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12 May 2012

FWS Topics: the H&K XM8 and Military Sci-Fi


Recently, while watching the announcement trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, I noticed that the main assault rifle for the game is going to be the pattern more or less directly off of the canceled H&K XM8  assault rifle from 2005. This, not the only near-future MSF work that has mined the US Army canceled M16 replacement, and this got me to thinking (never a good thing), why do so many near-future MSF works feature this weapon? So, I decided to write a blogpost and gather the opinion of anyone that wishes to comment below.

 The Real-Steel H&K XM8 
The XM8 started life as the kinetic kill portion of the experimental XM29 OICW. The majority of that gun was the slighting/sensor system that was tied to the 25mm bullpup grenade launcher, the smaller portion was the underslung 5.56mm lightweight "kinetic energy"carbine that was mechanically related to the G36. While the XM29 OICW was formally cancelled in 2004, H&K had already taken the 5.56mm "kinetic energy"carbine and started to development a family of lightweight next-generation weapon system for the the US Military. 

Much like the original AR15 concept, the XM8 carbine was going to be base for several other weapons, everything from a PDW to a light machine gun, with a few changing of pieces, some call this the "Lego" approach to firearms. This concept was applied to the H&K G36 and the FN SCAR.
Looking back at the XM8, H&K was developing some features that would pop up on later guns, like the integrated red dot scope, high-end composites, and ambidextrous switches. One major feature that Heckler & Koch got wrong was abandoned the typical Picatinny rails for attachment points, forcing the user to use only those attachments that could use the attachment points.Everything seemed to be falling into place for the XM, because at the time, it was assumed that the M16/M4 was on the way out, especially when the M4 was jamming in Iraq due to sand. November of 2003 saw thirty prototype XM8 delivered to the US Army for testing, which opened up a heated political debate. Pressure on the Hill and the Pentagon was coming from all sides, especially from Colt, who wanted to keep their contract. Other arms makers, hungry for the billions of dollars that would come their way if their assault rifle got the contract, called foul, forcing the US Army to open up the field for testing other weapons, like the H&K 416 and the FN SCAR. By 2005, the XM8 was dead, and the US Armed Forces kept on using the Colt M4, while the SOCOM began testing the FN SCAR.

Why was the XM8 cancelled and It's Life After Death
Some say that H&K XM8 was a victim of infighting, political favors, bribes, corruption, and closed minds. That Colt put pressure on the government to keep the gun that American soldiers used to be made by an American company, of course, the XM8 would have been made in a plant in Georgia. This draws similarities between the fight over the XM8 to the rigged Army trials of the  M14 and the M16, or the heated contest between the Sig Sauer P226 and the Beretta M9. It is sad really, firearm companies and the people in power do not seem to remember that the assault rifle is the best friend of every soldier that puts their ass in the grass, and that system should be not just good, but great. It reminds me what Ripley said in ALIENS: "You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage" Other sources point to poor performance in real-world testing in Iraq around 2004/2005, combined with the lack of standard rail systems and non STANAG magazines. One of the best reasons that I've read was that the XM8 was not a giant leap forward over the Colt M4 for the price tag. It was also rumored that current issued SAW/Mk.46 performed better than the XM8 LMG, and some rumors say the same over the 'sniper' variant as well. So, it really came down to why spend money if you do not have to?
By 2005, the issue was more or less settled, the XM8 was official dead, H&K moved on to selling the 416/417 rifles. However, its story was not done. The XM8 of course lived on in shooter video games, like Ghost Recon and Battlefield (oddly, COD did not put the XM8 in any of their games until Black Ops II), and some Airsoft and Paintball companies created rec-warfare copies. However, the real-steel XM8 didn't just roll over and die after the US Army cancellation in 2005. A few made into active service in Iraq with a H&K maintenance team. Blackwater contractor and former SEAL Chris Neidrich was photographed with such an XM8 carbine around 2003/2004, just before he was killed. The most famous user of the XM8 after its demise was none other than General David Petraeus, who carried either an XM8 PDW or carbine during his time in Iraq. General Petraeus had been impressed with the weapon during its Army trials, and this speaks very highly of the weapon if someone like Petraeus is willing to use it.

My 2cents on the XM8
The Smart Parts SP8
Like most people, my experience with the H&K XM8 was limited to video games and Airsoft/Paintball copies, but it made me see another reason why the XM8 was sent out to pasture. During the fever over the XM8 around 2005, when Ghost Recon 2 made it the ultimate gun in the game, I badly wanted to get my hands on the paintball copies because you were really cool if you took the field with one. When I finally got my hands on the Smart Parts SP8 and Blackpoint Engineering JCS MKX8 in late 2006,
I was disappointed. The gun's ergonomics were much different than the M4 clone I was using at the time (The USA PP Viper M1), the center body of the gun was high, making it seem like it dominated my vision, especially with a mask. I could not see using this over the M4 design. Since I did have a choice on what Paintball marker I carried, as long as it fires .68,  I chose the Colt Commando, due to its size and ergonomics, which beat the XM8 clones at the time. I would guess this could a reason behind the cancellation of the XM8 in 2005, that the weapon did not handle well, which I learned when I bought my pistol, is one of the more important considerations for a combat weapon.

The XM8/Military Science Fiction Connection
It would seem that once the H&K XM8 project was canceled in 2005 that would be it for the weapon system. But, that did not stop this futuristic modular weapon system from gaining populating in a number of video games...but why? For several years, around 2004/2005, it looked almost certain that the H&K XM8 was going to bought by the US Army as the replace the aging AR15/M16 platform, and video game developers were trying not to look dated, latched on to the next big assault rifle, which was the XM8.
This was not just limited to near-future military science fiction shooter video games. Even paintball companies, like the Smart Parts and the Blackpoint Engineering, got into the act with their own .68 ball firing MILSIM markers. Sadly, just as gamers like me, were pumping virtual rounds with the XM8 in vitural battlefields, the US Army canceled it. But, gamers had already experienced it, and came to perceive this canceled modular weapon as (still) the next big step in military small arms. It made sense for a near-future video game series, like Ghost Recon to place the XM8 in their near-future games to reinforce the fact that this was the future, flying in the face of the cancelation. Once that trend was established, gamers expected to see it, developing the XM8 as a trope of modern military shooter video games, allowing the long since dead XM8 to appear in a starring role in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. This also lead to game designers riffing off of the base XM8 design to model their own futuristic KE assault rifles. If anyone else has an idea of why a canceled and never-combat-fielded weapon has made into so many shooters, please comment below and let me know.

Some Examples of the XM8 in MSF

The Patten PK470 from F.E.A.R. 2
The primary assault rifle of both friend and foe, the Pattern PK470, in the F.E.A.R. II: Project Origin is similar in design to the XM8, and the gun is dramatically cocked with a firm 'smack-my-bitch-up' action.There isn't much to say about the Pattern (what a lame ass name for a gun company!) PK470, it shoots, it kills, and it rocks in slow-mo.



The Various XM8 from the Ghost Recon Universe
At one time, the Ghost Recon series was one of the best military shooters on the market, and the developers did their research into what was coming down the pipe next. During the development of Ghost Recon 2, the XM8 was the certain successor to the Colt M4, and the game certainly made that case. This was one of the few games that allowed the player to use the variants of the standard assault carbine, including the 6.8mm sniper rifle. This could have one of the main reason behind the XM8 became regarded as the next big thing in military firearms because the Ghost Recon games designed a new future were the XM8 was the standard rifle for the Army and the Ghost Recon series was highly respected. The next installment of the Ghost Recon series, Future Soldier, it looks like the XM8 has been finally retired.

The SCAR from the Crysis game series
According to the Crysis history of their XM8 clone, the Superior Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR!), it was adopted by the US military in 2018 and chambered the 6.8 SPC cartridge over the 5.56mm. By the time of the Crysis 2 video game, around 2023, the SCAR and its Special Force variant, the SCARAB, chambered the HV 4mm round, but the weapon's magazine is still quite bulky.  



The XM8 from the Battlefield game series
Much like the Ghost Recon series, the Battlefield Bad Company game tells a story of a near future US Army that fields the H&K 416 as their standard weapon and H&K XM8 as the standard weapon of the Legionnaire Mercenaries. In the second Battlefield Bad Company game, the Bad Company team appears to be using the XM8 as their standard assault rifle. The third console game, the Battlefield series returns to a more realistic military unit with the USMC, and using a more typical assault rifle, the M16A4.

37 comments:

  1. Well, the XM8 certainly looks futuristic. I think that's why people like to see it in games. It looks cool, it looks plausible and it looks like its from the near-future at the same time. Personally, I find the M8 Avenger from the ME series quite similar to the XM8.
    Also, I'd like to congratulate you on the damn fine job you are doing here. It has helped me immensely with my own MSF work.
    Cheers!
    Chris

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  2. You are correct, Chris! The Mass Effect M8 Avenger is very close in design to the German XM8...nice catch!
    Thanks for the kind words, I've made it the mission of FWS to be THE resource for MSF online. I patterned FWS after William S. Frisbee's Tips on Writing MSF website.
    Thanks for reading and commenting!
    -William

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  3. The reason the XM8 was cancelled.....how to put this nicely......is because the gun was a big stinking pile of shit, while the Op rod piston system(based off the AR-18) was incredibly reliable the rest of the gun was pure shit.

    It also offered no real provable benefits over the M4A1 at the time, but it cost nearly double per rifle.

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    1. It's a g36 in different plastic furniture. The g36 is far from shit bud

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    2. Lol, all these years later and people are still divided over this weapon. I won't deny it - I am a complete fanboy. I think that although the weapon had some issues, they would have absolutely been ironed out before long. Haters gonna hate though.

      Just one question...if the gun was a "steaming pile of s**t," why did General David Petraeus (and others who had access to the weapon) use one for himself in a combat zone?

      Seems to me that the gun was indeed a victim of political corruption and greed. Larry Vickers also seems to think so...

      Anyway, not sure if William will see this response all these years later, but good article man. Much appreciated. 👏

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  4. I always found the gun to be more of a fashion piece, it was difficult to see and move with. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. thanks for making the website, another thing you can add is that HK was not done with the XM8 after the army canned it.

    they later renamed it GVM-8(Army owns the name XM8) and tried to sell it to the Malaysian military who also chose the M4A1 over it.

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    1. Doesn't the Malaysian Naval Special Forces use the XM8, I've seen pictures of them usng the rifle.

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  6. Thanks for the information Mr. Berry! The XM8 is one of those guns with a very interesting history, and I was unaware than HK tried to shop it around international.

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  7. I first saw this gun when i brought Bad Company 2... what a pity that they cancelled it. But as I searched for more information on Wikipedia, I found these:

    "Two other key issues were reducing the weapon's weight and increasing the heat resistance of the hand guard, which would start to melt after firing too many rounds... At the time the rifle still had developmental goals that were incomplete, primarily associated with the weapon's weight; the battery life had been extended, and a more heat-resistant plastic hand-guard added."

    So it seems they fixed the melting problem?

    Also:

    "In the Fall of 2007 the XM8 was compared to other firearms in a 'dust test... In the Summer 2007 test, M16 rifles and M4 carbines recorded a total of 307 stoppages. In the Fall 2007 test, the XM8 recorded only 127 stoppages in 60,000 total rounds while the M4 carbine had 882. The FN SCAR had 118 stoppages and the HK416 had 233." (Note: in the FN SCAR's page they wrote that during the Summer 2007 test the FN SCAr had 226 stoppages while the XM8 had the same (127) stoppages.)

    So then why did they cancelled the program?
    I hope we'll hear about this interesting weapon in the future. This mustn't be the end of the XM8.

    (P.S. Sorry for the bad english, this isn't my mother tongue.)

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  8. One day, when the US finally decides to replace the Colt M4, I think the XM8 design, maybe upgraded, will make an reapperance.
    The best reason I've read about the cancellation of the H&K XM8 comes down to money. To replace the entire stock of M4s and M16s would be billions, and the XM8 didn't wow the US Military enough to cause the military to push the government for the cash to rearm. Even the FN SCAR didn't make the cut.
    Thanks for the comment and reading FWS!

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    1. Money though, Replacing the primary rifle would be expensive but jeez, all they'd have to do is not build a couple high tech Jets and they'd be good to go.

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  9. I agree with you on that. For the price of a few F-35s or even the F-22, we could rearm most of the US military. To me, the assault rifle is one of the most critical elements in modern warfare, and it should be our job as citizens of this nation to demend better weapons for our warfighters. It begs the question of why the DoD didn't rearm the entire military with the superior H&K 416?

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  10. YOU KNOW ITS REALY SAD BECAUE IN BAD CO IT IS SUCH A GOOD GUN SO I CANT IMAGINE WHY THEY WOULD HAVE CANCELED IT. I AM GOING TO DO SOME MORE RESERCH ON THIS GUN TO SEE WHAT ELSE HAPPENED. I THINK I ALSO WANT TO TRY TO GET THE ARMY AND GOVERNMENT ON BORD WITH GIVING THIS GUN ANOTHER SHOT

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    1. BTW, have you done anything yet, mabye you can keep us updated if anything is done?

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  11. It is sad to see such a good gun tossed aside for a gun that has flaws and has got US GIs killed in combat. I think one day, we will see the XM8 in another trial, maybe an upgrade 2.0?
    And dude, thanks for reading and commenting...but, please, no all caps...my ears are hurting.

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  12. well, I sure hope the XM8 gets another shot. I'm only a teenager and I am thinking of joining the military and I would love to use the XM8 or by then the M8 as my primary weapon. Mabye it'll come back but only into the civilian market. If it does, I'll get one...

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  13. from what I've read, the reason why the XM8 didn't get adopted was because of a couple of flaws. these flaws being that it didn't have the 1913 rails and the handguard would melt after being shot on full auto too long. well if HK would give the gun some rails and the handguard some heat guards like the M4 then it would be without a doubt the best rifle ever made.

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    1. I think that'll be the key factor in replacing the M16/M4, is how much stuff we can still use on the new guns. If you can use the same or similar magazines, sights, etc on the weapon, you'll save on manufacturing costs and you won't need to get rid of all of your old equipment because it doesn't work with the new system.

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    2. good point, but then again the Army is having the individual carbine competition... so I don't know what may happen...

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  14. XM8 very high damage, accuracy, and low recoil, (like TDI vector).

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  15. Yeah, I have noticed that the XM8 has lower recoil than the M4. I also want to point out that in Ghost Recon, the XM8 was actually called the M8, meaning Ubisoft had definitely planned on the XM8 becoming the US's new standard service rifle. Otherwise, they would have kept it's experimental designation XM. And I honestly think the XM8 Automatic Rifle (LMG) variant would have performed better than the M240- A 100 round drum is lighter and reloads much faster thatn a 250 round box that is belt-fed into the gun. If Heckler & Koch had incorporated the standard Picatinny rails, the weapon may have been adopted. Sad, considering the XM8's superior performance compared to both the M4 and M16. I also enjoyed reading this article because of the well versed humor throughout. I especially enjoyed the ALIENS reference, and I'm still laughing. On another note...The Crye Assosciates MR-C....This is an assault rifle in Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, and I marvel at it's futuristic features...6.8mm SPC rounds in a 50-round clip, 4, i say again, 4 Picatinny rails, and a bullpup modular design...Only the MR-c had a legitimate reason to be cancelled. Anyway, thanks for this intriguing article, I thought I was an expert on cancelled military tech, but this website shows me that I still have much to learn. Back to the books (or webpages) I go!

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  16. I remember playing GHOST RECON 2 that takes place in 2015(?) during a 2nd Korean War, and seeing the M8 instead of XM8. At this time, which I remember well, the XM8 was hot shit and seemingly on its way to be coming the replacement for the M16/M4. The game lend the player heavily towards the M8 over the M4, and did the same with Summit Strike and the FN SCAR rifles. Maybe there is a curse with GR games and these weapons? I always thought the MR-C was interesting weapon, shame it was never a reality. Thanks for reading! And if you like this article, check out my blogpost on the Knights Armament SR-47!~

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  17. We've got the carabine version of this weapon in a few missions. Its much better then the scar and our older weaponsystems. I felt fucking unpornable with the xm8 backthrow. That was like a 9mmm handgun. firing with one hand, awesome! the fucking germans are building the best weapons.

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  18. The Germans makes a great military rifle and small sports cars! It is no wonder that UBL was capped by a H&K!

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  19. In idea, the XM8 would have been an excellent military weapon. But I doubt the U.S. Military were interested in the XM8 project and decided to wait until a future product came along.

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  20. from what I've seen/been told as a soldier, the next gen of weapons will just be upgrades. The current plan is to upgrade our m16 and m4's to a gas piston system like the h&k 416. Currently the plan is slowed down do to national budget concerns but the military is currently taking bids/estimates for the project. so far it looks like either colt or h&k will get it.

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  21. Well, I finally got my own xm8 clone.
    Sweet sweet nectar...
    http://i68.tinypic.com/f0rrly.jpg

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  22. From what I have read, the 6.8x43mm Remington SPC round isn't good at long distances, not having enough KE to beat gravity for long. The 6.5 Grendel might be better.
    Anyways, I am hoping that we do rearm are military, possibly with an assault rifle utilizing the Kriss Vector recoil reduction system. And using a Magpul ambidextrous charging handle.

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  23. A great rifle. It could've replaced both the M-16 and the M249 SAW

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  24. A great rifle. Certainly it had great potential to replace the M16 and the M249 SAW.

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    ReplyDelete