XM8 weapon family to be assessed
Spc. Brian Trapp
Bayonet staff
The Soldier Battlelab, formerly known as Dismounted Battle Space Battlelab, will assess the weapons family proposed to replace the M-16 and M-4 weapons systems this month to see if the weapons will move forward in development.
Soldiers, Marines and airmen will evaluate the XM8 weapons system performance. The Soldier Battlelab will look at the weapons' performance and subjective user data.
The weapons are currently in preproduction, and the assessment will look for areas that may not function properly and still need to be addressed, said Jerry Barricks, project officer with Soldier Battlelab.
"(The evaluation will) not only gather technical data, but also subjective data on the ease of use and if it's easy to maintain or train on," he said.
The XM8 family has a 9-inch compact, 12.5-inch carbine and a 20-inch sharpshooter and automatic rifle.
The 12.5-inch carbine is 6.4 pounds with an objective of 5.7 pounds and is 33 inches with its adjustable stock extended. The M-16 A2 is 39.63 inches long and 8.79 pounds with a 30-round magazine.
Internally, the XM8 uses a rotary locking bolt system that functions and fieldstrips like those used in the M-16 rifle and M-4 carbine, according to the XM8 manufacturer's - Heckler & Koch - Web site. The bolt is powered by a unique gas operating system with a user-removable gas piston and pusher rod to operate the mechanism. Unlike the current M-4 and M-16 direct gas system with gas tube, the XM8 gas system does not introduce propellant gases and carbon back into the weapon's receiver during firing.
"(The Soldier's input) is a good way to look at (a variety) of things and go back to refine our requirement document instead of sitting here thinking about it," said Edwin Davis, deputy director of the Soldier Battlelab.
"A lot of weapons are impressive on the range," Davis said, but the weapons' true performance isn't known until it's put in the hands of Soldiers, who "move it around, get a feel for it, get it in the mud."
The weapons will be evaluated with known distance, field fire, NBC, night fire and rapid magazine change with some Soldiers also doing MOUT, close quarter battle and a woodland obstacle course.
During the review, the XM8s will be compared to the M-16 A2, M-16 A4 and M-4 weapons systems.
Although there's no great outcry from Soldiers in the field to replace their current weapon, there's a push to get gear into the field faster. The data will be used to help refine the requirements document for the new weapons systems or even decide if there's a need.
The Infantry School's assessment on the weapons systems should be out by mid-May, Davis said.
"A weapon is a fundamental skill for every Soldier," Davis said. "The quicker we can train them up on the task, the better we will be."
From the Bayonet: http://thebayonet.com/stories/020604/06.html
