Hey look at this

[DUKE]

November 11, 2009

Army News Service|by Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner

FORT BELVOIR, Va. - A Soldier successfully shoulder-fired a "smart" High Explosive Airburst, or HEAB round for the first time Aug. 11 from the XM-25 weapon system at Aberdeen Test Center, Md.

The Army plans on purchasing more than 12,500 XM-25 systems starting in 2012, which will be enough to put one in each Infantry squad and Special Forces team, according to officials at Program Executive Office-Soldier.

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.

"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.

"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."

Because of the XM-25's unique TAFC and HEAB round, Soldiers will be able to engage enemy forces located in the open and "in defilade" -behind cover, such as walls, rocks, trenches, or inside buildings. The semi-automatic weapon's magazine holds four 25mm rounds and can be employed at night or during inclement weather thanks to the XM25's built-in thermal sight.

After only five minutes of instruction at the Aberdeen Test Center, Sgt. Logan E. Diveley from the 180th Infantry Regiment was able to put his first HEAB round through a building's window and take out an enemy mannequin at 200 meters.

When asked what he thought of the weapon, Diveley responded, "I've been in over nine contacts with the enemy during my two tours in Iraq. Their ambushes were usually initiated with an IED and followed up with small arms fire from behind walls and buildings, places where it was hard for us to get at them. The XM-25 would have taken care of things and made our jobs much easier."

Once downrange and in the building where the defeated enemy mannequin lay, Maj. Murray noted the limited collateral damage associated with the XM-25.

"Because of its pinpoint accuracy and relatively small warheads, the XM25 can neutralize an enemy without the need to destroy a whole building," Murray said. "For our counter-insurgency operations to be successful, it is important to keep collateral damage to a minimum and to protect the civilian population. I think the XM-25 will prove itself many times over in Afghanistan," Murray said.

The XM-25 is being developed by PEO Soldier, the Army acquisition organization responsible for nearly every piece of equipment worn or carried by Soldiers. This includes items ranging from socks, to weapons, to advanced sensor and communication devices. PEO Soldier bases much of its work on the feedback from individual Soldiers, developing or procuring solutions to meet those needs.

The development of the XM-25 is one such a program, designed to provide Soldiers a solution for dealing with enemies in the open and behind cover that is more precise, quicker to employ, and more cost effective than mortar, artillery, or airstrikes.

A Battlefield Scenario for the XM-25

An American patrol nears a walled, Afghan village when an enemy combatant looks over the wall and fires his AK-47 rifle at the oncoming U.S. Soldiers. The Americans return fire with their rifles and maneuver, but find it difficult to neutralize the enemy rifleman who repeatedly exposes himself for only a second, shoots, then ducks behind the thick wall. At this time, the patrol leader calls for the XM-25 gunner to take action.

Immediately, the XM-25 gunner aims the laser range-finder at the top of the wall where the enemy last ducked down. The gunner presses the laser range finder button on the front of the XM-25's trigger guard and records a distance to the wall of 451 meters. The distance is displayed on the TAFC's optical lens along with an adjusted aim point, or "cross hair," to help the soldier better aim the XM-25.

The adjusted aim point takes into account air pressure, temperature, and the ballistics of the 25mm round for the given range of 451 meters. The soldier then uses the increment button on the trigger guard and adds one more meter to the firing solution since the enemy combatant is about one meter behind the wall.

Upon pulling the trigger, the TAFC programs the HEAB round in the chamber of the weapon, telling the round to explode at 452 meters from launch point. The HEAB round departs the rifled barrel, arms at 30 meters, clears the top of the wall at 451 meters and explodes its two warheads at 452 meters, right above the enemy. The entire firing sequence takes the gunner less than five seconds to aim and fire and another 2.5 seconds for the round to fly and explode over the target, thereby clearing the way for the patrol to resume its mission.:debile2:

Edited November 20, 2009 by DUKE
Have pic Now

[singleshot]

sounds like a weopon for noobs without skill to aim. :gun: I think I need one...

and you need a very stupid person behind the wall, who always popup at the same spot.:biggrin:

[ashdivay]

November 11, 2009

Army News Service|by Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner

FORT BELVOIR, Va. - A Soldier successfully shoulder-fired a "smart" High Explosive Airburst, or HEAB round for the first time Aug. 11 from the XM-25 weapon system at Aberdeen Test Center, Md.

The Army plans on purchasing more than 12,500 XM-25 systems starting in 2012, which will be enough to put one in each Infantry squad and Special Forces team, according to officials at Program Executive Office-Soldier.

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.

"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.

"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."

Because of the XM-25's unique TAFC and HEAB round, Soldiers will be able to engage enemy forces located in the open and "in defilade" -behind cover, such as walls, rocks, trenches, or inside buildings. The semi-automatic weapon's magazine holds four 25mm rounds and can be employed at night or during inclement weather thanks to the XM25's built-in thermal sight.

After only five minutes of instruction at the Aberdeen Test Center, Sgt. Logan E. Diveley from the 180th Infantry Regiment was able to put his first HEAB round through a building's window and take out an enemy mannequin at 200 meters.

When asked what he thought of the weapon, Diveley responded, "I've been in over nine contacts with the enemy during my two tours in Iraq. Their ambushes were usually initiated with an IED and followed up with small arms fire from behind walls and buildings, places where it was hard for us to get at them. The XM-25 would have taken care of things and made our jobs much easier."

Once downrange and in the building where the defeated enemy mannequin lay, Maj. Murray noted the limited collateral damage associated with the XM-25.

"Because of its pinpoint accuracy and relatively small warheads, the XM25 can neutralize an enemy without the need to destroy a whole building," Murray said. "For our counter-insurgency operations to be successful, it is important to keep collateral damage to a minimum and to protect the civilian population. I think the XM-25 will prove itself many times over in Afghanistan," Murray said.

The XM-25 is being developed by PEO Soldier, the Army acquisition organization responsible for nearly every piece of equipment worn or carried by Soldiers. This includes items ranging from socks, to weapons, to advanced sensor and communication devices. PEO Soldier bases much of its work on the feedback from individual Soldiers, developing or procuring solutions to meet those needs.

The development of the XM-25 is one such a program, designed to provide Soldiers a solution for dealing with enemies in the open and behind cover that is more precise, quicker to employ, and more cost effective than mortar, artillery, or airstrikes.

A Battlefield Scenario for the XM-25

An American patrol nears a walled, Afghan village when an enemy combatant looks over the wall and fires his AK-47 rifle at the oncoming U.S. Soldiers. The Americans return fire with their rifles and maneuver, but find it difficult to neutralize the enemy rifleman who repeatedly exposes himself for only a second, shoots, then ducks behind the thick wall. At this time, the patrol leader calls for the XM-25 gunner to take action.

Immediately, the XM-25 gunner aims the laser range-finder at the top of the wall where the enemy last ducked down. The gunner presses the laser range finder button on the front of the XM-25's trigger guard and records a distance to the wall of 451 meters. The distance is displayed on the TAFC's optical lens along with an adjusted aim point, or "cross hair," to help the soldier better aim the XM-25.

The adjusted aim point takes into account air pressure, temperature, and the ballistics of the 25mm round for the given range of 451 meters. The soldier then uses the increment button on the trigger guard and adds one more meter to the firing solution since the enemy combatant is about one meter behind the wall.

Upon pulling the trigger, the TAFC programs the HEAB round in the chamber of the weapon, telling the round to explode at 452 meters from launch point. The HEAB round departs the rifled barrel, arms at 30 meters, clears the top of the wall at 451 meters and explodes its two warheads at 452 meters, right above the enemy. The entire firing sequence takes the gunner less than five seconds to aim and fire and another 2.5 seconds for the round to fly and explode over the target, thereby clearing the way for the patrol to resume its mission.:debile2:

Cant you manually do the same thing with Carl Gustav ?

Leave it to Americans to come up with expensive alternatives for something that's already there. lol

[Volcano]

Well, a lot can be said about a 25mm air burst rifle. I have seen one these in testing years ago. Back then, it had an LRF on it, you would lase the target and then you could toggle, with + / - keys the range of burst from lase point in desired. It sounds like it is roughly the same now. When you fired the round it would burst over the target. It basically made trenches useless, it would burst over the trench and spray shrapnel down on it. It also made hiding in buildings useless too, since you could lase the building and then add a few meters to the range, then fire the round into a window causing it to burst inside. Fire a couple of those in and there is nothing left. If you can pack around 20 Carl Gustavs in an infantry squad then you must have a helluva supply chain and is not very cost effective. If you have an AT-4 or something similar, then you tend to save it for something important, but if your squad is armed with two M-25s then you will use them in every engagement as a sort of infantry squad SBF. The suppressive ability of the air-bursting M-25 is also something that should not be discounted either. At the very least, shrapnel in the enemy's face while they try to fire back will keep their head down I like to think.

I pity the enemy that will one day find themselves on the receiving end of it. I see though that they finally gave up trying to combine it with a 5.56mm rifle hybrid -- I guess it was too heavy. If I had to guess, the guy with the M-25 will become the squad/fire team's grenadier, replacing the M16 with M203 grenade launcher. They also only talk about the air-burst HE round, I think there are other rounds going to be used for it as well...

[Companion]

I see though that they finally gave up trying to combine it with a 5.56mm rifle hybrid -- I guess it was too heavy. If I had to guess, the guy with the M-25 will become the squad/fire team's grenadier, replacing the M16 with M203 grenade launcher.

Korean MoD did stick to that hybrid idea though:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_K11

But it's only 20mm and does not replace grenadiers (cost matters I guess?)

My distant memory says the devs have made 20mm rounds a bit longer than one would expect to compensate for the caliber drop from 25mm to 20mm but I'm not entirely sure

And finally, some youtube eyecandys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_MdhG6bxao

[Hedgehog]

However I suspect the OS of that thing will be windows based.

Then it will go wrong somewhere.

Probably in the middle of a pitched firefight.

**Heavy gunfire**

"Jenkins! Put one in that window!!"

"Sir, it says I need an upgrade!"

[Ssnake]

No. The Battle Assistant Otto Ordnance will intercept your actions:

"It seems you are pressing the trigger. Would you like

...to kill somebody?

...to test this weapon system?

...to write a letter?"

[Hedgehog]

No. The Battle Assistant Otto Ordnance will intercept your actions:

"It seems you are pressing the trigger. Would you like

...to kill somebody?

...to test this weapon system?

...to write a letter?"

It'll be that sodding paper clip, he gets everywhere.

Grenade launcher wizard.....:cul:

Of course what will actually happen is afer 3 weeks of field ops the sight will break and render the whole F**king thing useless.

[Volcano]

It'll be that sodding paper clip, he gets everywhere.

Grenade launcher wizard.....:cul:

Of course what will actually happen is afer 3 weeks of field ops the sight will break and render the whole F**king thing useless.

The top sight unit can be detached and replaced FWICR.

[Hedgehog]

Oh, Bugger, they thought of that then? Dammit. :biggrin:

Well you've got to give them credit for having at least one brain among them. :cul:

FWICR??

And, Yes, Tacbat. I've googled it.

It must be an obscure Volcano-ism.

[GH_Lieste]

FromWhatICanRecall

[Hedgehog]

Ah, right.

I can never get these internetisms (Acronyms).

So, coming back to the topic.

Is this thing just a replacement for M79 Thudd gun?

As I recall that didn't work all that brillantly. Hence the M203 development.

Wouldn't it be easier to have an attachement to the M203?

Like an induction ring for programming, the gubbins in a special shoulder stock with a flashlight type thing for the LRF alongside the barrel?

But what do I know?

I'm a civvy with a design degree, guess they're just trying to make money flogging an all new weapons system to the US army. It'll always be "a day late and a dollar short" as our American friends say.

[DUKE]

No. The Battle Assistant Otto Ordnance will intercept your actions:

"It seems you are pressing the trigger. Would you like

...to kill somebody?

...to test this weapon system?

...to write a letter?"

Yes I would Love to Test this. The Weapon in more ways then one 2Cav All the Way

Edited November 20, 2009 by DUKE

[DUKE]

Ah, right.

I can never get these internetisms (Acronyms).

So, coming back to the topic.

Is this thing just a replacement for M79 Thudd gun?

As I recall that didn't work all that brillantly. Hence the M203 development.

Wouldn't it be easier to have an attachement to the M203?

Like an induction ring for programming, the gubbins in a special shoulder stock with a flashlight type thing for the LRF alongside the barrel?

But what do I know?

I'm a civvy with a design degree, guess they're just trying to make money flogging an all new weapons system to the US army. It'll always be "a day late and a dollar short" as our American friends say.

No I dont think so I think the M 79 and the 203 are here to stay I think this will be addishen to each Patoon.

Edited November 20, 2009 by DUKE

[Tacbat]

And, Yes, Tacbat. I've googled it.

I tip my hat to you Sir.