The new 50 will never be as pretty as a Ma duece.
Posted on 05/27/2009 10:37:30 AM PDT by Reaganesque
May 27, 2009 The XM25 Individual Air Burst Weapon is looking likely to be the shoulder-fired weapon of choice for the US military to kill or neutralize hidden targets. Due for field test this summer, the lightweight XM-25 "smart weapon" uses High Explosive Air-Burst (HEAB) munitions that can be programmed to detonate at a precise point in the air without the need to impact, spelling trouble for elusive targets, be they behind a wall, inside a building or in a foxhole.
Developed jointly by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and the US company Alliant Techsystems (ATK Corporation), the XM-25 is a semi-automatic, shoulder-fired weapon with a five-round magazine and weighs in at around 14 pounds (6.3kg) – about the same weight as an M-16 with a 203 grenade launcher. The weapon's XM116 integral fire system provides the weapon with its precision and is capable of controlling individually each of the 25mm rounds in real time. Based on a thermal optic, day-sight, laser range finder, compass and infrared light, the system can precisely measure the distance to the target and program each round to explode close to the mark via the wireless connection. Capable of hitting a point target at 500 meters and area targets at 700 meters with a range of munitions including HEAB, anti-personnel, two types of non-lethal munitions – blunt and agent dispersing airburst - plus armor piercing, and door breaching munitions, this is one very nasty piece of ordinance and a must have on any soldiers list.
In a nutshell, it operates with the soldier sighting the target and the advanced laser rangefinder transmitting range information to the chambered 25mm round. The soldier then essentially points and fires. After the round leaves the chamber and moves towards its target, the system precisely measures the distance traveled and detonates it at exactly the right moment to deliver maximum effectiveness. ATK says that the XM25 increases the warfighter’s probability of hit-to-kill performance by up to 500 percent over existing weapons and extends the effective range of the soldier’s individual weapon to more than 500 meters.
Another high-tech weapon recently field tested by the military is the Lightweight .50 Caliber Machine Gun (LW50MG). Unlike the XM25, which doesn’t offer a weight advantage, the LW50MG weights in at 64 pounds (29kg) complete with tripod, i.e., half the weight of the M-2 .50 caliber machine gun. With 60% less recoil than the M-2, the LW50MG will also offer greater accuracy and speed than the veteran M-2.
For more information visit ATK and Heckler and Koch
....And I don’t think Lee had carpet bombing of cities in mind when he uttered that quote.
BUT if you want a nice 360 acre bombing smart munition take a look at this awesome thing. CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Munition baby.
Love that movie. Want that gun!
Part of the reason they are so reliable is that they don’t fool around on extraction/ejection.
The new 50 will never be as pretty as a Ma duece.
“Anybody else wanna negotiate?”
Good catch.
If the insurgents truly feared us, they wouldn’t resist us. If Iran truly feared us, they wouldn’t even be attempting to build nuclear weapons. If NK feared us, they wouldn’t be threatening us every other day. You’re wrong. We are not feared nor are we respected nor are we liked and we are being killed by the death of a thousand cuts because of it. I do not wish to assimilate my enemies, I wish to kill them. Dumb bombs won WW2. What have smart bombs done for us? They have demonstrated our lack of will and conviction, our sensitivity to media pressure, and our unwillingness to “go all the way”. As I have said repreatedly, there is a time and place for smart bombs in war but not to the exclusion of dumb bombs. I consider America to be fighting for her exisxtence at this point. There are multiple and powerful forces aligning themselves against us and looking to deal a finishing blow to us. I would rather defend against this with a sledge hammer than a scalpel. I understand that you and everyone else has been programmed to think that guided munitions are the greatest things since belt fed machine guns but I continue to disagree. We use guided munitions because we have to, not because we want to.
“They have demonstrated our lack of will and conviction, our sensitivity to media pressure, and our unwillingness to “go all the way”
You better qualify your statement buddy. My friend, his squad and many other nobel servicemen in Iraq and gone through more shit and carried your water than you have backbone to comprehend. You go tell them you think they lack conviction and aren’t willing to go ‘all the way’. Who the hell are you!? You got a problem with the way we wage war, take it to your local political crooks. There the blame lies. You’re on the wrong site if your gonna blame weapons for human weaknesses....DU awaits your ‘wisdom’. Pft!
spare me your self-righteous indignation. I don’t have to qualify anything to anybody who enters into a discussion with a demeanor such as yours. we’re done here.
LOL! DU awaits your sensativities.
Hmmmm.... a minimum range dial would be indicated...or perhaps an order to not issue to officers.
“Sensativities”? I suspected that you were a retarded adolescent. That pretty well confirms it.
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