ATK XM8

The United States Army partnered with German armament manufacturers Heckler & Koch to develop the lightweight assault rifle called the XM8 in the latter part of the '90s. This effort was in context with the Objective Individual Combat Weapon competition, which aimed to generate research and development on new assault rifle systems. In 2005, the US Army invited entrants for the Increment One stage of this competition, stating strict design parameters. While the XM8 conforms to these, it did not managed to attain its final objective - that of becoming the US Army's standard combat rifle. Apparently deciding that the design was too good to allow to sink into obscurity, Heckler & Koch worked further on this weapons system, which comprised of several rifle variants with interchangeable parts, at it plant in America.

The rifles themselves were designed to accommodate 5.56 mm NATO ammunition, fed from plastic box magazine of 30 rounds. One speaks in the plural for good reason - at various stages of its life, the actual XM8 weapons system was meant to feature four components. These were a compact PDW, or personal defense weapon, a carbine and sniper and automatic rifle models. Also included in the system are optical sights, a grenade launcher, a bipod and other accessories. The mounting systems for these accessories are engineered in such a precise manner that readjustment after mounting is not necessary. These comprise of the highly advanced mounting facilities called the PCAP, or Picatinny Combat Attachment Points, which allow for extremely precise connection of with the body of the weapon. It is evident that the XM8 system was envisaged as the final statement in military firearms. This is borne out by the other features it included.

The system allows for the additional inclusion of a 100-round dual drum magazine if required. The XM8 weapons system was designed for ultimate on-field adaptability - this meant that non-technical users would be able to change worn-out barrels, adapt the rifles to rounds of other calibers and carry out small repairs in the course of actual combat. Each of the variants was equipped with uniform accessory mounts. The variants themselves have been spoken of in the press from time to time - the XM8 Carbine, the XM8 Carbine with XM320 grenade launcher, the XM8 R, the XM8 Compact Carbine and others have apparently been developed and subjected to field testing. They have been engineered in accordance with the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (or OICW) requirements for fast barrel replacement facility and the possibility of high rates of sustained fire.

The XM8, which is manufactured with a body of fiber-reinforced polymer and interchangeable barrels comprising of cold hammer forged steel, has so far withstood the most grueling tests under the most trying conditions. The results available to date indicate that it can fire up to 15,000 rounds without needing to be cleaned or otherwise maintained. After approximately 20,000 rounds have been fired, the barrel requires replacement. The XM8 is made extremely economical by virtue of its highly advanced combined electronics sighting system. The state-of-the-art 1.5x red dot scope, infrared lasers and pointers incorporated in this system increase accuracy during firing to an unprecedented degree, thereby reducing ammunition wastage to a bare minimum. In fact, it is a safe bet that there would be nothing very special about the XM8 without this revolutionary sighting system. Heckler & Koch are working on upgrading the XM8 even more - next on the charts are octagonal rifling to make up for the lower muzzle velocity caused by the short barrel, an electronic bullet counter, an ultra-low power circuit to increase battery life, genuinely ambidextrous controls and other new features. The US Department of Defense has earmarked something like US$32.5 million to purchase 10,400 units of the XM8 carbine in 2006. However, it intends to await the results of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon competition before placing its final order.

Effective range to 1,000 meters

Full defilade target capability

Moving target tracking capability

KE semi two-round burst; HE semi automatic

Recoil level 1/3 that of the M14

Ruggedized composite weapon housing

Separable HE/KE weapons

Precise target range, automatically communicated to 20mm HE bursting ammo

Five times more lethal than the M16/M203, at > twice the range

Rate of fire with KE ammo >850 rounds/min, with HE >10 rounds/minute

Easily field strippable in under two minutes

Day/night fire control; weapon interface, iron sight backup

HE ammo functional modes: airburst, MOUT short arm, point detonation, point detonation delay, and self-destruct

Laser ranging accuracy ±1/2m out to 500m, ±1m out to 1000m

Weapon Operation

The fire control system (FCS), using a laser range finder, pinpoints the precise target range at which the HE round will burst and relays this information to the 20mm ammunition fuzing system. Fragments from the bursting munition will defeat PASGT body armor and incapacitate the target. The sighting system provides full 24-hour capability by employing uncooled IR sensor technology for night vision.

Accurate OICW 20mm HE airburst at 2.5 meters above ground, using turns-count fuzing precision.

World-Class Team

For the ATD program, ATK served as system integrator, fuze developer and 20mm HE developer. ATK formed a strong international team, including Heckler & Koch (weapon), Contraves-Brashear Systems (fire control), Octec (video tracker), and Dynamit Nobel (KE and propellant support). For the PDRR/EMD program, the ATK team remains intact and will evolve a combat ready system.