XM-25 heading to Afghanistan with Green Berets
First real-time world use of new weapon
May 24, 2010
The Army is set to deploy the XM-25 Individual Airburst Weapon to a unit from the Special Forces who will take it with them to Afghanistan this summer. This marks the first real-world use of the Starship Troopers-esque gun that fires a "smart" 25mm round which can explode in a pre-programmed proximity to a target.
The XM-25 resembles a highly sophisticated grenade launcher that fires laser-guided smart rounds. The laser gauges a distance to target and allows the warfighter to set where the round will detonate, adding or subtracting increments of 3 meters from the laser-spotted point. Then the scope tells a microchip inside the round how far it should travel before exploding. he XM-25 resembles a highly sophisticated grenade launcher that fires laser-guided smart rounds. The laser gauges a distance to target and allows the soldier to set where the round will detonate, adding or subtracting increments of 3 meters from the laser-spotted point. The gun automatically transmits the detonating distance to the grenade in the firing chamber. The grenade tracks the distance it has traveled by the number of spiral rotations after it is fired. These features make the XM25 more effective than traditional grenade launchers at the task of hitting targets that are behind cover or dug into the ground.
The system is under development by Heckler & Koch and Alliant Techsystems, while the target acquisition/fire control is developed by L-3 IOS Brashear. The most recent deployment plans call for a purchase of 12,500 XM25s at a projected cost per weapon system of $25,000. Full-scale production will begin in 2012.
RESOURCES ABOUT MILITARY WEAPONS
1. U.S. Army Weapons Systems 2010
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