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 he video: The Pentagon has sent soldiers in Afghanistan a new weapon that fires shells with microchips that can be programmed to explode at a precise spot, allowing soldiers to kill enemy hiding behind rocks, buildings, or other cover. The shoulder-fired, "smart" grenade launcher has been in development for years (below, watch a CNN report that aired before the weapon was deployed). The weapon, called the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, can fire 25mm air-bursting shells up to 2,300 feet, far beyond the range of most rifles. The Army has called the rifle-sized grenade launcher a potential "game-changer" in its counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan. "With this weapon system, we take away cover from [enemies] forever," Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner told FoxNews.com. "The only thing we can see [enemies] being able to do is run away." 
 
 The reaction: "We are truly living in a science-fiction warfare age," says blogger Marc R. at CoolGadgets.com. This "pinpointed firepower" could be just the thing we need to "reduce civilian casualties in Afghanistan." The XM25 will make it even "more suicidal" than it is now for the Taliban to engage U.S. soldiers directly, says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. This is "a great weapon and a gamechanger, but it may not be a war-ender." Watch the report: ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
– They say a counter-insurgency war is won with hearts and minds, not weapons—but the new XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System can't hurt. The US military's latest innovation is a grenade launcher that can fire explosive charges 2,300 feet—well beyond the accurate range of an AK-47 or M16 rifle—and set them to explode at precise distances, the Telegraph reports. Foes who take cover behind walls or other cover are out of luck. "This is the first time we're putting smart technology into the hands of the individual soldier," a top military official said. He reports that the weapon, already in limited use in Afghanistan, is giving soldiers "an edge" against the tactics of the insurgency, which rely heavily on using the craggy landscape for cover. Read more on the XM25 at the Week.