The High Tech XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System: Revolutionizing Warfare for American Troops

America has always led the way in battlefield innovations, and due to its latest new weapon, the XM25, developed for the military by Minnesota's Alliant Techsystems, the rules of the game have just changed drastically. It used to be enough to hole up behind a wall or sandbags, going tit for tat, and try to outlast your opponent, at least until he pulled something drastic, like the time consuming set up and homing in of a mortar attack, or the calling in of an air strike. Now, it seems, that is about to change forever, causing commanders to have to re-think conventional battlefield strategy.

The XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System has a range of roughly 2,300ft., well in excess of most modern rifles, making a crossfire foolish for the enemy, but the real kick starts when they take cover to escape its awesome reach... Once the 25mm round leaves this 12lb, 29in long, shoulder fired semi automatic, it begins tracking its distance through a computer chip, and in combination with its day or night, laser EDM scope (Electronic Distance Measuring), it can be set to detonate on impact, or, what's worse, before or after the target, making it possible to explode a round after penetrating a wall, or directly overhead where the enemy is holed up! The high tech, low velocity rounds explode with the force of a hand grenade, forcing any survivors of the blast to flee, thereby putting them right back in harm's way again.

Setup and deployment of the XM25 in a combat situation takes approximately 10 seconds, versus the 10 minutes it takes for a successful mortar strike. This changes the strategies of combatants used for thousands of years... taking cover. This simply will not do any good, anymore. The XM25 was in development for 7 years, and is being called a "game changer," with the first prototypes already being used in Afganistan by some Army units, starting this month. At $35,000 apiece, they are being ordered on a fairly limited basis, but the Army already plans to purchase 12,500 units next year, or one system for every infantry squad and Special Forces unit.

The Army isn't too concerned about theft or capture of the weapon, due to the unobtainability of its highly specialized ammo, but certainly expects other countries who are financially capable to imitate the design. There are several versions of the ammuniition already made, including high explosive and armor piercing rounds, and future plans already include non-lethal and "door-buster" rounds, making this "smart gun" a very versatile weapon capable of keeping the U.S. soldier a large step ahead of the curve.

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