ROYAL DEFENSE QUARTERLY
New "Artillery Rifle" in the Works for the Army
FT. GAROU Joint Services Base, Canissia: Dr. Lee Wang, a researcher in the Army Research Command, is ready to begin testing prototypes of a new Infantry rifle this spring.
The infantry rifle, tentatively dubbed the XCR-20, for Experimental Combat Rifle-20mm, would be the first of its kind for the Canissian Army.
The XCR-20 would be a binary weapon system, with a standard 6.8 USC infantry rifle mated to a 20mm air-burst weapon somewhat akin to the way current grenade launchers are affixed under the barrels of existing rifles.
"The XCR-20 would do away with the concept of putting an individual grenade launcher under an existing individual weapon," Dr. Wang explained, "This gives the soldier a six-shot magazine of 20mm air-bursting light cannon shells that are far more useful than a single-shot grenade tube."
Critics of the weapon point out that current grenade tubes, while single-shot, can be reloaded rapidly and carry a far larger charge in their typically 40mm shells. The 40mm grenade shells are also adaptable to such things as flares, star clusters, and smoke, which can be used for marking targets of obscuring movement. Dr. Wang admits that the 40mm grenades offer a great deal of versatility, but the 20mm cannon rounds offer more lethality.
"And that's what it's all about," Wang said, "Taking out your enemy. With the XCR-20, the 20mm shells can bust right through a wall before exploding."
Still, critics are unconvinced.
"The 20mm shells are high-velocity, flat-trajectory munitions," says Dr. Warren Grindaxe, who develops grenade launchers for the Army. "You can't arc fire over a obstacle-- it's just another bullet. A bigger bullet, to be sure, but sometimes there are advantages to a slow-moving grenade with a lot of explosive that cen be easily lobbed over a near obstacle."
Dr. Wang admits that there will always be a place for grenades and grenade launchers in the Army.
"I am not claiming to make grenades or their launchers obsolete," he said, "Just enhance the firepower of the average infantry rifle squad. There would be a place for a dedicated grenadier in the ranks, of course. Perhaps with a dedicated MGL-140 and a sidearm."
Dr. Wang refers to the MGL-140, a prototype dedicated grenade launcher system that was proposed to the Canissian Army but never adopted due to the use of under-slung 40mm grenades on the current FN-SCAR.
An MGL-40 Grenade Launcher: a new lease on life?
"I think a dedicated grenadier position is an excellent idea, and one I have been advocating for a long time," said Dr. Grindaxe, "A dedicated grenadier would retain needed flexibility in squad-level munitions. In fact, a dedicated grenadier that specialized in grenade munitions and their employment would be a great boon to tactical flexibility."
The XCR-20, Dr. Wang notes, was originally intended for universal issue, but he notes that discussions with the Defense Ministry have already nixed the idea based on the expense of equipping millions of personnel with a weapon that many don't actually need.
"Desk clerks, mechanics, other rear-area types are issued either pistols or submachineguns," Dr. Wang noted, "Because they are not expected to get into sustained combat and they need a weapon that allows them to work freely. Likewise, tank crews wouldn't get XCR-20's because they would be incredibly difficult to maneuver into and out of vehicle hatches-- a hazard if the vehicle has to be evacuated under fire."
Infantry squads and Combat Engineers would get the XCR-20 primarily, Dr. Wang noted, and even then it would most likely be two or three weapons per squad rather than every soldier.
"Many soldiers are not dedicated riflemen, even in the Infantry," Dr. Wang noted, "It would be just addition weight for a dedicated RPG-gunner to carry a full XCR-20 system with himself, for example. However, I am also looking into the idea of making a version of the XCR-20 which replaces the 20mm cannon with a 12-gauge shotgun mechanism for firing explosive shotgun rounds."
The proposed system, dubbed the XCR-12, would ideally become the standard-issue rifle for everyone not carrying an XCR-20 or other, specialized weapon system such as an RPG or Grenade Launcher.
XCR-20 rifle with 20mm shells beside it.
The XCR-12 could carry a magazine of 20 or more explosive shotgun rounds, while the XCR-20 would carry about six 20mm shells in it's magazine. The size of the magazine for the rifle portion of the weapon, the 6.8mm USC magazines, would remain the same at 30 rounds.
Other critics point to the weight of the combined weapons and their ammo load. Some Infantry officers wonder about the ability of troops to remain fresh and combat-ready after carrying such a heavy weapon over long distances and rough terrain. The weapon weighs in at 6.1 kilograms unloaded, and after loading the rifle itself, plus additional ammunition, the weight just for the full weapon system alone can top close to 10 kilograms without including body armor, helmet, and packs.
While most Canissian infantry is either mechanized or motorized, some travel by foot march is always likely. One of the units that ends up on foot the most is the Airborne forces, which typically parachute in with light vehicles support. Ironically, it is also one of the branches most eager to give the XCR-20 and the XCR-12 an opportunity to prove itself.
"Sure, it'll be heavier," said Colonel Joseph Brannigan of the 5th Airborne Division, "But the Airborne doesn't land with heavy tanks and armored personnel carriers. We rely more on what we carry with us than what we drive, and these promise to expand destructive capability of the average infantry squad threefold."
Trials for the new weapons systems begin in a month.
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