Posted on 02/17/2017 1:54:33 PM PST by Brad from Tennessee
Last week, the U.S. Marine Corps released a Request for Information to manufacturers enquiring about their capacity to produce 11,000 more M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles. This stoked rumors that the Marine Corps is looking to replace its M4s with the M27, which were first sparked last November when 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines was equipped with the M27 instead of the M4 during pre-deployment exercises as an experiment.
The RFI for 11,000 M27s could indicate a possible push to replace the M249, which continues to be used by weapons platoons. However, I believe it is more likely that the Corps is simply looking to add more Infantry Automatic Rifles to its inventory. Currently, Marine infantry battalions typically have over 80 Infantry Automatic Rifles distributed at the fireteam level. Just 11,000 new rifles will not re-equip the riflemen of the Corps 32 infantry battalions, but it will enhance their firepower and perhaps pave the way for future orders. . .
. . .The M27 is based on Heckler & Kochs gas-operated, piston-driven HK416. It has a free-floating 16.5-inch barrel to improve accuracy and cooling. The M27 feeds from standard 30-round or PMAG magazines; however, high-capacity magazines are a future option for suppressive fire. The IAR is issued with a Trijicon ACOG optic and a bipod for both precise accurate fire and suppressive fire. The Corps is also experimenting with suppressors for M27 and other small arms systems. In Afghanistan, the M27s greater range, accuracy, and rate of fire were found to enhance Marine patrols, which had previously relied on M240 medium machine guns and designated marksmen to return longer range enemy fire effectively. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...
Yep, 9mm and .40, and also thought same Sig has .357sig barrel as another option. Hey - we might as well let the military have a front row seat for the ongoing “what’s the best handgun caliber” debate.
PS. Not wanting to start that debate here, btw. I love ‘em all.
We're not going to regress back to .30 caliber infantry rifles. Those days are over. Even the Russians saw the light.
You’re not flying a State Flag, so I can’t comment on the practicalities of the matter. Then there’s the TBA ...
But before the TBA, I actually did the comparison. Yes, the piston system runs much cooler and cleaner in the receiver. The handguard can get a bit toasty, though. MagPul has some products to help with that.
Magazine-fed automatic weapon? If it weren’t for the .556 caliber I’d say we’re returning to the BAR days.
It seems simpler, lighter, and more flexible than a M249 squad automatic weapon belt fed. It weighs 7.9 lbs empty. An M249 weighs 17 lbs! The difference in weight equals about 330 rounds of ammo.
Well obviously you clean it. This design is supposed to minimize the parts that are exposed to gas fouling.
The reason they stick with the mass-wound-ammo instead of one-shot-one-kill ammo is because when fighting a civilized enemy mass-wound-ammo takes out much more people and resources to care for wounded than to handle the dead.
Indicative of the anticipated enemy in a large scale ground war.
Yeah, that 40mm might have JUST A BIT of kick to it. :>)
“What happens when the gas inlet to the piston gets clogged?”
Highly unlikely. Never heard of such happening.
If it’s like my Sig, there is a selector switch on the front of the gas tube. If it becomes clogged, you flip the selector. It was specifically designed that way in case you had to go a long time between cleanings.
Whazzit?
You can pick one up (minus scope and extras), for about $2600.
Heck, the M1892 Krag was a Norwegian design, the M1903 Springfield was practically a license-built Mauser 98, and elements of the German FG42 were copied (for better or worse) into the M60 GPMG.
Is the gas inlet to the gas tube on an impingement rifle known for clogging? No?
How mnay millions of rounds were fired through the M-1 and M-14 without gas system issues?
That said, I did have a M-1 issued to me at ITR that has a worn out gas piston, making it a single shot. God knows how many rounds that poor rifle had seen to get that worn.
I think there are other issues as well. Stoner’s original design is OK but if you do a lot of shooting, like an entire Hi Power match or more you will get powder residue and even unborn powder back around the bolt, especially with hotter reloads. Everything is OK if the ammo is all very similar and the platform standard. The problem is when you start deviating from very standard. Full auto causes problems, silencers cause problems, full auto AND silencer, etc. there are different ways to address these, change buffers for sub sonic, have a variable gas bolt for full auto, etc. one way to address all these is to have a piston gas system that is variable at the port. One solution fits all issues.
Just my opinion, YMMV.
My guess they want the M27 because it bumps up the range over the M4. But only by about 100 yards. The M27 will be less effective than the M4 clearing buildings.
The Israelis took care of this problem by going to the Tabor. Its good for clearing buildings because it has a bull pup design and will reach out to 600 yds.
I heard some time ago that troops were questioning the lethality of 556, and there was a push to go 762 NATO, a widely-used round. However, the 762 rounds are heavier and fewer to the mag, so that may counter the hearsay.
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