U. S. ARMY'S NEWEST ASSAULT RIFLE

By John G. Roos

LAS VEGAS — About a year from now, the XM8 — the Army's likely new 5.56mm assault weapon — should begin showing up in unit arms rooms.

That's not official — the weapon is still the experimental XM8; there's testing yet to be done, contracts to be signed. But if any casino in this gambling mecca would take my bet that this is the American soldier's next rifle, I'd put some serious cash on the line.

This former soldier, an old 11B, would stake that bet based on tips from sources and firsthand experience — I was privileged to be among the first shooting enthusiasts anywhere to put the XM8 to the test.

That's thanks to good fortune — and my job as an editor at Army Times Publishing Co. and organizer of the annual "Shoot-out at Blackwater" weapons-testing event in North Carolina. The XM8s already underwent arctic tests in February, are now in the hands of troops in Alaska and are slated to undergo testing in the tropics (probably in Panama) in June.

The Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Ga., is currently in the early stages of an eight-week assessment of the XM8 to see how the first prototypes of the weapon meet the small-arms needs of the Army. In addition to soldiers, the assessment will involve Marines, airmen and Coast Guard members.

So far, all of the testing of the XM8 has been open to press coverage. But the senior leadership at Benning recently decided to deny access to reporters to ensure an unbiased assessment environment free of outside distractions, said Rich McDowell, Benning's public affairs officer.

The XM8 will be put through a final workout in the desert — Arizona's Yuma Proving Ground is the likely spot — immediately after that.

The Army remains mum about how tests are going, but program officials with manufacturer Heckler & Koch Defense Inc., prime contractor for the weapons, are confident the XM8s will measure up to the challenges of the environmental testing. They're so confident that they invited hundreds of journalists writing for defense, firearms and related publications to put three XM8 variants to the test during the annual SHOT Show here.

See also; click on XM 8 video from Mail Call: http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/001973.html

also: http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?s=1-292925-xm8_100.php