XM25 "Game Changer" Weapon Now Killing Enemies Behind Walls in Afghanistan

[Judi Lynn]

Source: CBS News

December 1, 2010 2:10 PM
XM25 "Game Changer" Weapon Now Killing Enemies Behind Walls in Afghanistan

The future has arrived for the U.S. military: guns that kill enemies behind walls.

Last week, the Army deployed in Afghanistan prototypes of its first-ever programmable "smart" grenade launcher, a shoulder-fired weapon called the XM25 that uses micro-chipped exploding ammunition to target and kill the enemy, Agence France Presse reports.

What is it that that makes this weapon special? The only way to be safe from it is inside a closed, concrete bunker.

The XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System fires 25mm air-bursting shells up to 2,300 feet, making it most closely related to the grenade launcher, but with a range greater than most rifles used by the Army, AFP reports.

Let's say enemy fighter pops up from behind a wall to fire at U.S. troops and then takes cover before they can respond. An XM25 gunner can then use the laser range finder to get the distance to the wall, program the explosive to go off a few feet behind it, fire over the wall, and then watch as lethal shell fragments rain down from above.




Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20024281-503543.html

[CBGLuthier]

1. Wonder what those "shells" cost? Wonder who makes them?

Wonder who keeps making all that lovely money while we blow the world up a few people at a time.

[obxhead]

9. It's not cheap. (links)

Cost of the weapon itself:

http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/xm25_0044443532/

XM25 has been what the government has been spending time on getting it just right. The XM25 costs $25-30,000 per gun as it is such a high-tech device. The US troops have ordered 12,500 guns as of now. (That's $312,500,000 @ 25K a piece)

Cost of the bullets:

http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/us-army-develops-xm25-remote-controlled-bullets-rifle-2009068/

The XM25 costs just $25 per bullet fired.

It is also expected that the XM25 will get different versions of the bullets that can be used to stun rather than kill their target. (no mention in this article about future bullet costs)

Who is manufacturing the weapons:

http://weapons.technology.youngester.com/2009/06/xm25-gun.html

Developed jointly by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and the US company Alliant Techsystems (ATK Corporation)

I couldn't find anything that specified who exactly is making the ordinance at this point. I could only guess the weapon manufacturer is handling that still, but it would only be a guess.

[Posteritatis]

19. The number of shots it has to fire probably matters too

I think the army fires approximately infiniteen gazillion rounds per killed or injured enemy at this point, so if that's reduced by a few orders of magnitude by something like this in places it probably adds up quickly. A typical 5.56mm bullet isn't too expensive, but a few hundred of them (plus the magazines, of course) would start getting significant.

[obxhead]

22. These seem to be initial costs as well.

The first rule in military spending is that it will cost at least twice what it is expected to.

[gratuitous]

2. "Let's say enemy fighter pops up from behind a wall"

Yeah, that'll be the only time this weapon is ever used. Though I wonder what the difference between an enemy fighter and someone battling a foreign occupier might be, but I'm sure the game changers have thought of that. They think of just about everything!

[dipsydoodle]

4. Useful against innocent villagers

hiding in their houses too :sarcasm:

[GreenStormCloud]

5. Combatants always seek cover.

It has been a very long time since opposing forces stood is straight lines on a field and banged away at each other. Modern forces always seek to take cover of some sort. The XM25 removes that cover. This new weapon will be used a lot.

[The Stranger]

3. Sounds like it brings a risk of friendly fire.

The uses are fairly limited.

[GreenStormCloud]

6. All weapons, even bows and arrows, have that risk.

Previously, if an enemy had taken cover, you had to maneuver around his cover, or call in fire support, or lose the engagement. Now, with one of these in the squad, you can explode a round a few feet from the enemy and continue with your mission.

The Army plans to have one in every squad.

[Big_Mike]

7. I don't think you've ever tried to put an M203 round through a window

at 200 meters! Non-trivial exercise in the extreme. Also, the requirement to guess-timate the range to the target is eliminated. Plus trying to angle the weapon 30 or 40 degrees to fire the round on a hyperbolic parabola for a specific distance to hit the target is minimized.

The uses for this are super varied. Because of the accuracy and reduction in need to "walk" the grenades onto the target, you need fewer rounds to hit the enemy.

As far as cost is concerned, I'd say it is much cheaper than $400K per soldier killed on the battlefield, should you wish to determine cost/benefit in this manner.

[Yeahyeah]

15. Stupid.

[Yeahyeah]

8. Stupid.

[NutmegYankee]

11. Why?

[Imajika]

13. How is it stupid?

Looks like this weapon will be an excellent asset to our military.

[Yeahyeah]

16. No lack of stupid.

[Imajika]

21. So your basically just posting nonsense....n/t

[Yeahyeah]

27. That's your job.

[TheWatcher]

33. Indeed! Just think how many useless wars you'll get to cheer on in the near future!

USA! USA! USA!

:crazy:

[caraher]

10. That's always been the basic idea behind mortars

The difference is that in the old days, you had "dumb" munitions and relied on a high trajectory to clear the wall the other guy hides behind. I'm sure this is more lethal (and costly) thanks to the technology, but armies have long found methods of killing people behind cover.

[jeff47]

17. One expensive shell is much cheaper that lots and lots of inexpensive shells

Also much less likely to kill everyone else in the building.

[Posteritatis]

18. It sounds sort of like bringing mortars down to the level of individual soldiers

No idea how that works in practice, but it would certainly make taking on American soldiers in a firefight substantially less pleasant than it already is, which is probably the point.

[Forkboy]

12. "Cool! What's G-13 do?"

[FiveGoodMen]

14. Yup.

:fistbump:

[Swamp Rat]

26. !

;)

"By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. Thank you, thank you. Just a little thought. I'm just trying to plant seeds. Maybe one day they'll take root. I don't know... you try. You do what you can. Kill yourselves. Seriously though, if you are, do. No really, there's no rationalisation for what you do, and you are Satan's little helpers, OK? Kill yourselves, seriously. You're the ruiner of all things good. Seriously, no, this is not a joke... There's gonna be a joke coming... There's no fucking joke coming, you are Satan's spawn, filling the world with bile and garbage, you are fucked and you are fucking us. Kill yourselves. It's the only way to save your fucking soul. Kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself now. Now, back to the show." :)

[Forkboy]

29. I so miss Bill.

He was one of those lights that comes along every so often and just puts it all into perspective.

Time to squeegie the third eye! :)

[Swamp Rat]

31. 3:13

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

[Forkboy]

32. LMAO!

That's perfect!

And I haven't seen a Woody Woodpecker cartoon in ages! Thanks for that alone! :)

[Freetradesucks]

20. Advancements in technology

are always good. Especially the ones that give our soldiers the upper hand.

[FiveGoodMen]

23. You're sure they need to kill everyone they're killing?

[Freetradesucks]

24. I think they try their very best to.

nt

[Poll_Blind]

25. We're gonna love it when our police start using the "less than lethat" shells for these.

Yum, yum! And police departments will be lining up...

PB

[Yeahyeah]

28. they're all concerned about the walls now?kill people,conserve walls.

we're gonna beat the afghans now for sure.it's not a racket,it's all these heroes keeping us safe.and broke.

[n2doc]

30. The Army could have Star trek level weaponry and still would lose over there

Unless the US is willing to go total genocide, the will always be another resistance fighter to replace those killed over there. We tried overwhelming tactical weaponry superiority in Vietnam with carpet bombing, didn't work either.

[unhappycamper]

34. At only $30 grand, it's a beauty:

:sarcasm:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM-25





And the best part is you know it won't cost less than $30 grand a pop.