The Army Times brings us this report on the “XM-25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System” and it’s field testing in Afghanistan. The results, as they say, speak for themselves: The XM25 has changed the battlefield with only 55 rounds, and earned a new name among soldiers. They call it “the Punisher.” Since its first contact Dec. 3, the XM25 has been in nine engagements with two units at different locations, officials said. Specifically, it has disrupted two insurgent attacks on observation posts, taken out two PKM machine gun positions and destroyed four ambush sites. In one engagement, an enemy machine gunner was “so badly wounded or so freaking scared that he dropped [his] weapon” and ran, said Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, Program Manager Individual Weapons. FYI for those not familiar with the system: The XM25 has a target acquisition system that calculates range with the push of a button. The data is transferred to an electronic fuse, enabling the 25mm round to explode over the target and rain shell fragments on the enemy. It’s not perfect, but it has won over the troops who’ve used it. One thing that needs work is the battery life and they think they can expand the effective range from 500m to 700 to 1,000m. But: There were no complaints about the 13-pound weight. “If you can give them this kind of capability, they will handle the weight,” Tamilio said. The weapons were tested by two units at separate locations. Tamilio recalled comments from one platoon leader, who said engagements that typically take 15 to 20 minutes were over in “a matter of minutes.” You can read the whole thing here.
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Posted
Feb 15 2011, 12:32 AM
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