Army Field-Testing "Judge Dredd" Super-Grenade-Launcher

What makes it super? Well, everything. Basically the idea is that the shooter can tell the gun at precisely what distance to air-burst the shell. So if a jihadi is hiding behind a corner, you tell the gun to set the charge off just as it passes his position, blowing it up at an angle from which he has no cover. Same deal if he's in a trench -- you blow it up just as it passes over his head.

It basically denies an enemy the advantage of cover.

Pictured: The XM 25 being tested by Master Sergeant Brian Dennehy

The way a soldier operates this is you basically find your target, then laze to it, which gives the range, then you get an adjusted aim point, adjust fire and pull the trigger," deputy program manager Richard Audette told Army News Service. "Say you've lazed out to 543 meters ... when you pull the trigger it arms the round and fires it 543 meters plus or minus a one-, two- or three-meter increment, then it explodes over the target."

By which he means: Once you lase in the distance, you can then add or subtract one to three meters, so that the shell will blow up that many meters in front or behind him.

A squad trying to neutralize an enemy fighter wouldn't have to wait until he showed himself — instead, they could just aim to a spot near him, then use the XM-25 to have a grenade explode directly there.

"For example, in Iraq we had many instances where there was a sniper firing from a rooftop and you have a squad trying to engage that target, but the soldiers couldn't get to him with the weapons they had, so they'd call in the Air Force to drop a JDAM (joint direct attack munition)," said Audette. "We can take out the target at $25 per XM round as opposed to a $20,000 to $50,000 JDAM."

It has a half-mile range, too.

I'm 99% sure this is really a successor prototype to the XM8 weapon mentioned here on the early days of the blog. So here's the old top ten for it, updated with fresher references.

Top Ten Cool Things About New XM-25 Individual Air Burst Weapon

10. First 1,000 weapons produced will come stamped with wicked-ass Batman logo

9. Thanks to top-secret design enhancement by the late Gary Gygax, weapon is +4 to-hit against half-orcs and Hill Giants

8. Integral stereophonic audiosystem lets troops march into battle while blasting music of their choice: either Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, Mancini's Peter Gunn Theme, or Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart

7. Demanding military specs and impressive electronic failsafes make weapon easy to use, even in hands of retards, gaywads and/or spazzmoids

6. Sophisticated Battlefield PsyOps AudioBite System (BPAS) demoralizes opponents by propositioning them with disturbing sexual demands

5. Stock contains compartment for Camouflage Snuggie

4. Pushing A, B, and C buttons simultaneously allows user to execute a Super Scorpion Kick finishing move

3. Has even greater accuracy, more often than not, in the hands of a Wise Latina

2. When out of ammunition, weapon may be used as a club-- the coolest frickin' club in the whole wide world

...and the Number One Cool Things About the New XM 25 Individual Air Burst Weapon...

1. Fits my girthy frame, has wolves on it, attracts women

Thanks to Kurt and Arthur.

posted by Ace at 04:51 PM

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