The 25 mm grenade is a type of
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
ordnance
Ordnance may refer to:
Military and defense
*Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment.
**The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...
used in some modern
grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...
s. 25 mm grenades are armed after launch, after traveling a safe distance. Many types
explode
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
on
impact
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Impac ...
, but others are designed to
explode in mid-air after traveling a certain distance—used to clear entrenched or barricaded positions.
Examples of
weapon
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
s designed to launch 25 mm grenades are the experimental
XM25, the
Barrett XM109
The Barrett XM109 is a prototype anti materiel sniper rifle, chambered for 25 × 59 mm grenade rounds and developed by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. It was designed in accordance with a requirement set out in 1994, and is capable of defeating ...
payload rifle, and the
XM307 ACSW. The original use for this round was for the OCSW, now known as the XM307 ACSW. Later, a low
velocity
Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity is a ...
variant of the OCSW round was chosen for the XM25,
which is derived from the
XM29
The XM29 OICW (''Objective Individual Combat Weapon'') was a series of prototypes of a new type of assault rifle that fired 20 mm HE airbursting projectiles. The prototypes were developed as part of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon p ...
OICW
The Objective Individual Combat Weapon or OICW was the next-generation service rifle competition that was under development as part of the United States Army OICW program; the program was eventually discontinued without bringing the weapon out of ...
.
There are two different versions of the 25mm grenade: the 25×40mm low-velocity round developed for the XM25, and the 25×59mm high-velocity round developed for the XM109 and XM307.
See also
*
25 mm caliber
References
External links
25 mm ammunition - Global Security
Grenades
Large-caliber cartridges
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