weapons instructor presents an XM8 Carbine during the Infantry Operations Chief Symposium in August 2005. The U.S. Army's purpose in contracting for this prototype weapon was to provide replacement options for the
M16 rifle after the
XM29 program ran into problems. The goal was a weapon that was cheaper, lighter, and more effective than the M16 and
M4 series of weapons. The XM8 was not just one weapon but a system which could be reconfigured with appropriate parts to be any one of several variants from a short-barreled personal defense weapon to a
bipod-equipped support weapon. It also included an integrated optical sight and IR laser aiming module/illuminator. The XM8 was based on the rifle module of
Alliant Techsystems's
XM29 OICW project, of which the weapon mechanisms were the responsibility of H&K. Following the indefinite delay of the
Objective Individual Combat Weapon program, the U.S. Army requested that the contractors design stand-alone weapons from the XM29's kinetic energy and high explosive modules. The first 30 XM8 prototypes were delivered by November 2003 for preliminary testing. Later, at least 200 developmental prototypes were procured. Among the complaints during testing was that the battery life was too low for the weapon's powered sight system and some ergonomics issues. Two other key issues were reducing the weapon's weight and increasing the heat resistance of the handguard, which would start to melt after firing too many rounds. The main testing was largely completed, and the army pushed for funding for a large field test. However, in 2004 Congress denied $26 million funding for 7,000 rifles to do a wide scale test fielding of the XM8 in 2005. At that 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 handguard added. The earliest product brochure lists the target weight for the carbine variant at with the then current prototype at . The weight of the carbine prototype had since grown to according to a brochure released by HK and
General Dynamics in January 2005. ,
Georgia in August 2004. During the same period, the Army came under pressure from other arms makers to open up the XM8 to competition. The main argument was that the weapon that was being adopted was a substantially different system than for the original competition that ATK and H&K had actually won (see
XM29). Other issues were that the army has a legislated obligation to prefer U.S.-based manufacturers, and that a previous agreement with
Colt Defense required the army to involve Colt in certain small-arms programs. The XM8 program was put on hold in 2004. The exact reason why this happened is a matter of debate; some combination of the aforementioned technical issues, funding restrictions, and outside pressure being involved. In 2005, the Army issued a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for the
OICW Increment One family of weapons. This RFP gave manufacturers six months to develop and deliver prototype weapons with requirements very similar to the XM8 capabilities, but with the addition of a
squad automatic weapon (SAW) configuration. No XM8 prototypes have been shown that actually match the capabilities of the
M249 (e.g. fast barrel replacement, high sustained
rate of fire, belt feed). The OICW Increment One requirement for the SAW includes fast barrel replacement and high sustained rate of fire, but leaves the ammunition feed choice up to the manufacturer. Funding for the
M320 grenade launcher, a single-shot under-barrel grenade launcher similar to the
M203 that was originally intended for the XM8, was approved. The launcher is heavier than the M203, but does offer some advantages, such as no need for special mounting hardware and loading from the side instead of the bottom, which enables use of longer-than-standard grenades. The XM320 was designed for use with the existing inventory of M16s and M4s and is also compatible with the XM8. It can also be used as a stand-alone weapon. As of July 19, 2005, the OICW Increment One RFP was put on an eight-week hold, with an indication given that the program was being restructured as a joint procurement program. On October 31, 2005, the OICW Increment One RFP was cancelled. In an article in ''
Jane's Defence Weekly'', April 26, 2006 (Vol 43, page 30) it is stated that "The US Army has again delayed the procurement of its future infantry weapons, this time for more than five years, and is working to field two interim guns in the meantime".
General Dynamics was involved in latter stages and H&K had plans to produce the rifle at a plant in
Georgia. H&K was
British-owned at the start of the project, but was later bought back by a group of
German investors. Engineering work was done at facilities in the United States and Germany.
Near cancellation The U.S. military's XM8 program was almost canceled in the autumn of 2005 after being suspended earlier that year, but was limited to the use of Marines. Had this program not been specified, the XM8 system may have faced competition from weapons such as from the
FN SCAR,
Bushmaster ACR and
HK416. It was later altered and entered as a candidate for the
SCAR competition but was unsuccessful.
Further testing In autumn 2007 the XM8 was compared to other firearms in a 'dust test'. The competition was based on two previous tests that were conducted in summer 2006 and summer 2007 before the latest test in the autumn of 2007. In the summer 2007 test, M16 rifles and M4 carbines recorded a total of 307 stoppages. In the autumn 2007 test, the XM8 recorded only 127 stoppages in 60,000 total rounds while the M4 carbine had 882. However, the discrepancy of 575 stoppages between the summer and autumn 2007 tests of the M4 had officials looking into possible causes for the change such as different officials, seasons, and inadequate sample pool size but have stated that the conditions of the test were ostensibly the same. ==Design==