There’s a huge difference between a Vietnam era M-16 and a Modern day M4 or M4A1.
Of course, there’s always room for improvement.
The 5.56 isn’t going anywhere.
Poland, Bulgaria & Croatia have current 5.56 compatible rifles and Romania’s newest rifle will be in 5.56 as well.
There are always going to be those who want a bigger & “better” slug to lug around. You trade off several advantages & disadvantages when opting for bigger or smaller.
We need a 21st century Moses Browning.
That’s going to really stink for those posted to areas without much cover, if air support gets to be in short supply. A high intensity conflict can still happen, because doctrine itself can’t prevent such a situation from building up.
Until the machine gun ban is repealed, there will not be a new American designed full auto firearm in the hands of the military. Period.
We are stuck with the M16 and variants until that ban is gone. There is no economical reason for any company to sink any money into developing anything better here as the market for such an arm is insanely limited.
The MG ban was the Government cutting open it’s own throat. Now, our enemies are developing new and much more advanced small arms technology while we remain static. This will come back to bite us hard one day if the ban isn’t removed.
For later.