military virtue is no substitute for superior weapons .
As the saying go it is the man behind the gun that matters.
Agha H Amin
Army Sending New Airburst Gun to 101st
October 15, 2010
Military.com|by Christian Lowe
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.
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--
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear
of punishment and hope of reward after death." --
Albert Einstein !!!
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