Posted on 10/30/2018 6:25:11 AM PDT by C19fan
“Right now, the feedback looks like we are going to a 6.8 caliber round,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said recently.
The service has a list of its top six modernization priorities and “soldier lethality” is one of the items. The most high-profile program in that category is the squad automatic rifle. Army Secretary Mark Esper at the Association of the United States Army annual conference — while promising the service is speeding up the way it does acquisition — singled out the program as one that would see prototypes in the near future.
“The bottom line is that we are committed to a new rifle,” Milley told reporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaldefensemagazine.org ...
I would think General Milley would know the difference between a round size in millimeters and a caliber, but perhaps not. A 6.8 caliber would be 6.8 inches in diameter.
Is the term “caliber” proper here? I assume it is a 6.8mm round. I am used to hearing “caliber” referred to as inches.
Am I old fashioned? Did I miss the metric conversion of everything?
A 6.8 caliber would be .068 inches in diameter. Fixed it for you. :)
I presume (cause its bad to ASSume) that the General is referring to the 6.8 mm SPC.
You "fixed" it wrong.
6.8 caliber would be 6.8 inches. The same as .50 caliber is roughly 1/2 an inch.
However, it is more likely "6.8" = 6.8 MILLIMETERS which would equal ~.267 or ~.268 caliber.
“I presume (cause its bad to ASSume) that the General is referring to the 6.8 mm SPC.”
That is what I think. Otherwise it would be larger than the .50 caliber Browning. Hehehehe
Uh, excuse me. .45 caliber is .458 “ in diameter.
Thus, 6.8 caliber would be 69.2”.
Obviously they mean 6.8mm, as in 5.56 and 7.51........
The army experimented with a .17 caliber round in the middle 70’s.
I picked up a few cases from a range on Hunter Liggett. Found a couple of FMJ 17 caliber bullets in the backstop, too, as I recall.
I was running a Meteorological Team in support of Army RDT&E there at the time.
Not much punch as a deer or big game rifle, but cheap ammo and great varmint round.
Ok, I stand corrected. 22 cal is really .22 cal which equal .22" but is simply referred to as 22 caliber.
He accidentally let slip the new “Super Soldiers” created to carry the big 6.8’s.
“A 6.8 caliber would be 6.8 inches in diameter.”
Sheesh! Don’t you know that’s to kill extra large enemy soldiers.
Seriously, later in the article it refers to it as 6.8mm.
I credit the journalist with this little error, as they are not among the brightest on earth.
I stand corrected. “22 cal” is really “.22 cal” which equals .22 inch but is simply referred to (verbally) as 22 caliber.
But the caliber is the inside diameter of the bore, land to land. Not the bullet diameter. So .45 caliber ammunition has a bullet that is slightly larger in diameter so it will form to the rifling of the barrel when fired.
According to Wikipedia, caliber can be expressed in inches OR millimeters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliber
Let’s hope that this is not the 6.8 SPC round, as that has only slightly better aerodynamics than a brick. Build a round that can fit into a standard M4 magazine that has a bullet with a coefficient of drag closer to that of a 6.5 mm bullet, and you will have a winner.
There should also be a lot of winners in the civilian marketplace, as the military sells off all of its 5.56 mm uppers and ammo. Given Trump’s propensity for wanting to make government more efficient, there is no reason not to sell off unneeded surplus and recoup the money.
“Thus, 6.8 caliber would be 69.2”
It would be kind of tough to carry spare ammunition. But it certainly be effective! :^)
I was referring to the quote in the opening sentence, which implies the general made the mistake.
But, reporters are well known for misquoting as well, so the reporter could have made the error.
I know I wouldn’t want to lug a 6.8 caliber rifle or ammunition, though! ;-P
T'is true. But caliber has a double meaning, sort of. It refers to the inside diameter of the bore, land to land. and its units are caliber (English) or mm (metric).
If you transformed yourself into a Main Battle Tank, you could carry one ... If you transformed yourself into a Light Cruiser, you could carry a battery of them.
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