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General Dynamics Partners To Create U.S. Source for XM8 Modular Weapon System General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, and Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf, Germany, have created a U.S.-based joint venture company to manufacture and deliver the 5.56mm XM8 Light Weight Modular Carbine System to U.S. government customers. Art Veitch, General Dynamics executive vice president for Combat Systems, said, "This partnership expands General Dynamics' ability to meet the varied requirements of the U.S. infantry soldier, our traditional customer, while providing the government with a domestic supply of a crucial transformational weapon system. We look forward to working with Heckler & Koch to achieve the full U.S. market potential for this excellent weapon." The XM8 Light Weight Modular Weapon System has been proposed as a replacement for the current M16 rifle and M4 carbine, the standard infantry weapons in today's U.S. military. The XM8's action is based on the Heckler & Koch G36, a proven infantry weapon. Different barrels and other modules can be swapped quickly to meet changing mission requirements. Variants include the baseline carbine, a sub-machine gun-like personal defense weapon, a sharpshooter's configuration and a variant for use as a heavy-duty machine gun for sustained rapid-fire applications. An optional add-on 40mm grenade launcher is also available. |
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