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 program 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 ...

in the 1990s. The term SABR (''Selectable Assault Battle Rifle'') was also used at certain points, but is less common.

Overview

Developed by

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries. ATK's ...

, with

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 ...

as a major subcontractor, the most commonly seen version of the XM29 consisted of a semi-automatic 20×28mm smart grenade launcher, an underslung " KE" assault

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...

(derived from the

HK G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the ''Bu ...

then in its late developmental stage) firing a standard 5.56×45mm NATO round, and a top-mounted computer-assisted sighting system with integrated

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 ...

thermal vision Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vi ...

capabilities, and up to 6× optical telescopic sight. Earlier designs used different configurations and setups. The launcher part has been described variously as a light semi-automatic 20 mm cannon, a grenade launcher, or an airburst weapon. It poses a classification problem, in that it does not fit neatly into any one category. On one hand, it uses much smaller shells and has a much flatter trajectory than grenade launchers. On the other, while its caliber and velocity is more similar to light cannon, it does share traits with other infantry grenade launchers. Various problems have effectively ended the program as it was originally envisioned, including weight, bulk, and lack of effectiveness of the 20×28 mm airburst round. Upon cancellation in 2004, it was split into three related programs. OICW Increment One is a program to develop a family of light kinetic energy weapons, OICW Increment Two is a program to develop the airburst grenade launcher as a standalone component, and OICW Increment Three is a program to re-integrate the two components. 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. ...

was developed in an attempt to meet Increment One requirements. Instead a new program known as

Lightweight Small Arms Technologies The Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program is funded by the U.S. Joint Service Small Arms Program, with the goal of significantly reducing the weight of small arms and their ammunition. Following a series of military programs to investi ...

(LSAT) was begun. Meanwhile, the XM25 25×40mm airburst launcher began development to meet the Increment Two requirements. Increment Three will not be initiated until after One and Two are completed. The OICW Increment One Request for Proposals was cancelled in October 2005, while development of the 25×40mm XM25 continued, and the 25×59mm

OCSW The OCSW (''Objective Crew Served Weapon'') was a U.S. Military arms program started in the 1980s that led to a hybrid smaller prototype automatic autocannon developed by General Dynamics Armament Systems. It led to the XM312 and XM307 designs. As ...

program as well until its termination. It is not clear if LSAT is intended to meet the goals of OICW Increment One or if it is a standalone weapon system. However, for all intents and purposes, the OICW program is no longer under development.

References

External links

Modern Firearms – XM29 OICWAlliant TechsystemsHeckler & Koch (English – United States)HK Pro – Detailed information
{{HK firearms Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1996 5.56 mm assault rifles Abandoned military projects of the United States Trial and research firearms Grenade launchers Personal weapons Bullpup firearms Heckler & Koch rifles Multiple-barrel firearms

Overview

See also

References

External links