[Travis McGee]

It may be a better rifle, but the improvement will only be at the margins. The big jump will be in fielding the range finding exploding 20mm. I think the mistake was for the Army to try to tie it all into the dual-weapon OICW, instead of fielding the 20mm in a stand alone version like the M-79. Work the bugs out of that 20mm, put a 20mm (grenadier? rifleman?) in every squad. That could lead to a real revolution in infantry arms.

[Long Cut]

Agree totally. Overall, I think attempting to get ONE weapon to do the jobs of about four is a lost cause. Besides, it makes sense on a number of levels to have a "mix" of weapons in a unit. Heck, it worked well enough in WWII, what with squads and platoons carrying M-1s, carbines, Thompsons/M-3s, BAR's, and Browning MGs all in one outfit.

[archy]

It may be a better rifle, but the improvement will only be at the margins. The big jump will be in fielding the range finding exploding 20mm. I think the mistake was for the Army to try to tie it all into the dual-weapon OICW, instead of fielding the 20mm in a stand alone version like the M-79. Work the bugs out of that 20mm, put a 20mm (grenadier? rifleman?) in every squad. That could lead to a real revolution in infantry arms.

True enough, though at least two other possibilities look like real fun: one is the M8 fitted with an M203 [or derivitive 40mm grenade launcher. The airburst-fuzed 20mm may be swell for troops behing scrub brush concealment or lurling around upper story windows, but the armor penetrative capability of the HEDP round has some swell capabilities that the 20mm round may be lacking.

Then there's the Barrett version of the 25mm *payload rifle* the XM107/XM109. That too has possibilities, whether eventually used in concert with the OICW/M8, or on their own when a little something extra is required.

-archy-/-