XM26 12-Gauge Modular Accessory Shotgun System (MASS)
Lightweight Shotgun System [LSS]
The XM26, 12 Gauge Modular Accessory Shotgun System (MASS) is a lightweight accessory shot-gun system that attaches underneath the barrel of the M4 and M16 Modular Weapon Systems (MWS), and the Objective Individual Combat Weapon Increment I. It provides the capability to fire lethal, non-lethal and door breaching 12 gauge rounds. It can be zeroed to the sighting system of the host weapon. The M26 provides the lethality equivalent of a stand-alone 12 Gauge Shotgun, and can be operated in Stand Alone Mode.
The US Army TACOM-ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806 announced in November 2004 a requirement [W15QKN-04-R-0421] for a reliable, durable XM26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System (MASS). The MASS will securely attach to a primary weapon, to include the M16A2 Rifle, M16A4 Rifle, M4 Carbine, M4A1 Carbine, and the Modular Weapon System (MWS) equipped M16A4 Rifles and M4 Carbines with the potential for attachment to future rifles and carbines and utilize the primary weapon sighting system. The MASS shall be capable of being removed or attached to the primary weapon without the use of tools and utilizing a quick-disconnect feature while maintaining bore alignment with the primary weapon’s sights. The Army requires the MASS to be used as a stand alone shotgun with a sighting system and an integrated or attachable MIL-STD-1913 rail to attach various ancillary devices.
This 12-gauge shotgun will provide the user with door breaching, lethal, and non-lethal capability during close quarter combat operations. The MASS must be a lightweight and an easily maintained weapon capable of operating reliably in all climatic environments. The MASS will be manually or semi-automatically operated and capable of firing all current U.S. Army standard 12 Gauge Ammunition, to include the 2 3/4 inch and 3 inch Magnum 00 Buckshot, 2 3/4 inch slug round, the M1012 and M1013 Non Lethal round, and the M1030 Breaching Round. The MASS will permit the quick transition from non lethal to lethal rounds. The MASS will permit door breaching and shot shell employment while maintaining primary weapon control. The MASS will enable increased Soldier mobility over the current systems (Mossberg M500 and M16 Rifle/M4 Carbine).
The MASS requirement will be met with a base contract of fifty (50) systems for developmental testing to be procured in FY05. There will be options for up to 5,000 systems per year for 6 years. The contractor must be able to sustain a delivery schedule of 200 systems per month with a possible increase of as much as 400 systems per month beginning sixty (60) days from the successful completion of First Article Testing.
Lightweight Shotgun System [LSS]
The Lightweight Shotgun System [LSS] fires 2.75 and 3-inch lethal, non-lethal and door breaching rounds, weighs slightly less than three pounds, and has a detachable five-round magazine. It attaches to the M4 as an accessory and includes a standoff device for firing door-breaching rounds. It is a great weapon system, being able to attach to the M-4 and as a stand-alone. It is light. This is the lightest weapon carried in the Army besides a pistol. It weighs just about nothing.
The system is a five-round, box-magazine fed, manually operated shotgun. It uses a straight push-pull type bolt action that can be switched for either left or right-handed users. The attachment variation is 16.5 inches in length and uses the host weapon’s sights. It is capable of firing lethal, non-lethal and breaching rounds.
The lightweight shotgun system has three configurations. The shotgun stand-alone version is converted from the attachable version. It has a pistol grip and a buttstock. The stand-alone weighs 4 pounds, 3 ounces and is 24 inches long collapsed. This version also has a reversible charging handle and is capable of firing lethal, non-lethal and breaching rounds.
Previously, soldiers performing non-lethal and door-breaching missions carried two separate weapons - an individual combat weapon and a separate shotgun. This lightweight, multi-use shotgun provides Soldiers with the capability to breach doors quickly and efficiently without requiring them to carry an additional weapon. The LSS, which is fastened beneath the barrel of an M4 carbine, eliminates the need for a second weapon.
Soldiers can use the shotgun as an all-around tool in an urban environment. They can use the non-lethal and breaching capabilities, and the big advantage is that they don’t have to sling their primary weapon to do it. You have combatants and noncombatants together in a crowd and the non-lethal capability is a good way to neutralize them, whether or not they are armed. Many units in the field expressed the need for a tool like this. It will get a lot of use. It’s more accessible and easier than having to switch weapons.
In June 1997, the US Army Infantry Center developed an operational requirement for the M-4 Modular Weapon System (MWS) calling for an accessory attachment shotgun. The Dismounted Battlespace Battle Lab (DBBL) pursued an Advanced Concepts Technology II Program contract with Colt[R] firearms that asked them to produce an accessory attachment shotgun that met the specifications in the operational requirement. Colt produced four Lightweight Shotgun System (LSS) prototypes that were tested in a Limited Objective Experiment (LOE) conducted by the DBBL. The first prototypes were multishot, magazine-fed (three-round magazine), manually operated 12-gauge shotguns. Chambered to accommodate 3-inch magnum shells, the prototype fired a wide variety of lethal, NL, and door-breaching munitions. The LSS was operated by a reversible charging handle (could be used right- or left-handed) and most importantly, only added 2 pounds 11 ounces to the weight of the M-4 carbine. The length of the under-barrel shotgun was 16.5 inches. The test results validated the principle that the LSS was an effective delivery means for lethal, NL, and breaching rounds at the standard ranges for these munitions.
Coinciding with the LOE for the LSS, the Infantry Center decided to support the requirement for the joint service combat shotgun and dropped the requirement for an accessory attachment shotgun from the operational requirements document for the M-4 MWS. A second version of the LSS was developed based on the first LOE, and four prototypes were delivered to the DBBL. Subsequently, a third version was developed.
Version III was safety-released recently for a February 2003 evaluation funded by the Joint Nonlethal Weapons Program. It focused on the LSS in an NL role and its application as an associated item to the US Army/ Marine Corps NLCS. A squad of Army infantrymen and a squad of Navy Seabees participated in the evaluation. Version III incorporated several features and improvements that are based on technical testing and feedback from the DBBL. Versions II and III came with a kit that allows soldiers to convert the attachment version to a stand-alone version with a pistol grip or to a standalone version with a pistol grip and buttstock.
Meanwhile, the Infantry Center rescinded the Army requirement for the Joint Service Combat Shotgun. The DBBL, with the Program Manager, Soldier Weapons; the Program Manager, Crew-Served Weapons; the US Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command's Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Close Combat Armaments Center; the US Army Aberdeen Test Center; and the Infantry Center's Directorate of Combat Developments, evaluated the LSS for limited-issue operational experimentation. Soldiers would soon see the LSS operationally tested in the three current configurations as a 3-pound replacement for the 8.5-pound shotgun. Equally as important as reducing the soldier's load is the capability to fire NL (12-gauge LSS) and lethal (5.56 millimeter M-4) munitions from the same weapon system with equal speed. As the LSS is fed from a vertical magazine, the soldier can replace a five-shot magazine of NL buckshot with lethal buckshot as rapidly as the situation requires. The skill necessary to fire the LSS is similar to the M-203, a skill that is taught to every soldier. The LSS enables the soldier to quickly accomplish door-breaching, entry, and room-clearing operations in an urban warfare environment where he may encounter a NL crowd-control situation on the next city block.
The LSS represented a bold approach, meeting these challenges by providing a rifle and a shotgun, lethal and NL capability, in one lightweight weapon system. The LSS is the first revolutionary combat shotgun of the 21st century.
In October 2003 Dismounted Battlespace Battle Lab’s lightweight shotgun system underwent operational inspection and test firing for 200 shotguns to be fielded to the 10th Mountain Division for future use in Afghanistan. The original system was a prototype for proof of concept. The one being fielded applied lessons-learned from the first iterations of testing to make the weapons more reliable in the field. The testing identified a couple of areas for minor changes. In the future, the designer can make these changes in manufacturing to make it an overall better shotgun. The minor adjustments included polishing some of the parts to reduce friction. When the testing is finished, about 15,000 rounds were fired through the 200 systems going to the field.
The 18th Airborne Corps, deployed in Afghanistan, was the first unit receiving the Army's new Lightweight Shotgun System [LSS]. A team from PM Soldier Weapons and the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, fielded the system. A total of 199 of the new shotguns were deployed to Afghanistan for use by the elite 10th Mountain Division unit in response to an urgent operational need. The 10th Mountain fielded the lightest variation of the 12-gauge shotgun system, which attaches under the M-4 carbine and weighs 2 pounds, 11 ounces — less than the M-203 grenade launcher.Cost for the system is yet to be determined, because it is dependent on production quantities.
