KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. military forces in Afghanistan are being equipped with a new "smart" weapon that fires programmable rounds, military officials say.
The XM-25 fires highly specialized rounds that can be programmed to explode at the precise location where the enemy is hiding behind cover, ABC News reported Thursday.
Five of the high-tech weapons arrived in Afghanistan this month for testing.
A U.S. soldier equipped with the XM-25 can point the weapon at cover an enemy is hiding in to get the precise distance.
The weapon's rounds, which come four to a magazine plus one in the chamber, are then programmed to travel just a short distance beyond the cover to explode precisely where the insurgent is believed to be hiding, military officials say.
"This weapon makes our forces more lethal, it makes them more effective and it keeps them safer," said Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, XM-25 project manager.
"This is the first time that we've put smart technology in the weapons system for the individual soldier," he said.
