18 I've been following the xm8 story over at murdoc online; no matter what's finally adopted, 6,8mm or 5,56, it is still sad and weird in some way to see an end to the m16 rifle, the rifle that has symbolized the US grunt, the most successful western assault rifle, the most instantly recognisable design along with the ak. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5089 2004-08-11 09:16 |
| #17 Here's what I know. Apparently the weapon was developed with a 6.8mm conversion in mind, but that unleashes all the impending contracts for the new caliber. Moreover, I remember this little kerfuffle about the "APLP" bullet (5.56mm), supposedly a super-manstopper, that threatened the whole 6.8mm deal, which SOCOM reportedly has latched onto. However, according to SOF (?), it will eventually caliber-convert to 7.62x39mm AND 5.45x39mm, and the lower magazine well will convert to allow use of AKM or AK-74 magazines. How does that sound? |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2004-08-10 23:16 |
| #16 There's also a "6.5mm Grendel" round being investigated, in addition to the others. You can read about it at: http://www.65grendel.com. If I were making the choice, I'd prefer the 6.5 to the 6.8, but I'd vastly prefer the 6.8 to the 5.56. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-08-10 21:37 |
| #15 I'm partial to 7.62mm. One shot, one kill. I've been reading that some of our people in Iraq have found the present caliber to be a little light. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2004-08-10 19:37 |
| #14 This is actually based a lot on the old G-11 from HK. I heard 6.8 and 7mm both mentioned as rounds. I wish they had goetten the "caseless" from the G11 as well -the bolt on that rifle was mazing - allowed a cyclic rate of 2000 rounds/min - meaning your 3 round burst would go in 0.09 of a second - not enough time for muzzle climb and recoil to skew it off target. Also held more ammo internally due to no casing =- lighter, and allowed for more round because the ammo was "square" in the back instead of round brass. Also due to no need to extract, the bolt cycle as faster, and no brass meand the bolt seal was tighter (meaning higher muzzle velocity, flatter firing). I bet a lot of that found its way into the XM8 - at least I hope so. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2004-08-10 18:49 |
| #13 manugfactured in Columbus Georgia Smile when you say that ed... :) |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-10 18:13 |
| #12 uh . . . the M16/AR15 has interchangeble parts too. On mine, I just pop two pins and swap out the upper receiver and it becomes a .50 cal fire breather in under 60 seconds (there are uppers available in many calibers and barrel lengths). I can mount an endless array of scopes, night vision and lights on the upper and forward rails. Oh, well .. . I guess boyz just love new toyz. |
| Posted by: spiffo 2004-08-10 18:13 |
| #11 I'll take one, no matter what caliber it is! |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2004-08-10 18:03 |
| #10 Ed: globalsecurity.org says that it uses 10- and 30-round "semi-transparent" magazines, as well as a 100-round drum. Based on the picture, it looks like it'd be pretty easy to see how many rounds are left (if you lose count, that is...). |
| Posted by: snellenr 2004-08-10 17:42 |
| #9 If they stick with 5.56mm, they need to rethink their operating roles and manufacture something that's designed to knockdown (and stay down) at <100m ranges. |
| Posted by: Anonymous4021 2004-08-10 17:41 |
| #8 The XM8 will be manugfactured in Columbus Georgia. If the Army wants to field some units next year, then it will be 5.56mm. If enough 5.56 units get into the field, then I don't see them changing to 6.8mm, sweet as it may be. I do hope the XM8 can use the G36 style see through plastic magazines. BTW, the G36 mechanism is based on the AR18, so think of it as comming back home. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-08-10 17:24 |
| #7 This new rifle looks an awful lot like the M41A rifle. ;o) |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-08-10 16:55 |
| #6 saw it too on FOX - my new fave channel runs 6 hours a day here lol, yeah nice machine in my opinion (is it a machine), all it needs it a drinks holder and it'd do everything.looks the way to go - remember all the bitching about stryker - the b-2 the FA-18E (well all models) they all did well plus thousands of others (just a few examples there) that were panned by the critics before they even entered service personally i think we should by, well mmake some of the 'Sturmtiger' artillary tanks similar but better then the WW2 german design, basically a big building destroyer - imagine it in Najaf - i am :) |
| Posted by: Shep UK 2004-08-10 16:49 |
| #5 Does anyone know if they've finalized the ammo caliber? It'd be nice if they went with 6.8mm instead of the 5.56mm standard... |
| Posted by: Anonymous4021 2004-08-10 16:48 |
| #4 I guess we're outsourcing these things before they even get a chance to be manufactured in the US : The U.S. Army has ordered 200 experimental XM-8 5.56mm assault rifles (shown below in a concept drawing) from German firm Heckler-Koch. The XM-8 is derived from the hugely successful Heckler-Koch G36 assault rifle ... http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/?target=xm8.htm |
| Posted by: DCD 2004-08-10 16:46 |
| #3 ABOUT FRIGGIN TIME! I saw the FNC video and it look kind of like the UK Enfield. LONG OVERDUE! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-08-10 16:34 |
| #2 Given the theaters we've been fighting in so far, it would be helpful to 'reconfigure' them to fire AK-47 rounds. Apparently they grow on trees over yonder. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-08-10 16:27 |
| #1 Chameleons have interchangeable parts??? :D |
| Posted by: Anonymous4021 2004-08-10 15:44 |