Preacherman
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From the Army Times (http://www.armytimes.com/print.php?f=0-ARMYPAPER-2007576.php):
Issue Date: July 21, 2003
70-year-old .50-cal. may be retired soon
By Matthew Cox
Times staff writer
After 70 years of service, the Army’s oldest machine gun — the M2 .50-caliber — soon may be on its way to retirement.
Within two years, the XM312, a lighter, more accurate .50-caliber, will start replacing John Browning’s “Ma Deuce,†if the staff at Project Manager Soldier Weapons gets its way.
The XM312 evolved out of the XM307 project, a new style of crew-served weapon capable of delivering highly accurate, 25mm air-bursting ammunition on targets out to 2,000 meters. The innovative weapon is scheduled for fielding in 2010 and is slated to be the primary support weapon for the Army’s Future Combat Systems.
But weapons experts don’t want to wait that long to give soldiers a weapon with the XM307’s stability and accuracy.
By changing the barrel and a handful of other parts, the XM307 prototype becomes the XM312. “We changed six parts and turned it into a .50-cal.,†said Lt. Col. Robert Carpenter, who runs Product Manager Crew Served Weapons.
The XM312 is nine times more accurate than the M2 because of its “open bolt, out of battery action,†meaning that the barrel of the weapon moves when firing rather than the bolt, cutting down on the recoil, he said.
“You are talking about a weapon that is very accurate in a .50-cal., in full auto because you don’t have the recoil, so you don’t have the gun jumping every time,†Carpenter said.
The XM312 weighs 43 pounds — 66 percent lighter than the 128-pound M2.
In 2010, when the Army begins fielding the XM307, the service also will field conversion kits so units that already have the 307 can switch out a few parts and choose between a .50-caliber and a 25mm weapon.
“The ability to change from [.50-caliber to 25mm] with minimal difficulty is an option that will appeal to many people,†said Jim Stone, deputy for the Infantry Center’s Directorate of Combat Developments.
While the XM307 likely will be used alongside the XM312, weapons experts say the computerized fire-control system will give units an edge they have never had on the battlefield.
“It’s laze, aim and shoot. I see a target; I laze to the target; I get a ballistic reticle; I move the reticle to the target; and I hammer away,†Carpenter said. “And those rounds will burst at that range.â€
Unlike regular machine guns, the XM307 makes sure each round is on target by talking to the computer chip inside the 25mm round.
“You are going to have dispersion from round to round. An extra grain of powder is going to give you a little bit of this and a little bit of that,†Carpenter said. “We correct that every time because we talk to every shot.â€
More buck for the bang
But fielding this high-tech system won’t be cheap.
“This isn’t going to be a buck a round or $2.50 a round like the .50-cal.,†Carpenter said. “It’s going to be a little more, because you are putting a computer chip in there, about $22 a round.â€
The MK19’s grenade launcher’s 40mm round costs about $16 each.
Despite the higher cost, the XM307 is slated to eventually replace the MK19, said weapons experts, who argue the 25mm round outperforms the less-effective 40mm round.
“An MK19 round is big and slow,†said Carpenter, describing the high-arching trajectory of the 40mm round. “When I flatten that trajectory out [with the 25mm round] I increase the velocity. I am going to get it to the target faster, more accurately, versus this slow lobbing thing … I’ll put three rounds on that target faster than the first [40mm] round will get there if you are talking 1,200 to 1,400 meters.â€
The XM307 with a ground tripod weighs about 50 pounds, making it far less cumbersome than the 128-pound M2 or the 144-pound MK19. But it is still far too heavy for dismounted operations, and the Infantry Center wants to make it lighter.
“Originally, it was thought it would be light enough to replace the automatic weapon down to the squad level,†Stone said.
Carpenter pointed out that both the XM307 and XM312 are intended for mounted operations, but their lighter weight makes it easier for soldiers to take these weapons with them if their vehicle becomes disabled.
“It’s still big. It’s cumbersome, but it does give you the opportunity to displace that weapon from a vehicle,†he said.
The Army likely will spend more than $120 million on XM307 before its scheduled 2010 fielding. And if XM312 is adopted in two years, it may cost more than $400 million to eventually replace the roughly 25,000 M2s in the Army, said Pete Errante, deputy product manager for PM Crew Served Weapons.
While Infantry Center officials have been pleased with the M2’s service, they know nothing lasts forever. “There a so many .50-cals. out there, it will take us years and years to replace them,†Stone said.
“What we don’t want to do is wait until they start breaking down.â€
Issue Date: July 21, 2003
70-year-old .50-cal. may be retired soon
By Matthew Cox
Times staff writer
After 70 years of service, the Army’s oldest machine gun — the M2 .50-caliber — soon may be on its way to retirement.
Within two years, the XM312, a lighter, more accurate .50-caliber, will start replacing John Browning’s “Ma Deuce,†if the staff at Project Manager Soldier Weapons gets its way.
The XM312 evolved out of the XM307 project, a new style of crew-served weapon capable of delivering highly accurate, 25mm air-bursting ammunition on targets out to 2,000 meters. The innovative weapon is scheduled for fielding in 2010 and is slated to be the primary support weapon for the Army’s Future Combat Systems.
But weapons experts don’t want to wait that long to give soldiers a weapon with the XM307’s stability and accuracy.
By changing the barrel and a handful of other parts, the XM307 prototype becomes the XM312. “We changed six parts and turned it into a .50-cal.,†said Lt. Col. Robert Carpenter, who runs Product Manager Crew Served Weapons.
The XM312 is nine times more accurate than the M2 because of its “open bolt, out of battery action,†meaning that the barrel of the weapon moves when firing rather than the bolt, cutting down on the recoil, he said.
“You are talking about a weapon that is very accurate in a .50-cal., in full auto because you don’t have the recoil, so you don’t have the gun jumping every time,†Carpenter said.
The XM312 weighs 43 pounds — 66 percent lighter than the 128-pound M2.
In 2010, when the Army begins fielding the XM307, the service also will field conversion kits so units that already have the 307 can switch out a few parts and choose between a .50-caliber and a 25mm weapon.
“The ability to change from [.50-caliber to 25mm] with minimal difficulty is an option that will appeal to many people,†said Jim Stone, deputy for the Infantry Center’s Directorate of Combat Developments.
While the XM307 likely will be used alongside the XM312, weapons experts say the computerized fire-control system will give units an edge they have never had on the battlefield.
“It’s laze, aim and shoot. I see a target; I laze to the target; I get a ballistic reticle; I move the reticle to the target; and I hammer away,†Carpenter said. “And those rounds will burst at that range.â€
Unlike regular machine guns, the XM307 makes sure each round is on target by talking to the computer chip inside the 25mm round.
“You are going to have dispersion from round to round. An extra grain of powder is going to give you a little bit of this and a little bit of that,†Carpenter said. “We correct that every time because we talk to every shot.â€
More buck for the bang
But fielding this high-tech system won’t be cheap.
“This isn’t going to be a buck a round or $2.50 a round like the .50-cal.,†Carpenter said. “It’s going to be a little more, because you are putting a computer chip in there, about $22 a round.â€
The MK19’s grenade launcher’s 40mm round costs about $16 each.
Despite the higher cost, the XM307 is slated to eventually replace the MK19, said weapons experts, who argue the 25mm round outperforms the less-effective 40mm round.
“An MK19 round is big and slow,†said Carpenter, describing the high-arching trajectory of the 40mm round. “When I flatten that trajectory out [with the 25mm round] I increase the velocity. I am going to get it to the target faster, more accurately, versus this slow lobbing thing … I’ll put three rounds on that target faster than the first [40mm] round will get there if you are talking 1,200 to 1,400 meters.â€
The XM307 with a ground tripod weighs about 50 pounds, making it far less cumbersome than the 128-pound M2 or the 144-pound MK19. But it is still far too heavy for dismounted operations, and the Infantry Center wants to make it lighter.
“Originally, it was thought it would be light enough to replace the automatic weapon down to the squad level,†Stone said.
Carpenter pointed out that both the XM307 and XM312 are intended for mounted operations, but their lighter weight makes it easier for soldiers to take these weapons with them if their vehicle becomes disabled.
“It’s still big. It’s cumbersome, but it does give you the opportunity to displace that weapon from a vehicle,†he said.
The Army likely will spend more than $120 million on XM307 before its scheduled 2010 fielding. And if XM312 is adopted in two years, it may cost more than $400 million to eventually replace the roughly 25,000 M2s in the Army, said Pete Errante, deputy product manager for PM Crew Served Weapons.
While Infantry Center officials have been pleased with the M2’s service, they know nothing lasts forever. “There a so many .50-cals. out there, it will take us years and years to replace them,†Stone said.
“What we don’t want to do is wait until they start breaking down.â€
