After carrying the M16 or one of its cousins across the globe for more than half a century, soldiers could get a peek at a new prototype assault rifle that fires a larger round by 2020.
Army researchers are testing half a dozen ammunition variants in "intermediate calibers," which falls between the current 7.62 mm and 5.56 mm rounds, to create a new light machine gun and inform the next-generation individual assault rifle/round combo.
The weapon designs being tested will be "unconventional," officials said, and likely not one that is currently commercially available.
Some intermediate calibers being tested include the .260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, .264 USA as well as other non-commercial intermediate calibers, including cased telescoped ammo, Army officials said.
Some of the concerns Scales said he believes are driving military leaders to finally look at an alternative to the 5.56 mm and the M16/M4 include:
— Improvements in adversaries’ body armor, which make the 5.56 mm less lethal.
— Current adversaries such as the Islamic State terror group and others using bigger rounds with more reach against U.S. troops, creating an overmatch.
— Jamming problems with M16/M4 variants that continue to plague the design.
At the 2016 National Defense Industrial Association Armament Systems Forum, retired Brig. Gen. Dave Grange and Jim Schatz, an Army veteran and weapons expert who has since passed away, each gave presentations calling for a new "intermediate caliber" in the 6.5 mm range.
They also referenced the Russian, Islamic State and al-Qaida advantages with longer-reaching and more lethal weapons, including reports of Russian work on their own 6.5 mm assault rifle.
Full story at: https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-...e-m4-and-5-56/
I fully get the issue of weight with a 7.62 rifle due to ammo...but is it just me or if they are going to look at larger rounds like the 6.5 Creedmoor, then wouldn't the 7.62 be more sensible? I understand the Creedmoor gets more travel time at super sonic speeds lending to long range accuracy, as well as having less recoil than the 7.62, but it's pretty much a niche round shot mainly by people who reload. Won't ammo costs alone make that a hard contract figure to sell over a 7.62 platform?
I think the main line of thought is maintaining (or at least staying in the realm) of the AR platform form for familiarity, but I have a short stroke piston Sig Sauer 716 Patrol that is an AR platform and that girl will push some 7.62 down range all day. But, again....she's a heavy girl. Definitely a man's gun.
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