In the summer of 2010, the US Army began the field-testing of a new weapon, the XM25 ‘Individual Semi-Automatic Airburst System’, which fires ‘airburst’ anti-personnel rounds that can be programmed to detonate at a certain distance. While the XM25 has been heralded as a ‘game changer’ for modern warfare, the question nonetheless remains to what extent it is compatible with the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Against this background, this article aims to examine the legality of the XM25, in particular having regard to the customary prohibition on certain explosive projectiles and the general prohibition on causing superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering.
