# New Weapon for Afghanistan



## javlin (Nov 29, 2010)

I had seen this technology on one of those shows on Discovery a couple years back looks to of found it's way to the front lines.Cheers


After years of development, the U.S. Army has unleashed a new weapon in Afghanistan -- the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, a high-tech rifle that can be programmed so that its 25-mm. ammunition does not necessarily explode on impact. Instead, it can be set to detonate either in front of or behind a target, meaning it literally will go through a wall before it explodes and kills the enemy.

A potential battlefield scenario, according to Army officials, might go something like this: 

-- A patrol encounters an enemy combatant in a walled Afghan village who fires an AK-47 intermittently from behind cover, exposing himself only for a brief second to fire. 

-- The patrol's leader calls for the XM25 gunman, who uses the weapon's laser range finder to calculate the distance to the target. 

-- He then uses an incremental button located near the trigger to add 1 meter to the round's distance, since the enemy is hiding behind a wall. 

-- The round is fired, and it explodes with a blast comparable to a hand grenade past the wall and above the enemy.

"This is revolutionary for many reasons," Lehner said, citing increased efficiency, safety and lethality. "This is the first time we're putting smart technology in an individual weapon system for our soldiers. We feel it's very important to field this because it keeps us ahead of the technological curve of our potential enemies. We have a feeling other people will try to copy us -- this is the future."

U.S. Army Unveils 'Revolutionary' XM25 Rifle in Afghanistan - FoxNews.com


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## timshatz (Nov 29, 2010)

I thought it was canned.


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## davparlr (Nov 29, 2010)

Something new for the troops!

U.S. Army Unveils 'Revolutionary' XM25 Rifle in Afghanistan - FoxNews.com


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## RabidAlien (Nov 29, 2010)

'Bout time we give the troops something they can use! 

I'd expect that there's still things that will inhibit the rounds being able to shoot through, say a certain thickness of solid rock or steel-reinforced concrete (although a round exploding 2/3 of the way through a concrete wall has got to cause some serious shrapnel damage), so I don't see mortars and/or artillery being done away with any time soon. But this is still frikkin cool...clearing a town/village will be easy, and if you know where the baddy is, you don't have to level a whole building (and the possibility of civilians taking cover elsewhere in the building...and the bad press/publicity that accompanies collateral damage) to get one douchebag. Bye bye, Achmed!


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## Erich (Nov 29, 2010)

if only................... we had these in Nam


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## mikewint (Nov 29, 2010)

Erich, if only we had half the things they have now, night-vision, IR, encrypted radios, squad radios with a decent range that didn't weigh 50lbs, etc


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## Erich (Nov 29, 2010)

agreed Mike, though we were working with night vision back in the late 60's early 70's you hit the nail on the head about weight, it was impossible to work with


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## razor1uk (Nov 30, 2010)

Looks a little like something from the 1st terminator movie, or Akira... tech will get better, but will our backup to be without and or service such tech improve more importantly...


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## mikewint (Nov 30, 2010)

High-tech is wonderful *when it works* the electronics require power so that means batteries which sooner or latter require replacing. so who carries all the replacement batteries? what good is the weapon without batteries?
Eric, i left in '68 so i never saw night vision, there was a primitive IR camera called a "people-finder" that mounted on a boom on the nose of a Huey. and I think they used it on the gunships looking for truck parks under the canopy. remember the Prick-25s?
Leghorn was established just to relay radio over the mountains


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## davparlr (Nov 30, 2010)

mikewint said:


> Erich, if only we had half the things they have now, night-vision, IR, encrypted radios, squad radios with a decent range that didn't weigh 50lbs, etc



and, GPS weapons. Think about how much less painful and effective would the deep interdiction missions be. And tactical support.


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## mikewint (Nov 30, 2010)

GPS, wow imagine actually knowing where you were in that triple canopy.
Don't forget field Marshall Sullivan still controlled the depth so GPS would work against you on that one, we could always claim to have wandered over the border "by accident"


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## RabidAlien (Nov 30, 2010)

mikewint said:


> GPS, wow imagine actually knowing where you were in that triple canopy.
> Don't forget field Marshall Sullivan still controlled the depth so GPS would work against you on that one, we could always claim to have wandered over the border "by accident"



Heh. Just tell the "brass" that you were using a TomTom. That'd explain your getting "lost".


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## bobbysocks (Dec 1, 2010)

mikewint said:


> Eric, i left in '68 so i never saw night vision, there was a primitive IR camera called a "people-finder" that mounted on a boom on the nose of a Huey. and I think they used it on the gunships looking for truck parks under the canopy. remember the Prick-25s?
> Leghorn was established just to relay radio over the mountains




you had the early infrared scopes ( like they used on man from U.N.C.L.E. <<< remember that one?) but i believe you needed pack mules to carry the battery packs. like the prc radios just too heavy and bulky. but i imagine they did serve a purpose over there.


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## Matt308 (Dec 1, 2010)

Actually the M3 was very effective for its time (especially post WWII) when you are the only badass who can see in the dark. It is estimated that fully 30% of Japanese casualties inflicted by rifle and carbine fire during the Okinawan campaign were caused by the M3 carbine and its M1 sniperscope. Not a bad Wiki fact.


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## comiso90 (Dec 1, 2010)

There is no replacement for Boots on the Ground but the sad part is that the bean counters in Washington think that technology is a replacement for men.
This is wonderful technology but I bet it will mean troop reductions in areas that need MORE men.

Ultimately, it will mean 3500 men deployed a few of the new weapons at squad level instead of 5000 currently equipped. (pulled out of my a$$ estimate)

There is only "X" amount on money to go around and this wont be a free upgrade. 

Our troops will be better equipped but could be overworked even more because cutbacks in other areas will be implemented to justify exotic systems.


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## mikewint (Dec 1, 2010)

Bobby, yes, yes, memories return, they were also mounted on tanks, huge IR spotlights so the tank crew coud "see" targets in the dark. I don't recall anyone i knew using them but i did see them from time to time. Such technology reminds me of sonar "pings" and radar. works real well as long as no one as the ability to "see" your emitter in return
UH1 with people finder looking for a hidden sniper who had been taking potshots for hours


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