XM-25 Out on Patrol

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Jeez...I know when the Dirt Dart speaks, it's risen to the level where I gotta do something...

So I know you all have heard the latest histrionics about the XM-25 counter defilade engagement system buzzing on Yahoo News and the wires. Well, yes, I'd heard about it, but didn't think it was worth a post given the other stuff I learned from the interview with Lt. Col. Chris Lehner on the improved carbine program.

As you all will recall, we wrote about the XM-25 going to SOF, then the reversal of PEO Soldier when they decided to send it to the 101st because of scheduling conflicts with the SF unit which was going to carry it.

We've been posting video of the XM-25 and writing about its capabilities for months.

So when Lehner brought this up to me during our interview on the M855A1 test shoot at HP White, I was intrigued. But he downplayed the development and I respected his wish to wait until there's more feedback from the field before posting info on this.

We can't really talk about this right now ... but I can tell you this much: they have been actively on patrols and manning certain hot areas for the past week with it. They trained for a couple weeks in November and now it's deployed. We're going to hold off on releasing information because quite frankly we need to digest the information that's coming in then make some decisions on the weapon. How many do we need to produce? How are the tactics going to change of the squad and the platoon with it. If we release too much too soon, then guess who else finds out about all this: the guys who we don't want to.

So, though I rarely do this with something red hot, I agreed with Lehner's caution on shouting about this marginal development from the rooftops until I there was more, as they say in the news business, "there there."

So mea culpa...I didn't write about it at the time because I had two more breaking news items from Lehner's interview. But if I'd known how much of a stir this was going to cause, I would have belted something out just to be on the record -- and the make sure the Dart knew I was on the ball...

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