![Flickr - The U](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Flickr_-_The_U.S._Army_-_Testing_the_new_XM-25_weapon_system.jpg)
The XM25 Counter
Defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
Target Engagement (CDTE) System,
also known as the Punisher and Individual Semiautomatic Air Burst System was an
airburst
An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over ...
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 ...
with programmable ammunition derived from the
XM29 OICW
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 ...
. It was fielded to soldiers serving in the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
in 2010, after which malfunctions and 2013 program budget cuts delayed official entry into service, planned for early 2017.
[Soldiers Can Set When Grenade Explodes With New Launcher](_blank)
''Army Times'', 12 October 2015 In early 2017, the contract with
Orbital ATK
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...
was cancelled, calling the future of the entire program into question.
The program was officially terminated on 24 July 2018.
[Army’s XM25 program officially goes kaput](_blank)
''Stars and Stripes''. 10 August 2018.
Design
![XM25-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/XM25-2.jpg)
The XM25 CDTE fires
25 mm grenades that are set to explode in mid-air at or near the target. A
laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...
in the weapon is used to determine the distance to the target. The user can manually adjust the detonating distance by up to shorter or longer; the XM25 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,
then detonates at the proper distance to produce an
airburst
An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over ...
effect. 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 was developed by
Alliant Techsystems and
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK; ) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also ...
, while the target acquisition/fire control was developed by L-3 IOS Brashear.
The
M203 grenade launcher has an effective range for point targets of 150 meters, and a maximum range for area targets of 350 meters. The XM25 has an effective range for point targets of 600 meters, and a maximum range for area targets of 700 meters. Studies indicate that the XM25 with air burst rounds is 300 percent more effective at engaging the enemy than other squad-level grenade launchers.
In 2014 the U.S. Army was working on a 40 mm autonomous airburst Small Arms Grenade Munitions (SAGM) round to give 40 mm grenade launchers airburst capabilities as a complementary system to the XM25.
Drawbacks
In March 2013 elements of the
75th Ranger Regiment
The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgi ...
refused to take the weapon on a raid because they found it too heavy and cumbersome. They also felt its low basic ammunition load and magazine capacity of 25mm grenades were not enough to justify the removal of an
M4A1 carbine
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.
The M4 is extensively ...
from the mission.
Although the XM25 enables infantry units to engage enemies hiding behind cover, the weapon has been met with several points of criticism, specifically that it requires soldiers to exchange their rifle and use it as their primary weapon, making them unable to perform required tasks in many squad battle drills; there is also concern that the operator has a reduced capacity to engage targets at close range and that its basic load of 36 rounds can be depleted too quickly in direct-fire engagements.
[Investigators to Army: Consider Canceling Troubled Airburst Weapon](_blank)
- Military.com, 1 September 2016
Furthermore, critics have said that the system is too heavy for a soldier to carry.
- Military.com, 9 September 2016 A US soldier equipped with an
M4 carbine
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.
The M4 is extensively ...
(the US Armed Forces primary infantry weapon), attachments and ammunition has to carry a load. With the addition of a
M320 grenade launcher
M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is the U.S. military's designation for a new single-shot 40 mm grenade launcher system to replace the M203 for the U.S. Army, while other services initially kept using the older M203. The M320 uses the same ...
and ammunition the total increases to . An XM25 with 36 rounds of ammunition is a weapon load alone. If this was swapped in for the M320 grenade launcher this means the infantryman needs to carry a larger load of .
Specifications
* Caliber: Low-velocity
25mm × 40 grenade
**
Thermobaric
A thermobaric weapon, also called an aerosol bomb, a vacuum bomb or a fuel air explosive (FAE), is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. The fuel–air explosive is one of the be ...
**
Flechette
** Training
**
High-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 ...
airbursting round
Round or rounds may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere
* Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...
(HEAB)
**
Non-lethal
Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...
** Armor Piercing (50 mm armor penetration)
[Smart Grenades That Work Most Of The Time](_blank)
- Strategypage.com, 19 March 2013
** Door breaching
* High Explosive Air Bursting (HEAB) Firing Modes:
** Airburst (In front of or over aiming point)
** Point Detonation
** Point Detonation Delay
** Window (Beyond aiming point)
* Operation:
Gas operated
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...
semi-automatic
* System weight:
* Target acquisition/fire control (XM104)
** Weight:
** 4×
thermal sight
A thermographic weapon sight, thermal imagery scope or thermal weapon sight is a Sight (device), sighting device combining a compact thermographic camera and an aiming reticle. They can be mounted on a variety of small arms as well as some heavier ...
with
zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Zoom (software), videoconferencing application
* Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display
* Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
** 2× direct view
optical sight
A sight is an aiming device used to assist in visually aligning ranged weapons, surveying instruments or optical illumination equipments with the intended target. Sights can be a simple set or system of physical markers that have to be aligne ...
** Ballistic computer
** Digital
compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
**
Laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...
**
Ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
fuze
In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...
setter
** Environmental
sensor
A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon.
In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...
s
History
The XM25 began as an offshoot of the
Objective Individual Combat Weapon
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 ...
program that started in the late 1990s. The
U.S. Army Research Laboratory was the technical lead for the Program Manager Soldier Weapons, who worked on the development of the XM25 25 mm individual air burst weapon system. The system was designed to enhance the capability of individual Soldiers to defeat targets in defilade. The XM25 had been utilized in Afghanistan with support from ARL personnel involved in training Soldiers, enabling and evaluating XM25 combat tactical integration, and collecting data for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase of the contract. The XM25 design included hardware modifications to improve reliability, weight, and fire control lasers optimized to increase range performance against targets out to 2,000 meters away. Additional modifications addressed weapon ergonomics including butt-plate configuration, rear bolt buffer housing and recoil optimization.
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 ...
was intended to be an individual combat weapon that combined a rifle and airburst grenade launcher. It weighed , far more than an individual rifle or grenade launcher. Its 20 mm airbursting grenades weighed half as much as
40mm grenades. These lighter grenades were less effective at suppressing the enemy or putting them out of action. In August 2003, the XM29 roles were separated into specific weapons, with the rifle pursued as the
XM8
The Heckler & Koch XM8 is a lightweight assault rifle system developed from the late 1990s to early 2000s. The rifle was designed by German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K), and shares design and engineering with their G36 rifle.
...
, and the OICW Increment 2 standalone airburst component as the XM25. As a standalone launcher, it was intended to be a special applications and support weapon, able to fire larger 25 mm grenade rounds which would generate 50 percent more, and heavier, fragments within a radius compared to the experimental 20 mm grenades. In 2005, six weapons underwent limited field trials and combat testing. Two years later, they were sent overseas for testing in combat situations. The XM25 was planned to be sent into theater in 2008, but minor suggestions from users and tests revealed design elements that needed to be refined.
Deployment to Afghanistan
In the summer of 2010, the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
began field testing the XM25 in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, with an initial per-unit cost of the early models ranging from to $35,000.
Five of the weapons were deployed with the
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
in Afghanistan in October 2010, along with 1,000 hand-made airburst rounds. The soldiers reported that the weapon was extremely effective at killing or neutralizing enemy combatants firing on US troops from covered positions. US troops nicknamed the weapon, "The Punisher." First contact was on 3 December 2010. As of February 2011, the weapon had been fired 55 times in nine engagements by two units in different locations. It had disrupted two insurgent attacks on observation posts, destroyed two
PKM machine gun
The PK (russian: Пулемёт Калашникова, transliterated as ''Pulemyot Kalashnikova'', or "Kalashnikov's machine gun"), is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge.
Designed in the Sov ...
positions, and destroyed four ambush sites. In one engagement, an enemy machine gunner was wounded by, or so frightened of, the XM25 that he dropped his weapon and ran away. The units with the XM25s had no casualties during the nine engagements. The weapon was called "revolutionary" and "a game-changer." One
platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...
leader commented that engagements that would normally take 15 to 20 minutes were over in just a few minutes. They performed flawlessly with no maintenance problems. Soldiers were so pleased that they carried it as their primary weapon without carrying an
M4 carbine
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.
The M4 is extensively ...
as a secondary. There were no complaints about its weight, but improvements to the battery life and a range increase to 1,000 meters were sought. Each round was hand built at a cost of $1,000.
[Bacon, Lance M]
"‘Punisher’ gets its first battlefield tests"
'' Armytimes.com'', 14 February 2011. Accessed: 18 February 2011.
The US Army ordered 36 more of the rifles in January 2012. On 12 September 2012, Alliant Techsystems received a $16.8 million engineering and manufacturing development contract modification for the XM25. ATK was to support another Army XM25 forward operational assessment scheduled for 2013 with a 36-gun battalion set of new pre-production prototypes.
[ATK Awarded Manufacturing Development Contract for XM25](_blank)
- ATK press release, 12 September 2012
Misfiring
On 2 February 2013, an XM25 exploded during a live-fire training event in Panjwai Afghanistan with Fierce Company 52nd Infantry, 1st Battalion 38th Infantry, 4th Brigade 2nd Infantry Division. The primer and propellant ignited as the result of a double feed, although safety mechanisms prevented the round's warhead from detonating. The gun was inoperable after the explosion and the soldier received minor injuries. In response, the Army removed the XM25 from service in Afghanistan. ATK noted that there were nearly 5,900 rounds fired between failures.
[Army removes XM25 from service after incident](_blank)
- Militarytimes.com, 5 March 2013 The misfiring caused the Army to delay the decision to move the XM25 into full-rate production, pending changes to the design of the weapon and ammunition, operating procedures, and training techniques. Testing continued at
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at ...
, where developers incorporated 130 design improvements. Despite the incident, Pentagon budget proposals included $69 million for 1,400 XM25 systems. The Army planned on a total of 10,876 units, two per infantry squad and one per special forces team.
Funding cut
In June 2013, the
Senate Armed Services Committee
The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Def ...
eliminated all funding for the 1,400 XM25 systems the Army wanted to purchase from the 2014 budget. The malfunction in February raised concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the weapon. The "unreliable performance" of the weapon led to funding being cut, as well as the recommendation to review alternative airburst weapon systems.
In August 2013, the Army announced that the XM25 may move to
low-rate initial production (LRIP) by August 2014. The weapon was in the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase and not yet ready for fielding. By August 2014, it was expected to reach Milestone C, starting LRIP for 1,100 weapons and needed ammunition. Low-rate production would lead to type-classification, resulting in removing the "X" from its designation. Improvements were being made concerning the fire control system, battery life, weight, and magazine size. The XM25 was expected to be combat-ready by the end of 2015, and be fielded with all brigade combat teams, as well as the Army Special Operations Command, special forces detachments, and ranger regiments. Automated production will reduce the price of the system to $35,000 for the weapon and fire control system, and $55 per round.
[XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement system may lose 'X' by next August](_blank)
- Army.mil, 9 August 2013
As of October 2015, the weapon was in the second round of contractor validation testing, with a Pre-Production Qualification Test (PPQT) to be conducted in spring 2016, which could lead to a Milestone C decision by August 2016. Since its first deployment, the XM25 has been updated by replacing the boxy 2X Fire Control System (FCS) with a more compact, streamlined FCS that has greater 3X magnification and improved weapon weight, accuracy, and reliability. If requirements are fulfilled and budgets hold, the XM25 could be fielded in early 2017.
On 29 August 2016, the
Defense Department Inspector General's Office released a report recommending the Army determine whether to proceed with or cancel the XM25 program after reviewing the results of 2016 Governmental testing, scheduled to be completed in fall 2016.
Army leaders maintain that the weapon provides revolutionary capabilities to the soldier, and that safety concerns have been addressed through engineering design changes and improvements over 30 additional months of testing. Although one XM25 was planned to be distributed in each deployed squad, fiscal constraints may alter that plan.
Litigation
In 2017
Orbital ATK
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...
filed suit via the U.S. District court in the district of Minnesota against
Heckler and Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK; ) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also ...
for damages of over US$27 million, claiming failure to deliver 20 XM25 prototype units. The filing also requested Transfer of
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
to allow Orbital ATK to contract another vendor for production of the system. The complaint stated that Heckler and Koch had wished legal clarification regarding potential
violations of the
Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868
The Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868 or in full Declaration Renouncing the Use, in Time of War, of Explosive Projectiles Under 400 Grammes Weight is an international treaty agreed in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, November 29 / December 1 ...
, which bans "any projectile of a weight below 400 grams" containing explosives. After consultation Heckler and Koch had stipulated that the
US Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
issue a special
certification
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
regarding use of the weapons system. The US Government did not issue such and negotiations broke down. In April 2017, the Army cancelled its contract with Orbital ATK after they failed to deliver 20 weapons as specified by the terms, putting the operational future of the XM25 in jeopardy.
[Army Kills Contract for Shoulder-Fired Airburst Weapon](_blank)
- Military.com, 6 May 2017
On 24 July 2018, the Army signed a memorandum officially terminating the program, after settling the lawsuit with Orbital ATK that gave the military intellectual property rights to the weapons and ammunition.
Program status
* April 2005 - First prototypes are delivered to the U.S. Army for field-testing.
* September 2005 - Test firing by regular troops at Grafenwöhr Training Area.
Soldiers test new weapons at Grafenwöhr - EUCOM
* November 2010 - Preliminary deployment in Afghanistan.
* 3 December 2010 - First contact.
* 12 September 2012 - EMD contract.
* 2 February 2013 - Misfire during live-fire event, XM25 removed from field in Afghanistan.
* June 2013 - Funding cut for XM25.
* August 2016 - Pentagon Inspector General report urges final decision on XM25 fielding or cancellation.
* April 2017 - Army cancels XM25 contract with Orbital ATK.
* July 2018 - Army officially terminates XM25.
See also
* List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
* List of bullpup firearms
The following is a list of firearms designed in a bullpup (i.e., action behind firecontrol/trigger group) configuration.
References
{{Bullpup Firearms, Rifles=Pindad SS2 Bullpup
Bullpup firearms
A bullpup firearm is one with its fir ...
* List of grenade launchers
This article lists all forms of grenade launchers around the world, that is to say weapons that launch grenades with more accuracy, a higher velocity and to greater distances than a soldier could.''Small Arms Illustrated'', 2010
Below is 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 ...
* Mk 47 Striker
* PAW-20
The Neopup PAW-20 (''Personal Assault Weapon, 20 mm'') is a 20×42mm semi-automatic grenade launcher designed by Tony Neophytou and as of 2015, is produced and marketed by Denel.
Overview
The PAW-20 is a hand-held, semi-automatic direct ...
* S&T Daewoo K11
The S&T Daewoo K11 DAW (Dual-barrel Air-burst Weapon) is a multi-weapon resembling the earlier US Objective Individual Combat Weapon in concept, design and operation. It consists of two separate weapons combined into a single unit: a lower assau ...
* QTS-11
* XM8 rifle
The Heckler & Koch XM8 is a lightweight assault rifle system developed from the late 1990s to early 2000s. The rifle was designed by German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K), and shares design and engineering with their G36 rifle.
T ...
* XM307
The XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon (ACSW) was a developmental 25 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher with programmable airburst capability. It is the result of the ''OCSW'' or ''Objective Crew Served Weapon'' project. It is lightweight and ...
* '' RG-1 "Porshen"''
References
External links
XM25 Airburst Weapon System - ATK
XM25 peosoldier.army.mil
Green Berets will receive Judge Dredd computer smart-rifle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xm25 Individual Airburst Weapon System
Grenade launchers of the United States
Bullpup firearms
Alliant Techsystems
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2010