Barrett XM109

About the Barrett XM109

The Barrett XM109 is a prototype semi-automatic anti-materiel sniper rifle chambered in 25x59mm. Originally developed as the Objective Sniper Weapon (OSW) and later styled the Anti-Materiel Payload Rifle (AMPR), it pairs the proven lower receiver of the Barrett M82/M107 .50 caliber platform with a redesigned upper assembly firing programmable 25mm airburst and armor-piercing grenade rounds. Intended to defeat light armor, materiel and personnel behind cover at extended ranges, it uses a short-recoil action, a five-round detachable box magazine, a large muzzle brake and a skeletal stock to manage the substantial recoil.

The XM109 grew out of US Special Operations Command Directive 70-2 (1992) and a 1994 Joint Operational Requirement for a heavy sniper rifle, conceived as a way to give a single rifleman the reach of an anti-materiel weapon and the terminal effect of a grenade launcher, with rounds optimized to penetrate over 1.5 inches of rolled homogeneous armor at 1,200 meters.

Barrett XM109 specifications

Recoil energy exceeds 60 ft-lbf, requiring an aggressive muzzle brake and recoil-mitigating buffer. The 25x59mm cartridge is shared with the XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon program. The design never entered series production and remained a low-rate prototype.