The OCSW (Objective Crew Served Weapon) was a U.S. Military arms program started in the 1980s that led to a hybrid smaller prototype automatic autocannon developed by General Dynamics Armament Systems. It led to the XM312 and XM307 designs.
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to evaluate a new design to enhance precision by system analysts and users. Prototyping serves to provide specifications for a real, working system rather than a theoretical one. In some design workflow models, creating a prototype is the step between the formalization and the evaluation of an idea.
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a large, fully automatic, rapid-fire projectile weapon that fires armour-piercing and/or explosive shells, as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons have a longer range and a larger calibre than a machine guns, but are usually smaller than tank guns, howitzers, field guns or other artillery. When used on its own, the word "autocannon" indicates a single-barrel weapon. When multiple rotating barrels are involved, the word "rotary" is added, and such a weapon is referred to as a "rotary autocannon". Modern autocannons are typically not single soldier-portable or stand-alone units due to high weight and recoil, rather they are usually vehicle-mounted, aircraft-mounted, or boat-mounted, or even remote-operated as in some naval applications. As such, ammunition is typically fed from a belt to reduce reloading or for a faster rate of fire, but a magazine remains an option. They can use a variety of ammunition: common shells include high-explosive dual-purpose types (HEDP), any variety of armour-piercing (AP) types, such as composite rigid (APCR) or discarding sabot types (APDS).
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American aerospace and defense corporation. As of 2019, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the United States, and the sixth-largest in the world, by sales. The company ranked No. 92 in the 2019 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. It is headquartered in West Falls Church, Fairfax County, Virginia.
As a part of the SAMP (Small Arms Master Plan) program, it had the same laser targeting system as the XM29 OICW, but was intended to supplement the 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher and the .50 M2 Browning machine gun. It could fire armor-piercing or explosive 25 mm grenades at a cyclic rate of 260 rounds per minute, and had an effective range up to 2 kilometres. It underwent combat trials before being cancelled.
The XM29 OICW was a series of prototypes of a new type of assault rifle that fired 20 mm HE airbursting projectiles. The prototypes were developed as part of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program in the 1990s. The term SABR was also used at certain points, but is less common.
The Mk 19 grenade launcher is an American 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher that was first developed during the Vietnam War. The first model in 1966 was determined to be unreliable and unsafe, but a total of six Mod 1 launchers were successfully tested on U.S. Navy riverine patrol craft in the Mekong Delta in 1972. The Navy made further improvements to the weapon, resulting in the Mod 3 in 1976. The Mod 3 was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1983 and remains in service to the present day.
An explosive is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An explosive charge is a measured quantity of explosive material, which may be composed of a single ingredient or a combination of two or more.
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, although larger crew-served launchers are issued at higher levels of organisation by military forces.
The XM8 is a lightweight assault rifle system from the late 1990s to early 2000s. The rifle was designed by German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K), and shares design and engineering with their G36 rifle.
The Special Purpose Individual Weapon (SPIW) was a long-running United States Army program to develop, in part, a workable flechette-firing "rifle", though other concepts were also involved. The concepts continued to be tested under the Future Rifle Program and again in the 1980s under the Advanced Combat Rifle program, but neither program resulted in a system useful enough to warrant replacing the M16.
An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target or a delayed armor-piercing explosion. The principal military advantage of an air burst over a ground burst is that the energy from the explosion is distributed more evenly over a wider area; however, the peak energy is lower at ground zero.
40 mm grenades are used by grenade launchers in service with many armed forces. There are two main types in service with NATO countries: the 40×46mm, which is a low-velocity round used in hand-held grenade launchers; and the high-velocity 40×53mm, used in mounted and crew-served weapons. The cartridges are not interchangeable. Both 40 mm cartridges use the High-Low Propulsion System.
The 25 mm grenade is a type of explosive ordnance used in some modern grenade launchers. 25 mm grenades are armed after launch, after traveling a safe distance. Many types explode on impact, but others are designed to explode in mid-air after traveling a certain distance—used to clear entrenched or barricaded positions.
The Mk 47 or Striker 40 is a 40mm automatic grenade launcher with an integrated fire control system, capable of launching smart programmable 40mm air burst grenades in addition to various unguided rounds.
The XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon (ACSW) was a developmental 25 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher with programmable airburst capability. It is the result of the OCSW or Objective Crew Served Weapon project. It is lightweight and designed to be two-man portable, as well as vehicle mounted. The XM307 can kill or suppress enemy combatants out to 2,000 meters, and destroy lightly armored vehicles, watercraft, and helicopters at 1,000 meters. The project was canceled in 2007.
The XM312 is a heavy machine gun derived from the XM307 25 mm autocannon and chambered for the .50 BMG cartridge. It was designed in response to a request by the U.S. military for a replacement for the aging M2 Browning heavy machine gun, and as a complement to the heavier XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon grenade launcher.
An airburst round, airburst shell, air burst grenade, or smart grenade is a type of tactical anti-personnel explosive ammunition, typically a shell or grenade, that detonates in midair, causing air burst effect fragment damage to an enemy.
The SB-40 LAG is a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher developed and produced in Spain by the Empresa Nacional Santa Bárbara company.
The Type 11, designated as QTS-11, is an air burst grenade launcher integrated with the QBZ-03 assault rifle in service of Chinese military since 2015. Reporting on the weapon as early as February 2011 initially identified the weapon as the ZH-05.
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