XM25 Weapon System Still A Long Way From General Issue
The US Army’s XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement airburst weapon system won’t undergo a second Forward Operational Assessment until fall 2014.
Army.mil reports …
The U.S. Army is preparing to conduct a second Forward Operational Assessment of its XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement airburst weapon system.
Program managers are seeking to expedite development of the system, refine and improve the technology, and ultimately begin formal production by the fall of 2014, service officials said during a roundtable, Sept. 20, at Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, Ga.
…“The Army has learned many valuable lessons from these deployments regarding how the weapon can be deployed and how tactics can be changed to better refine the design of the weapon. Based on feedback from Soldiers and contractor testing, we have already incorporated more than 100 improvements to the systems related to ergonomics, performance and fire control,” Armstrong said.
During its initial Forward Operational Assessment, the XM25 provided a decisive advantage to Soldiers in combat in Afghanistan. While on patrol in Southern Afghanistan, Soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division used the XM25 to engage and successfully defeat enemy forces hiding behind three-to-four foot walls used by Afghans to grow grapes, said Command Sgt. Maj. James Carabello, MCoE, a combat veteran who recently led infantry units in Afghanistan with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division.
[ Many thanks to Lance for the tip. ]
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you all damn 1992 pricks !
There are two current problems with the XM25 system which are keeping it from production.
The first is the weapon system itself. It is a purpose built weapon system that is of limited usefulness, as currently produced. It requires dedicated ammunition and it is a heavy weapon. This means that the grenadier has to carry the XM25, ammunition that is not compatible with any other weapons system in the squad and a separate rifle and ammunition for general use. It also suffers from a dependence upon the electronic sighting system being operational and the batteries for that unit are heavy.
The second problem is cost. The defense budget is already strained and older weapon systems are being replaced or augmented with the same items [M4, M9, etc] rather than upgrade with newer, more efficient systems. Additionally, the Pentagon is looking at a draw down of forces in the 'Stan, if not a general withdrawal. The cost of immediate deployment [or even deployment in the foreseeable future] of the system is difficult to justify in the current economic circumstances.
The XM25 may well be deployed in the future, at least in some form. But, don't look for it to happen in the near future unless the world situation drastically changes.