The XM29 OICW ("Objective Individual Combat Weapon") was the name for a series of prototypes of a new type of battle rifle that fired 20mm airburst grenades. The prototypes were developed as part of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program in the 1990s. The term Selectable Assault Battle Rifle (SABR) was also used at certain points, but is less common. The Objective Individual Combat Weapon or OICW usually meant the next-generation assault rifle competition that was under development as part of the OICW program. ...

Objective Individual Combat Weapon

Developed by Alliant Techsystems, with Heckler & Koch as an important subcontractor, the most commonly seen version of the XM29 consisted of a semiautomatic 20 mm smart-grenade launcher cannon, an underslung assault carbine (derived from the HK G36) firing a standard 5.56 x 45 mm NATO round, and a top-mounted computer-assisted sighting system with integrated laser rangefinder, thermal night vision capabilities, and up to 6x optical telescopic sight. Earlier designs used different configurations and setups. A side-by configuration was tested before the undersling approach. Other variations included just the 20 mm launcher or one that used the MP7 rather then the a 5.56 NATO rifle. Alliant Techsystems (ATK) is a major US aerospace and defense contractor with sales of approximately USD $2. ... Heckler und Koch GmbH (H&K) is a German weapons manufacturing company famous for various series of small firearms, notably the MP5 submachine gun, the MP7 personal defense weapon and the G3 and G36 assault rifles. ... A carbine is a firearm similar to, but shorter or weaker than, an ordinary rifle or musket of a given period. ... H&K G36 The Heckler und Koch Gewehr Model 36 (company designation G36, Bundeswehr designation ) is a modular weapon system designed in West Germany in the 1980s and 1990s. ... U.S. Military 5. ... A laser range-finder, or LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging), is a device which uses a laser beam in order to determine the distance to an opaque object. ... Night-vision is seeing in the dark. ... Caliber: 4. ...

The launcher part has been described alternately by terms such as light semi-automatic 20 mm cannon, grenade launcher, or airburst weapon. It posed a classification problem, in that it does fit in any category neatly. On one hand, it uses much smaller shells and has a much flatter trajectory than grenade launchers. On the other, while its caliber and velocity is more similar to a light cannon, it does share traits with other infantry grenade launchers.

Various problems have effectively ended the program as it was originally envisioned, including weight, bulk, and lack of effectiveness of the 20 mm airburst round. Upon cancellation in 2004, it was split into three related programs. OICW Increment One is a program to develop a family of light kinetic energy weapons, OICW Increment Two is a program to develop the airburst grenade launcher as a standalone component, and OICW Increment Three will be a program to re-integrate the two components. The XM8 was developed to meet Increment One requirements, but has since been canceled in favor of an open request for proposal for the best designs from industry. It is anticipated that XM8 (or something very like it) will compete in that RFP. Meanwhile, the XM25 25 mm airburst launcher was developed to meet the Increment Two requirements. Increment Three will not be initiated until after One and Two are completed. The XM8 is the project name for a lightweight, compact assault rifle under development by the German small arms manufacturer Heckler und Koch (H&K) on behalf of the US Army. ... The XM25 is an airburst grenade launcher derived from the XM-29 OICW. It fires 25 mm grenades that can be set to explode in mid-air after traveling a certain distance. ...

History

One of the most ambitious projects in the history of small arms began late in 1986, when the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning published a paper entitled "Small Arms System 2000" (SAS-2000). Despite the current trends towards caseless and flechette ammunition and weapons, researched and developed under the ACR program (see HK G11 and Steyr ACR entries for some details), this paper stated that conventional small arms had already reached their technological peak, and the only way to increase the hit probability in small arms was to introduce a weapon that combined the ability to fire explosive and fragmentation warheads with smart fusing and sighting/aiming technologies. 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Fort Benning is a military base facility of the United States military southwest of Columbus, Georgia. ... Caseless ammunition is firearm ammunition that aims to eliminate the metal case that typically holds the primer, or ignite, and the explosive charge (gunpowder) that propels the bullet. ... The word flechette is French and means dart (literally, little arrow). It is a projectile having the form of a small metal dart, usually steel, with a sharp-pointed tip and a tail with several vanes to stabilize it during flight. ... HK G11 assault rifle, one of the earlier models. ... The Steyr ACR (Advanced Combat Rifle) has a superficial resemblance to the Steyr AUG, but instead fires 5. ...

While most small arms research during the late 1980s in the USA was conducted under the ACR program, the idea first developed in SAS-2000 was supported by another US military paper, published in 1989 by the US Army TRADOC (Training & Doctrine) center. This paper, called "The Small Arms Master Plan" (SAMP), requested a new family of infantry "Objective" weapons, namely the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW), Objective Personal Defense Weapon (OPDW), and the Objective Crew Served Weapon (OCSW). The SAMP stated that such weapons must utilize the latest developments in computers and visual technologies, as well as in small arms, and combine both high explosive warheads and traditional bullet firing capabilities in a single weapon that should be fielded circa 2000. Of course, the timelines and most of the weight and cost requirements set in this paper looked unrealistic from the start, but the development of the Objective weapons series began in the early 1990s. // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... TRADOC shoulder sleeve patch. ... The Objective Individual Combat Weapon or OICW usually meant the next-generation assault rifle competition that was under development as part of the OICW program. ... The OCSW (Objective Crew Served Weapon) is a prototype automatic grenade launcher developed by General Dynamics Armament Systems. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ...

During the early stages of research and development in the mid-1990s one out of the two teams was selected as a winner for further development contract. This team was led by the US based Alliant Techsystems corporation (ATK), with Heckler & Koch (HK) from Germany, and the Brashear and the Omega companies (both of USA) as the other team members. ATK was responsible for system integration, and also developing the 20 mm airburst munitions; HK was responsible for both the 5.56 mm rifle and the 20 mm grenade launcher; Brashear worked on the sighting equipment and Omega provided the training means. The resulting weapon was type-classified by the US Army as the XM29 circa 2002. Plans for eventual fielding the XM29 are to issue four units per one infantry squad of 9 men. 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Technical characteristics

The XM29 is a combination weapon, which has the 20 mm semi-automatic, magazine fed cannon/grenade launcher as its primary part, and the 5.56 mm compact assault rifle as its secondary part. Both parts are assembled into the single one-man portable unit, with the addition of the target acquisition / fire control system (TA/FCS), which is an essential part of the whole system. The XM29 is planned to become an integral part of the future Land Warrior system, capable of communicating with the other parts of this system, including the tactical computers and helmet-mounted displays. A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... A grenade launcher is weapon that fires or launches a grenade to longer distances than a soldier could throw by hand. ... A fire-control system is a computer, often mechanical, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. ... Land Warrior is a United States Army program that uses a combination of commercial, off-the-shelf technology and current-issue military gear and equipment designed to: Integrate small arms with high-tech equipment Provide communications and command and control at the infantry soldier level Look at the individual infantry...

HEAB launcher

Early in 2002 the XM29 prototypes were successfully tested with the newest 20 mm HEAB (High Explosive Air Bursting) munitions, which would be the major "kill factor" for the XM29 weapon. The launcher is capable of firing in semi-automatic mode only, and is gas operated. It has a bullpup layout with the detachable box magazine located in the butt of the weapon. The rifled barrel is used to launch the 20 mm grenades up to 1,000 meters with good accuracy. In the standard configuration most of the fire controls for the grenade launcher part are located on the rifle part, including the single trigger for both firing modules. It is quite possible, however, that a separate stock will be developed for the grenade launcher part, allowing it to be used without the rifle part attached. The Vektor CR-21 has a typical bullpup configuration. ...

The launcher has the provisions for the TA/FCS system to be mounted on its top, and the appropriate interfaces, so the data provided from the TA/FCS can be used to program the 20 mm grenade fuses. These fuses, used for the 20 mm HEAB ammunition, have multiple modes of detonation, including a direct impact mode and an air burst mode. In the latter mode the fuse is pre-programmed to explode the warhead at a preset range, which is calculated during the flight by counting the number of the grenade's rotations. This allows the round to defeat targets without direct impact, using the blast and fragmentation effect of the high explosive warhead. Shrapnel and other debris accelerated by the detonation of the airburst round can be more deadly to the enemy than direct fire. This is a major advantage over present small arms, which in most cases require a direct hit on the target to be effective, as it allows for greater aiming errors, and also makes possible to defeat targets in defilade, like trenches and so on. The high explosive warhead also has the advantage of not being dependent on its velocity to be effective, so unlike bullets, its effectiveness does not decrease with increasing ranges. Enfilade and defilade are military tactical concepts used to describe a fighting units exposure to enemy fire. ...

The disadvantage of this system is the extreme complexity of the electronic fuses, which results in a high price of a single round of ammunition. The plans stated that one HEAB round must cost about US $25, and it is still to be seen what the actual price of munitions will be. It is interesting that the present design of the HEAB ammunition actually has two small HE warheads at the front and at the rear of the projectile, with the electronic fuse module located between them. While the HEAB is considered a primary round for the 20 mm grenade launcher, it is entirely possible to develop a low cost, direct hit only anti-armour 20 mm round with Shaped Charge warhead, which will be effective against lightly armored vehicles (APC, MICV and like) and various hardened targets. The M113, one of the most common APCs, on duty during the Vietnam War Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are light armoured fighting vehicles for the transport of infantry. ...

Kinetic energy rifle

The rifle, or "kinetic energy" part of the XM29 system, on the other hand, is a fairly conventional, short-barrelled assault rifle, derived from the Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle. The basic rifle part of the XM29 has no buttstock and no sights of its own, and thus can be used separately from the whole system only as emergency, personal defense weapon. While being mounted to the whole system, it can be used for close quarters work, both defensive or offensive (the 20 mm grenade launcher has a minimum range of fire of about 50–100 meters), or as a low-cost, low intensity medium range offensive weapon. Most of the XM29 system controls are built into the rifle part, around the trigger guard. This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. ... M16A2 (U.S.). This version was adopted in 1982 An assault rifle is a type of automatic weapon. ... H&K G36 The Heckler & Koch Gewehr Model 36 (company designation G36, Bundeswehr designation ) is a modular weapon system designed in West Germany in the 1980s and 1990s. ... metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units. ...

TA/FCS

The target acquisition/fire control system (TA/FCS) is the most expensive and complicated unit of the whole system, since it must combine day and night vision capabilities, laser range-finding unit, ballistic computer, and various interfaces to the grenade launcher and external systems. It is used to find the targets in any light and weather conditions, determine the range to the target, calculate and display the aiming data, so the grenade or bullet can be fired to the desired point of impact, and then supply the data to the grenade launcher, so the range can be preset into the grenade fuse. In the case of damage to the TA/FCS the 20 mm grenade launcher still can be used in the direct impact mode, as can the rifle part of the system.

Efficiency/Cost Issues

Research and testing shows that the XM29 can be up to 500% more effective than present small arms. However, the program has been effectively cancelled due to problems with cost, weight, bulk, and the lack of lethality of the airburst round. The final prototypes of the XM29 weighed in at about five and a half kilograms when empty, and nearly seven when loaded. Soldiers also complained of the sheer bulk of the weapon system. Regarding cost, some experts even commented that the idea of the XM29 "...seems to make a soldier so expensive to field that he can't be risked in combat. Much like an aircraft carrier." An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ...

External links

• Modern Firearms - XM29 OICW
• Alliant Techsystems
• Heckler & Koch (English - United States)
• HK Pro - More information including pictures