Well written myronc and I share some of your concerns, but what...

Well written myronc and I share some of your concerns, but what some people are missing is that this particular weapon XM25 has taken nearly as long as the 3GL to develop, it was originally part of the OICW program, but the weapon was way too heavy and cumbersome as both a grenade launcher and a rifle combined.

It's worth noting at this point that this was what the US wanted back then and I am willing to bet still does, a weapon that has both the rifle and also a grenade launcher 40mm that has multiple rounds, one that is light but also deadly accurate and can fire over a number of ranges and uses optically fused rounds

So while it has been a long haul, don't lose faith because I believe we are just about ready to make it in the real world, the XM25 will only be a small part of what a squad will be carrying and will be complimentary to the rifles fitted with something like a 3GL IMHO