In the trenchesU.S. Army envisions an XM-25 smart gunner in every squad from 2014

Published 13 December 2010

U.S. military unveils XM-25 portable airburst artillery piece plans; the XM-25 shoots special, fat 25 mm projectiles which are more or less a cross between ordinary rifle bullets and 40 mm launched grenades; the XM-25 rounds have an added special feature: an extremely accurate time fuse which is set electronically by the gun’s systems at the moment of firing, permitting them to explode in midair at a precise distance from the muzzle

XM-25 deployed in Afghanistan // Source: newsce.com

The U.S. Army has confirmed plans to equip every infantry squad and special-forces team by 2014 with an XM-25 smart gun able to hit enemies hiding around corners or behind rocks (see “Game-changing rifle arrives in Afghanistan,” 29 November 2010 HSNW).

The XM-25 has been widely covered in the media, and the coverage has prompted the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office — Soldier (PEO) — the office in charge of the XM-25 — to issue a clarification in which they enlarge somewhat on plans for the future.

According to PEO Soldier:

  • Prototypes arrived in theater in Afghanistan in November
  • The prototype weapons are being carried actively on patrols, and in various combat outposts. Soldier feedback at this stage will allow the Army to make engineering refinements to the system…
  • The next phase for the XM25 program is to build a large quantity of production representative weapons and ammunition in 2011 to deploy into Afghanistan for further combat assessments
  • Finally, with testing complete and Army approvals in place, 12,500 systems will be produced and issued beginning in early 2014 — enough to support one per infantry squad and Special Forces Team

Lewis Page writes that presumably the XM-25 will lose its “X” (experimental) designator at some point to become the M-25 in line service.

 

The XM-25 shoots special, fat 25 mm projectiles which more or less a cross between ordinary rifle bullets and 40 mm launched grenades. The XM-25 rounds, however, have an added special feature: an extremely accurate time fuse which is set electronically by the gun’s systems at the moment of firing, permitting them to explode in midair at a precise distance from the muzzle.

The XM-25’s computing sight features an accurate range-finding laser and corrects automatically for such variables as air temperature and pressure. This means that a user can ping a target feature — for instance, a boulder behind which an enemy lurks — with the laser, then select an additional meter or two of range using a thumb control and raise his point of aim slightly.

The 25mm smart shell will thus fly over the boulder and explode just above the hidden enemy’s head, spraying him with deadly shrapnel. The same capability can be used to make rounds travel through shrubbery, windows, bunker entrances, etc. before exploding just where the user wants. The XM-25 also has more range than the M-4 carbines commonly carried by U.S. troops, which should make it useful in the longer-distance gunfights often seen nowadays in Afghanistan.

Page writes that apart from the basic airburst shrapnel round, there are plans to produce various other specialist 25 mm cartridges. PEO Soldier documents have mentioned an armor piercing variant — presumably intended for impact rather than airburst, and using a shaped-charge warhead - and non-lethal both air bursting and blunt. The airburst non-lethal would be a smaller version of the “flash bang” stun grenades popular with special-operations and police SWAT teams in hostage situations, and the blunt version a more ordinary plastic or rubber bullet.

Previously PEO Soldier had suggested that there might be some kind of shot or flechette round also, either scattering a cloud of small projectiles straight out of the end of the barrel like an everyday shotgun or CAWS — or air bursting downrange to deliver a pattern onto a selected area like a miniature artillery “beehive” shell. This is no longer mentioned in the latest version of the XM-25 fact sheet, though.

The appearance of the airburst computer-rifle has been predicted since the early 1990s, when it made its debut as part of the Objective Infantry Combat Weapon multi-shooter. Now it is showing up in combat for real. PEO Soldier’s vision is for a U..S Army with an XM-25 smart gunner in every squad, and this vision may come true beginning in 2014 as planned. “One does note, though, that just last year the date of initial mass issue was supposed to be 2012,” Page adds.