US deploys 'game-changer' weapon to Afghanistan

[foxhound]

Salaam.....

ref:US deploys 'game-changer' weapon to Afghanistan - Telegraph
US deploys 'game-changer' weapon to Afghanistan

It looks and acts like something best left in the hands of Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo," but this latest dream weapon is real – and the US Army sees it becoming the Taliban's worst nightmare.

The XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System has now been deployed to US units on the battlefields of Afghanistan Photo: AFP/GETTY
12:02AM GMT 03 Dec 2010


The Pentagon has rolled out prototypes of its first-ever programmable "smart" grenade launcher, a shoulder-fired weapon that uses microchipped ammunition to target and kill the enemy, even when the enemy is hidden behind walls or other cover.

After years of development, the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, about the size of a regular rifle, has now been deployed to US units on the battlefields of Afghanistan, where the Army expects it to be a "game-changer" in its counter-insurgency operations.

"For well over a week, it's been actively on patrols, and in various combat outposts in areas that are hot," said Lieutenant Colonel Chris Lehner, program manager for the XM25.

The gun fires 25mm air-bursting shells up to 2,300 feet, well past the range of most rifles used by today's soldiers, and programs them to explode at a precise distance, allowing troops to neutralise insurgents hiding behind walls, rocks or trenches or inside buildings.
"This is the first time we're putting smart technology into the hands of the individual soldier," Lt Col Lehner told AFP in a telephone interview.

"It's giving them the edge," he said, in the harsh Afghan landscape where Islamist extremists have vexed US troops using centuries-old techniques of popping up from behind cover to engage.
"You get behind something when someone is shooting at you, and that sort of cover has protected people for thousands of years," Lt Col Lehner said.

"Now we're taking that away from the enemy forever."

 

[azfar]

Just wait and see how much the game will change.

 

[Srinivas]

This will save lot of money to US as it will reduce the dependence on air strikes.
No doubt this weapon will revolutionize guerrilla war fare.

 

[laiqs@mi]

drons, tanks, b-52s and many other things that we even dont know about used but what happened. ????
this will not change a human into superhuman after-all a human will be using it. so IMHO it is not going to change a great deal in afghanistan.
thnx and regards

 

[s90]

YouTube - The XM-25: Army's Future Weapon

 

[Irfan Baloch]

the enemy is elusive
dont know how this weapon is supposed to work when the enemy uses IEDs and suicide attacks on civilians and convoys..

the taliban are not fighting from established bunkers and fixed trunches
they attack and move out.

 

[amigo]

U.S is trying desperately to end this war, but it is becoming another vietnam. next 2 -3 yrs are crucial for U.S. it will be known where the war is heading towards.

 

[graphican]

Oh Good.. if USA deployed that in Afghanistan, we can find it POF made in less than a year.. GO US GO..

 

[LeGenD]

the enemy is elusive
dont know how this weapon is supposed to work when the enemy uses IEDs and suicide attacks on civilians and convoys..

the taliban are not fighting from established bunkers and fixed trunches
they attack and move out.

Well said.

These weapons will give infantry some serious advantage in direct engagments over any adversary. However, US forces are already good in this department.

Taliban knows that it cannot fight US forces in the open. Therefore, IEDs and suicide attacks are their primary weapons of resistance.

 

[LeGenD]

Oh Good.. if USA deployed that in Afghanistan, we can find it POF made in less than a year.. GO US GO..

Yaar! It is not an AK-47.

These weapons are computerized and expensive to maintain.

 

[sohailbarki]

The code name 'game changer' for this weapon is just to boost the morale of their troops.
Most of the time troops in engagements dont see talibans.
If you see these videos of war in afghanistan you will notice troops fire a burst and then take cover less then 3 to 4 seconds in their own bases when comes under attack.
when they get ambushed outside their bases they raise their heads even less so finding a target then aiming and programming the grenades will take more time and during that solider will be exposed to enemy fire(who is actully looking at you cause they are ambushing you in most cases).

 

[Thomas]

The code name 'game changer' for this weapon is just to boost the morale of their troops.
Most of the time troops in engagements dont see talibans.
If you see these videos of war in afghanistan you will notice troops fire a burst and then take cover less then 3 to 4 seconds in their own bases when comes under attack.
when they get ambushed outside their bases they raise their heads even less so finding a target then aiming and programming the grenades will take more time and during that solider will be exposed to enemy fire(who is actully looking at you cause they are ambushing you in most cases).

It takes just a couple secs to aquire target and fire. The weapon not the soldier programs the round.

YouTube - New High-Tech Military Gadget 2010 ( XM-25 Rifle in Action )

 

[syntax_error]

look at it more the morale point of view...
this new weapon will infuse the US troop with new confidence that they have an definite advantage...and if it works it gonna hit the morale of the taliban....

 

[Thomas]

Yaar! It is not an AK-47.

These weapons are computerized and expensive to maintain.

you say it is expensive to maintain based on what? The XM-25 is one of the most easy to use high tech weapons in the field.

 

[Thomas]

look at it more the morale point of view...
this new weapon will infuse the US troop with new confidence that they have an definite advantage...and if it works it gonna hit the morale of the taliban....

U.S. troops already have that. We pretty much win every battle which is why the Taliban have sustained such heavy losses.