The 'Punisher’ Lives: The Army Has a Futuristic New Grenade Launcher
Can the Precision Grenadier System succeed where the XM25 failed?
Editor’s note: Yes, this is yet another post that is not about laser weapons, but I feel it still fits within the bounds of the focus on futuristic defense tech I laid out in my introductory post. If you would like to see more (or less) posts like this, drop me a line.
The US Army is adopting a new grenade launcher that looks like something ripped out of a sci-fi action flick to help soldiers obliterate targets on the battlefield.
The service has officially selected Barrett Firearms and MARS Inc.’s Squad Support Rifle System (SSRS) for its Precision Grenadier System (PGS) program, the companies announced on May 22, beating out FN America’s PGS-001 in an xTech Soldier Lethality competition. Previous submissions for the competition also included candidates from Rheinmetall, Knight Technical Solutions, and Plumb Precision Products.
Initiated in 2020 and envisioned as a “soldier portable, shoulder fired, semi-automatic, magazine fed, integrated armament system,” the PGS program sought to equip soldiers with a 30mm direct fire weapon that offers “increased lethality and precision” over existing 40mm systems like the M203 and M320 grenade launchers.
With an overall length of 33.9 inches and total weight of 13.9 lbs, the rifle-style SSRS is significantly larger and heavier than those legacy systems. But with a five-round magazine and integration of the Vortex M157 fire control system designed for the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) program, the new PGS purportedly offers both significantly improved effective range of up to 500 meters and a faster rate of fire over those single-shot options
The sleek design of the SSRS has invited comparisons to weapons of popular sci-fi lore from Warhammer 40,000 to Helldivers. The most distinctive feature of the PGS, however, is its associated suite of ammo for various missions, including programmable airburst munitions, armor-piercing rounds, a “close quarter battle round,” counter-defilade rounds, and a round specifically designed to neutralize the very types of hostile drones that have increasingly plagued US troops in recent years.
“This capability shall provide overmatch to comparable threat grenade launchers in near-peer formations in future operating environments to include urban, jungle, woodland, subterranean, and desert, in day, night, or obscured conditions,” as a recent contracting notice put it.
If this sounds familiar, that’s because it should. In 2005, the Army began development of the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement (CDTE) system, a shoulder-fired 25mm airburst grenade launcher built for the same purpose as the PGS: to give troops a precision weapon for engaging enemies behind cover.
An outgrowth of the doomed XM29 Objective Individual Combat Weapon effort of the 1990s and dubbed the “Punisher” by soldiers, the XM25 paired a programmable round with computerized fire control system to airburst explosives at ranges of up to 700 meters, raining fragmentation on targets hiding in trenches or behind walls and, in turn, helping small units reduce their reliance on “non-organic assets” like mortars, artillery, and air support.
But the program never got past limited fielding. Initiated following a high-profile misfire during a 2013 forward operation assessment in Afghanistan, a damning 2016 US Defense Department Inspector General report determined that the development of the XM25 was marred by schedule delays, ballooning costs, and systemic performance problems. Indeed, some 75th Ranger Regiment elements “refused to take XM25 with them for a raid on a fortified enemy compound in Afghanistan,” finding the system “too heavy and cumbersome” for combat operations, as Military.com reported at the time.
The DoD IG report was a death knell for the XM25. After shelling out $185 million R&D, the Army ended up cancelling its decades-long contract with defense prime Orbital ATK (now part of Northrop Grumman) for the system in 2017 after the company “failed to deliver the 20 weapons as specified by the terms of the contract” and shelving the effort entirely in 2018. Apart from a handful of combat engagements in Afghanistan, the Punisher only ever saw significant action as a lethal surprise for guards manning an observation tower at a Russian prison when Yelena Belova blows it sky-high in Black Widow.
So what makes the PGS different from the XM25? According to the Army, the most significant change lies in the defense acquisition process – namely, the XTech program.
Launched in 2018, the XTech program represents a significant shift in military procurement, aiming to accelerate technological innovation by engaging non-traditional defense contractors through streamlined, competitive processes. Following the dismal results of the defense industry surveys that followed the original 2020 sources sought notice, the service launched the XTech Soldier Lethality competition in 2023 to encourage participation from a diverse range of companies, including small businesses and startups.
The PGS program “which lacks commercial market opportunities and has yet to secure congressional budget approval, faced disinterest from industry,” according to a 2024 article in Army AL&T Magazine by a trio of service acquisition officers. “Year after year, market surveys yielded the same results: limited defense industry partners offering untested solutions to address some of the program’s requirements.”
This model is a departure from traditional defense acquisition processes, which often involve lengthy timelines and are dominated by established defense contractors. Indeed, the XM25 appears ripped from the “Big Defense” procurement playbook, relying on single defense prime operating under long timelines, major funding cycles, and a tightly controlled research and development pipeline – with disastrous results. In contrast, XTech emphasizes iterative development, hands-on testing and evaluation, and a level playing field for small businesses to “unleash their innovation potential.”
More importantly, the competition facilitated unprecedented collaboration between defense contractors to “achieve what many thought unachievable in the given time frame,” as Barrett and MARs put it in their May 22 announcement. According to the Army, MARS President Mike Merino sought out Barrett’s weapons design and manufacturing expertise to bring the former’s advanced concept to life, AMTEC Corporation to develop the suite of specialized ammo, and Precision Targeting for the fire control system.
The result? The Barrett-MARS team was able to design, build, test, and demonstrate the new SSRS in just six months. And apparently the Army liked what it saw.
Of course, even the most ostensibly innovative programs don’t necessarily guarantee operational success – just look at the current controversy surrounding the new M7 rifle and whether it’s “unfit” for duty. And in terms of how the new PGS actually performs under real-world conditions, time will certainly tell.
But if the XM25 was a cautionary tale in over-promised, under-delivered innovation through traditional procurement, the PGS is an experiment in what happens when the Army opens the gates to competition, collaboration, and speed.
The Punisher is back – and there’s no place to hide.
Excellent.
Can logistics support 30mm grenades?