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The army wants a better carbine… and it’s willing to stray from 5.56mm ammunition.
There goes all those cadences we used to sing:
In a move that could reverse years of Army small arms policy, the service is asking industry to send in ideas for a new combat rifle that could replace the M4 carbine.
In late August, the Army issued a solicitation to the arms industry asking companies to submit proposals that would demonstrate “improvements in individual weapon performance in the areas of accuracy and dispersion … reliability and durability in all environments, modularity and terminal performance.”
[...]
The Army is leaving itself open to carbine ideas that could stray from the nearly 40-year policy of using 5.56mm ammunition for its rifles. Recent developments in ammunition calibers have bolstered critics who contend the 5.56 round has too little “stopping power” and passes through its target without incapacitating him.
Apparently, the army wants to make “One shot, one kill” a reality.
As for what the soldiers have to say about the M4 carbine, the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center conducted a survey.
Here’s what the soldiers have to say about the M4 in a combat zone:
- 89% of soldiers reported confidence in the weapon.
- 34% of soldiers reported that their M4’s handguards rattle and become excessively hot when firing.
- 15% reported that they had trouble zeroing the M68 reflex sight.
- 55% requested the firearm be made lighter
- 35% added barber brushes and 24% added dental picks to their cleaning kits.
- 20% requested a larger magazine
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