"Secret Weapon"

Dusty · 11-28-2010, 18:51

Just came out on Fox:

There's a picture on the link.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/...an/?test=faces

Since the dawn of modern warfare, the best way to stay alive in the face of incoming fire has been to take cover behind a wall. But thanks to a game-changing "revolutionary" rifle, the U.S. Army has made that tactic dead on arrival. Now the enemy can run, but he can't hide.

After years of development, the U.S. Army has unleashed a new weapon in Afghanistan -- the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, a high-tech rifle that can be programmed so that its 25-mm. ammunition does not necessarily explode on impact. Instead, it can be set to detonate either in front of or behind a target, meaning it literally will go through a wall before it explodes and kills the enemy.

It also has a range of roughly 2,300 feet -- nearly the length of eight football fields -- making it possible to fire at targets well past the range of the rifles and carbines that most soldiers carry today.

Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, project manager for the semi-automatic, shoulder-fired weapon system for the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office Soldier, said that the XM25's capability alone is such a "game-changer" that it'll lead to new ways of fighting on the battlefield, beginning this month in Afghanistan.

"With this weapon system, we take away cover from [enemy targets] forever," Lehner told FoxNews.com on Wednesday. "Tactics are going to have to be rewritten. The only thing we can see [enemies] being able to do is run away."

With this new weapon in the Army's arsenal, Lehner said, "We're much more effective, by many magnitudes, than current weapons at the squad level. We're able to shoot farther and more accurately, and our soldiers can stay behind sandbags, walls or rocks, which provides them protection from fire."

Lehner said the first XM25s were distributed to combat units in Afghanistan this month. The 12-pound, 29-inch system, which was designed by Minnesota's Alliant Techsystems, costs up to $35,000 per unit and, while highly sophisticated, is so easy to use that soldiers become proficient within minutes.

"That's how intuitively easy it is, even though it's high-tech," Lehner said. "All a soldier needs to know how to do is laze the target. It decimates anything within its lethal radius."

Once the trigger is pulled and the round leaves the barrel, a computer chip inside the projectile communicates exactly how far it has traveled, allowing for precise detonation behind or ahead of any target.

"We have found that this has really made our soldiers so much more accurate and being able to deliver this high-explosive round in about five seconds," said Lehner, taking into account the time it takes a soldier to laze, aim and fire the weapon. Once fired, Lehner said, the round will reach its target in a "second or two," meaning the entire process from aiming to direct hit lasts less than 10 seconds, compared to 10 minutes or longer for traditional mortar fire.

A potential battlefield scenario, according to Army officials, might go something like this:

-- A patrol encounters an enemy combatant in a walled Afghan village who fires an AK-47 intermittently from behind cover, exposing himself only for a brief second to fire.

-- The patrol's leader calls for the XM25 gunman, who uses the weapon's laser range finder to calculate the distance to the target.

-- He then uses an incremental button located near the trigger to add 1 meter to the round's distance, since the enemy is hiding behind a wall.

-- The round is fired, and it explodes with a blast comparable to a hand grenade past the wall and above the enemy.

"This is revolutionary for many reasons," Lehner said, citing increased efficiency, safety and lethality. "This is the first time we're putting smart technology in an individual weapon system for our soldiers. We feel it's very important to field this because it keeps us ahead of the technological curve of our potential enemies. We have a feeling other people will try to copy us -- this is the future."

Lehner said the Army plans to purchase at least 12,500 XM25 systems beginning next year -- enough for one system in each infantry squad and Special Forces team.

The military isn't overly concerned that the weapon might be captured by the enemy, because they would be unable to obtain its highly specialized ammunition, batteries and other components. Lehner said he expects other nations will try to copy its technology, but it will be very cost-prohibitive.

"This is a game-changer," Lehner said. "The enemy has learned to get cover, for hundreds if not thousands of years.

"Well, they can't do that anymore. We're taking that cover from them and there's only two outcomes: We're going to get you behind that cover or force you to flee. So no matter what, we gotcha."

11-28-2010, 19:04

What happens when our enemies obtain these weapons by means of battle field recovery, or say, some former Navy SEAL sells one to a Mexican connection.

I hope I don't hear, "Men we are returning to grid coordinates, such and such, to recovery a missing weapon, we expect to face heavy opposition."

This is not crypto from a USAF aircraft, or something more sensitive.

Can we move quickly past all these little speed bumps and simply drop a nuke on Mecca, or something else?

I'm open to suggestions.

Penn · 11-28-2010, 19:40

Maybe some Pate perhaps?

longrange1947 · 11-28-2010, 19:43

And so the weapon of about 5 to 6 years ago again rears it head. First produced by H&K, OIWC, I do believe, could be wrong, have been before.

Buffalobob · 11-28-2010, 19:51

Dusty?
Come up, Dusty!!!!

This is 01 actual, come up Dusty!

Dusty come on up, you need to edit the middle of your thread. If you don't come up we're going to to put an airburst over you to wake you up. Break squelch twice if you copy.
01 actual out!

Dusty · 11-28-2010, 20:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buffalobob

Dusty?
Come up, Dusty!!!!

This is 01 actual, come up Dusty!

Dusty come on up, you need to edit the middle of your thread. If you don't come up we're going to to put an airburst over you to wake you up. Break squelch twice if you copy.
01 actual out!

I allowed hunger to detract me from proofreading my post. I've given myself a demerit.

**The Reaper** · 11-28-2010, 20:13

Ah, the return (again) of the late and unlamented OICW.

What a POS. Low lethality when compared to the 40mm, unless the round detonates in the barrel, like it did with the test weapons, and injures the shooter.

Tell you what, you take the XM25 for $35,000 and I'll take an M79 or M203 with $34,000 worth of ammo to train with and we'll see which is more effective in the end.

Especially when you find out how much the battery pack weighs and how long it lasts.

TR

Dusty · 11-28-2010, 20:24

You'd think they've had enough time to refine the system to the point that it automatically adds another meter as opposed to having to diddle with a button, eh?

Tree Potato · 11-28-2010, 21:53

Same question pops to mind with this as when OICW initially trundled out...have ROE for its use been thought through?

I can already hear the chorus of righteous indignation rising from the usual flock of doves the first time an unseen "innocent" family is taken out while eliminating a threat that hid in a hut.

perdurabo · 11-29-2010, 00:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by wet dog

What happens when our enemies obtain these weapons by means of battle field recovery, or say, some former Navy SEAL sells one to a Mexican connection.

I'm open to suggestions.

This is where the pre-firing 4 digit PIN code & biometric fingerprint scanner on the trigger come in...

Simple is better with nearly everything, especially guns and vehicles.

Debo · 11-29-2010, 09:07

Geeez. If I hear the term "game changer" one more time....

D.

swatsurgeon · 11-29-2010, 13:38

I wonder what the wound ballistics are in gelatin on that round?? Inquiring minds want to know?? Through the barrier then does devastating things....reminds me of LeMas,,,,nah
ss

Dusty · 11-29-2010, 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by swatsurgeon

I wonder what the wound ballistics are in gelatin on that round?? Inquiring minds want to know?? Through the barrier then does devastating things....reminds me of LeMas,,,,nah
ss

Wound ballistics? That's classified.

We'll have to wait for it to come out on Wiki.

craigepo · 11-29-2010, 14:00

Whatever happened to having a couple guys carry a LAW rocket?

Spend a couple grand, outfit the platoon with LAWs, blow the damned wall down the old-fashioned way. Take the remaining $33,000, throw a beach party with booze, steaks, and whatever locals that might want a trip to the land of the big PX.

greenberetTFS · 11-29-2010, 14:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by wet dog

What happens when our enemies obtain these weapons by means of battle field recovery, or say, some former Navy SEAL sells one to a Mexican connection.

I hope I don't hear, "Men we are returning to grid coordinates, such and such, to recovery a missing weapon, we expect to face heavy opposition."

This is not crypto from a USAF aircraft, or something more sensitive.

Can we move quickly past all these little speed bumps and simply drop a nuke on Mecca, or something else?

I'm open to suggestions.

The military isn't overly concerned that the weapon might be captured by the enemy, because they would be unable to obtain its highly specialized ammunition, batteries and other components. Lehner said he expects other nations will try to copy its technology, but it will be very cost-prohibitive.

We are looking at this the wrong way!........

We should let them find it and hope they'll try a use it..........

From what longrange and TR are saying it's a POS and it may behoove us when they try to use it............

Big Teddy