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US Army Unveils 'Revolutionary' $35,000 Rifle

rbrander writes "Don't call it a 'rifle,' call it the 'XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System' and get your $35,000 worth. Much more than a projector of high-speed lead, this device hurls small grenades that automatically detonate in mid-flight with 1-meter accuracy over nearly 800m. The vital field feature is the ability to explode 1m behind the wall you just lazed — the one with the enemy hiding behind it."

9 of 782 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Defilade by retchdog · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've found it amusing how much French there is in the military shibboleth/jargon. No one bothered renaming defilade as "freedom cover".

    --
    "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
  2. Nice... by RevWaldo · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...but it ain't no Zorg ZF-1

    .

  3. Re:Forget the cost of the gun by larry+bagina · · Score: 5, Funny

    how much is the cost of the ammo?

    "Once the trigger is pulled and the round leaves the barrel, a computer chip inside the projectile communicates exactly how far it has traveled"

    That doesn't sound cheap at all.

    It costs four hundred thousand dollars to fire this weapon... for twelve seconds.

    --
    Do you even lift?

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  4. Re:Defilade by snicho99 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who's surprised the word for "something to hide behind" is french?
    /ducks

    --
    -Steve http://www.stevennicholson.com
  5. Expensive, easy to use, it's an... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "The ... system, which costs up to $35,000 per unit, is so sophisticated that soldiers are proficient users literally within minutes."

    It's an iPhone for blowing shit up!

  6. Re:Just like BF2142 by Artifakt · · Score: 5, Funny

    This does however expose a tactical weakness of the XM25 - the lack of good, flat mousing surfaces on the modern battlefield.

    --
    Who is John Cabal?
  7. Re:Hope It Helps End the Fighting by wagnerrp · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is that a device that works by the zimulated emission of photons?

  8. How much are the bullets? by Joce640k · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is it like the inkjet scam? $35,000 for the rifle then $200 for each bullet...?

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    No sig today...
  9. Re:Mortars. by Issarlk · · Score: 2, Funny

    A light tube... interesting. We could make it so light that one guy could carry it and point it at the enemy. Firing it with a trigger.