Army tests new rifle that could replace M16, M4.

The U.S. Army is testing a new, lightweight assault rifle that employs many of the technologies already developed for the planned objective individual combat weapon, which would combine an infantry rifle with a grenade launcher. The service decided to go ahead with this latest rifle--known as the XM8 Lightweight Modular Weapon System--after repeated delays in the OICW program.

If the tests are successful, the XM8 eventually could replace the Vietnam-era M16 rifle and M4 carbine as the standard weapon for infantry soldiers, according to Army Lt. Col. Mathew T. Clarke. First, however, it has to pass strenuous testing by the Army.

So far, Clarke said, he is impressed by the XM8. "I'm very excited about how the weapon has performed," he told National Defense.

Clarke is program manager for individual weapons at the Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

Under Clarke's supervision, the Army this past fall took possession of 30 prototypes of the XM8--the first of 200 that it has ordered--and began test firing them at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

In December, the XM8 was "doing very well thus far" in the tests, said Jodie Daubett, a spokesperson for the program manager's office. "Yesterday, while we were at Aberdeen, a retired soldier--who hadn't picked up a weapon in six years--picked up the XM8, during the live fire, and hit the target with his first shot," she said.

"In fact, he hit the target with every shot. And that was from a standing position at 300 meters."

The Army agreed in October 2002, to pay $5 million for a team headed by ATK Integrated Defense Company, of Plymouth, Minn., to develop the weapon rapidly. The team included Heckler & Koch Defense Inc., of Sterling Va., as the weapon's designer and manufacturer. HK Defense is a subsidiary of Heckler & Koch GmbH, of Oberndorf, Germany.

The agreement was a modification of an existing $105 million contract for the same team to build the OICW, now known as the XM29. Under development since the mid-1990s, the XM29 is two weapons in on--a rifle that fires a 5.56 mm kinetic-energy round and a grenade launcher that expends a 20 mm air-bursting munition.

The XM29 is designed to replace the M16 and M4. Both also fire a 5.56 mm munition, and they can be fitted with an attached M203 40 mm grenade launcher.

The XM29's development is progressing, but it is overweight and years behind schedule. Originally, the weapon was supposed to begin production in 2005, but that date now has been pushed back to "the end of fiscal year 2010," said Clarke.

Designers have struggled to fine-tune the air-bursting technology and to reduce the weapon's weight. The original prototype of the XM29 weighed 18 pounds, which Army officials said was too heavy for an infantryman to carry into combat. By 2010, plans call for the weight to drop to 15.5 pounds.

"We have a huge weight restraint," Clarke said. "Quite frankly, we have to wait for technology to catch up."

As a result of the delays, Clarke embarked on a new plan. "After I got here and reviewed our acquisition strategy," he said, "I decided to change from an evolutionary approach to spiral development."

Instead of developing the XM29 gradually, Clarke decided to speed up development of its components as separate weapons. The rifle portion. would be developed as the XM8, and die grenade launcher would become the XM25 Air Burst Weapon.

The XM25 will fife a 25 mm air-bursting munition, rather titan die 20 mm planned for the XM29, said Col. Michael J. Smith, program manager for soldier weapons.

In fact, he said, the Army is developing a 25 mm thermobaric round that it plans eventually to tim from the XM25. Such a round contains an explosive that reacts with oxygen inside a targeted area, such as a cave or a building, causing intense destruction inside the target. The Army successfully test-fired a thermobaric round in September, using an XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon.

The XM25, however, is "much more challenging than the XM8," Smith said. A prototype is under construction and scheduled to begin testing this summer, he said.

The XM8 is a modular weapon system, explained Jim Schatz, HK's military sales manager. It is being developed in four variants, including a carbine, sharpshooter, automatic rifle and compact carbine. The lightest version, the carbine, weighs 6.4 pounds, compared to 8.85 pounds for a similarly equipped M4, which is a shortened version of the M16.

XM8 parts--such as the barrel, butt stock, magazine, sighting system and carrying handle--can be changed easily and quickly to meet the requirements of the different variants, Schatz said. Barrel lengths range from nine inches for a compact carbine, to 12.5 inches for a standard carbine, to 20 inches for the sharpshooter version.

The automatic rifle variant features a heavier 20-inch barrel for sustained fire, a folding bipod and a 100-round drum magazine. Other magazines have capacities of 10 and 30 rounds. They can be nested together for ease of reloading.

Unlike the current M4 and MI6, the XM8 does not introduce propellant gases and the associated carbon fouling back into the weapon's receiver during firing, Clarke said. This greatly increases the reliability of the XM8, and it reduces cleaning time by as much as 70 percent, he said.

The weapon can fire more than 15,000 rounds without lubrication or cleaning even in austere battlefield environments. "It works better in a desert environment," Clarke said.

A cold-hammer forged barrel enables the XM8 to fire at least 20,000 rounds without service and provides more protection for the shooter should the bore become obstructed during firing, he said.

A battery-powered sight includes a red-dot, close-combat optic; infrared laser aimer and laser illuminator with a backup etched reticle. The sight is factory "zeroed"--adjusted and does not require constant re-zeroing in the field, as is the case with current rail-mounted targeting device, Schatz said.

To allow targeting devices to be attached quickly to the XM8, flush-mounted attachment points are located on the weapon's handguard and receiver. Unlike the Picatinny 1913 rails that attach to the M4 and M16, the XM8's attachment points are built in and do not add weight, bulk and cost to the weapon.

Additional weapons--such as the new XM320 single-shot, 40 mm grenade launcher and the 12 gauge Lightweight Shotgun System--can be installed in the field, without tools. (sidebar p. 42)

The XM8 has fully ambidextrous operating controls, Clarke said. The controls include a centrally located charging handle, magazine release, bolt catch, safety and selector lever with semi and full automatic modes of fire, and release lever for the multiple-position collapsible butt stock.

The controls allow the shooter to keep a firing hand on the pistol grip and the weapon in the firing position at all times, while the non-firing hand actuates the charging handle and magazine during loading and clearing.

Major components are produced from high-strength, fiber-reinforced polymer materials that can be molded in almost any color, including forest green, desert tan, arctic white, urban blue or covert black. Surfaces that the shooter touches are fitted with non-slip materials to increase comfort and ability to hold on to the weapon in all weather conditions.

The XM8 is being designed at HK's facility in Virginia. If the Army accepts it, the weapon will be produced and assembled at a new HK manufacturing plant to be built in Columbus, Ga., near the Army's Fort Benning.

Plans, announced in August, call for the 75,000 square-foot factory to incorporate state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, including cold-hammer forging and advanced polymer molding. Initially, the factory will create about 200 jobs and $25 million in capital investment in Columbus, said Peter Simon, HK's U.S. vice president. That number, however, could grow "as some of our U.S.-based design and development projects mature into production," he said.

In addition to the XM8, HK hopes the plant will produce the planned Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle and the USP Compact .40 caliber pistol, used by many federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. (related story p. 43) The company also may shift some of its Design and Engineering Office from Sterling to Columbus, Simon said. The Army plans to begin operational testing of the XM8 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005. Fielding is scheduled for early 2007. "That's a very fast-paced schedule," Clarke said.

If the XM8 is fielded to the entire active-duty Army, National Guard and reserves, more than a million weapons would be required.

Equipment Update

Marines Look at New Combat Gear for Iraq

As U.S. Marines prepared to Iraq, many are flocking to military-equipment exhibitions near their bases to check out the latest weapons and gear that could make their deployment safer and more comfortable. A recent show in Quantico, Va., included these examples:

Automatic Knife

The Gerber-Emerson Alliance Automatic Knife has a folding blade that deploys with the push of s button. "It's both a weapon and a tool," said Gun Robley, a sales manager for Gerber Legendary Blades, of Portland, Ore. "In the military, there are a lot of uses for a knife that you can open with one hand."

This knife comes with a 3 5/8-inch black oxide-coated blade, a pocket clip and a ballistic nylon sheath. It has ridges on the top of the handle and a checkered pattern on the side to improve the grip.

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Interceptor Body Armor 

Both the Army and Marines are shipping Interceptor body armor to iraq and Afghanistan as fast as the manufacturer--Point Blank Body Armor, of Oakland Park, Fla.--can produce the gear.

The system's computer tactical vest has a Kevlar weave that can stop 9 mm ammunition. It comes with removable throat and grain protectors and two inserts made of a boron carbide ceramic that can block a 7.62 mm round. The entire set weighs a total of 16.4 pounds, compared to 25 pounds for its predecessor.

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Holographic Weapon Sight

The Holographic Weapon Sight--made by EOTech, of Ann Arbor, Mich.--is "the first electro-optic sighting system to apply holographic technology to small and medium-sized weapon platforms," said Albert B. Rosenbaum III, a company representative.

The HWS system--which can be mounted on almost any infantry weapon--makes it easier and faster for a shooter to focus on a nighttime target, Rosenbaum said. "It makes a bad shot good and a good shot better," he said. Unlike active infrared laser-pointer systems, the HWS is passive, Rosenbaum said. "it emits no muzzle-side bloom, which can be detected by enemy night vision equipment." Nor, he said, does it project a forward light or red dot on the target, which also gives away the shooter's presence.

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Expeditionary Fire Support System

The Marine Corps is eyeing a new self-propelled 120 mm mortar, called the Expeditionary Fire Support System, which is being developed by Dallas-based Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. The EFSS consists of a Soltam 120 mm recoil mortar system, a Supacat High Mobility Transport, a weapon-control system and an enhanced tactical computer, explained Reggie Grant, Lockheed's director of Naval Tactical Systems.

The EFSS is designed to allow Marines to fire a 120 mm mortar mounted on a weapon carrier, achieve an effect of fire that in comparable to 155 mm artillery and move quickly away, Grant said.

"We call it a 'shoot-and-scoot' capability," he said. Lockheed fired a prototype of the system last August at the Marine base in 29 Palms, Calif. Unlike heavy artillery, the EFSS can be transported inside a CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter, and plans are being made to demonstrate the same capability later this year with the V-22 tilt rotor, Grant said.

The Marine Carps has declared a requirement for such a system to execute ship-to-share maneuver, as integral part of the service's war-fighting doctrine, Grant said. The next step, he said, is for the Marines to issue a request for proposals to build the system, followed by a contract award in the first half of the year.

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Combat Helmets

The Corps has contracted with the Gentex Corporation, of Carbondale, Pa., to provide a lightweight helmet for more than 200,000 Marines, including active-duty and reservists.

Shipments began in July and will continue over 24 months, said Terrence Manes, soldier systems product manager for Gentex.

French manufacturer MSA/Gallet has produced a similar piece of headgear, called the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH), for U.S. special operations forces.

Both versions offer improved protection against fragmentation and 9 mm rounds. Both have four-point chinstraps to keep them stable during movement. The two-decade-old version currently in use, known as Personal Armor System Ground Troops (PASGT), uses u two-point chinstrap, allowing it to slip and slide over the head. The Marine helmet and the MICH are about the same weight, approximately three pounds. That's about half a pound lighter than the PASGT, Manns said.

The Marine helmet, however, is about the same size and shape of the PASGT, which enables it to protect a larger portion of the head than the MICH, Manns said. The MICH, on the other hand, fits higher on the head, allowing a wider range of motion, according to MSA/Gallet.

The two companies new are competing for a new contract to provide more than a million helmets for conventional forces in the active-duty Army, reserves and National Guard.

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Sleeping Bag

Snugpak, from the United Kingdom, makes the Softie 3 Merlin, a lightweight sleeping bag rated for use at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the firm's U.S. representative Richard Lewis. Snugpuk'n sleeping bags are used by the British Army, and they already are being sold to U.S. Army and Special Forces units, Lewis said.

"They don't have anything an small and light an what we offer," he asserted. "The Merlin weighs 27 ounces. It compresses smaller than a football, and it fits in the palm of your hand."

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Humvee Armor Kits

O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt, of Fairfield, Ohio, produces an armor kit that can be added to Army and Marine Humvees to protect occupants from small arms fire, rifle grenades and land mines. The $87 billion defense supplement bill for fiscal year 20D3 contained $177 million to provide such armor for Humvees in Iraq and Afghanistan.

O'Gara's kit provides direct protection from the 7.62 mm rounds fired by AK-47 assault rifles and indirect protection from 155 mm airbursts, according to John H. Mayles, the firm's vice president for military programs. Armor placed on the Humvee's floor protects against M67 grenades. The kit weighs 2,200 pounds for a four-door vehicle, 1,500 pounds for a two-door variant.

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RELATED ARTICLE: Lightweight Shotgun deploys to Afghanistan.

The Army's new Lightweight Shotgun System is getting a "trial by fire" in Afghanistan, said col. Michael J. Smith, program manager for soldier weapons at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ.

The LSS--being developed by C-More Systems Inc., of Manassas, Va.-is a bolt-action, 12-gauge shotgun that attaches underneath the barrel of an individual infantry weapon, such as the M4 carbine or the experimental XM8.

A shotgun is useful in urban warfare for close combat, door breaching and firing non-lethal munitions, Smith explained. The LSS flees soldiers who need a shotgun from having to carry a second weapon. It also can be detached and used as a stand-alone shotgun.

A total of 199 of the weapons were fielded in October to the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan. The division requested them as "an urgent operational need," Smith said.

The shotgun fires 2.75 and 3 inch lethal, non-lethal and door-breaching rounds. It has able, five-round magazine, and incorporates a standoff device to fire door-breaching rounds.

The attachment is 16.5 inches in length and weighs 2 pounds, 11 ounces--less than the M203 grenade launcher. The stand-alone weapon is 24 inches long collapsed; weighs 4 pounds, 3 ounces, and has a pistol grip and a butt stock.

Plans call for each squad to get at least one shotgun, Smith said. Eventually, every fire team could get one .--Harold Kennedy

RELATED ARTICLE: SOCOM looking for next-generation weapon.

The U.S. Special Operations Command is looking for a next-generation assault rifle.

The command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., expects to award a contract for a Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle in November, according to SOCOM spokesman Chet Justice.

SCAR, as it already has become known, "will improve mission performance ... by providing [SOF] with a reliable and accurate rifle," said Army Col. Tom Spellissy, program executive officer for special programs in SOCOM's Joint Service Small Arms Program.

"This will be a weapon of maximized lethality, superior to the M4A1 [carbine] through versatility, fire control and target acquisition, both day and night, during [close quarters battle] and to ranges of 500 [meters]," he told NDIA's 2003 Joint Services Small Arms Symposium and Exhibition in Kansas City Me.

SCAR is intended to replace several rifles currently used by special operations forces, including the 5.56 mm M4A1, MK11 and the pre-Vietnam-era M14, both of which fire 7.62 mm rounds, Spellissy said.

Many units that have been using M4A1s in Afghanistan and Iraq "have asked for heavier weapons, said Army Lt. Col. Mathew T. Clarke, program manager for individual weapons at the Army's Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

"The M14 is the weapon du jour," he said, because it fires a heavier, more lethal round than either the M4A1 or the M16. The M14, however, is an old weapon. The Army replaced it, as standard issue, with the M16 in the mid-1960s.

According to a pre-solicitation statement, issued in October, SCAR will be developed initially in two configurations--a light, 5.56 mm version and a heavy 7.62 mm one. Priority will be placed on the 5.56 variation. Both types will be capable of exchanging barrels and will be produced in standard, close-quarters combat and sniper variants.

The heavy version will be designed to accommodate changing calibers from the standard 7.62x51 mm. The initial caliber change is projected to 7.62x39 mm.

The ergonomic and parts commonality of the two "is essential for training-time reduction, enhancing mission effectiveness and improving the SOF operator's operational and emergency-procedure autonomic responses that are critical during high-stress situations," the statement said.

"The SCAR system will be rugged, highly reliable, controllable in full automatic fire, corrosion proof ... capable of lubeless firing ... and capable of being operated and maintained by a single man," according to the document.

Initially, the operator must be able to exchange the weapon's barrels and caliber within 20 minutes, it said. The objective is for the operator to be able to make the switch within five minutes.

SCAR's light version, with the stock collapsed, is to be no longer than 29.9 inches, or 53.6 inches, extended with standard barrel, it said. It is to weigh no more than 7.25 pounds unloaded.

The heavy version, folded, is to be no longer than currently available 7.62 mm battle rifles, or 30.3 inches. It is to weigh no more than 9 pounds.

SCAR is to be compatible with the Special Operations Peculiar Modification Kit components, using the standard Picatinny 1913 rail mounting system. It is envisioned to be available with a sling, bipod, forward handgrip, blank firing capability and operator's manual, according to the pre-solicitation statement.

Contractors will be required to provide three samples of light SCARs with standard barrels, one close-quarters combat conversion and a technical approach for the weapon's heavy variant.

After SOCOM evaluates the entries, it can award multiple contracts for follow-on test and evaluation. The contract will be an eight-year, firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity type.

At a minimum, SOCOM expects to order 12 standard light units, one sniper variant and one heavy variant for testing. The maximum order would include 84,000 standard lights, 28,000 closer-quarter combat versions, 12,000 sniper types, 15,000 standard heavies, 7,000 heavy close-quarters combat conversions and t2,000 heavy sniper rifles.

Possible competitors for the SCAR contract are Heckler & Koch Defense Inc., of Sterling, Va.; Colt Defense LLC, of Hartford, Conn., and FN Manufacturing Inc., of Columbia, S.C. Colt designed the original M16 rifle and M4 carbines, and FN Manufacturing in 1988 won a contract to produce M16s for the Army.

SOCOM is interested in the modular design of the XM8 Lightweight Modular Weapon System that HK is developing for the Army, Clarke said. (related story p. 42) The XM8 could be configured to meet SOCOM's specifications, he said.--Harold Kennedy

XM8 Lightweight Modular Weapon System

Specifications Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm NATO 

Weight: 6.4 pounds (prototype)

Overall Length: 53 inches (carbine stock extended)

Barrel Length:

Assault: 12.5 inches

Sharpshooter: 20 inches

Compact: 9 inches

Automatic: 20 inches

Magazine Capacity: 10, 30 or 100 rounds

Stock: Adjusts for length to five positions

Bayonet lug: Yes for 12.5 and 20-inch barrels

Source: Heckler & Koch Defense