I haven't seen this discussed anywhere else so I'm starting a thread. Hopefully this is the right sub-forum.
The M16 and it's variants have been the primary service rifle for 60 years but that's cumming to an end as the Army and Marines have announced they will be replacing it with SIG's XM5 rifle (the X will get dropped as it's no longer experimental) They are also introducing new optics, and the M249 light machine gun with the XM250.
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-St...mbat-soldiers/
This is a controversial decision, mainly because these weapons use a new 6.8x51mm cartridge, which is much larger and heavier than the 5.56 cartridge used by the M16\M4. This will give it more range and more punch. It's possible the new cartridge is designed to defeat body armor, but it seems to me it's easier to upgrade body armor than replace your rifle and ammo so I don't see the balance shifting much. This is also just speculation, not enough is known about the new cartridge to make
The trade off is that the larger heavier round means magazine size will be smaller (probably 20 rounds instead of 30), soldiers won't be able to carry as much ammunition and the rifle will have a much heavier recoil which could make for lower rates of aimed fire and possibly reduced accuracy. The rifle itself will almost certainly be more accurate but getting it back on target after the fist shot will be more difficult and burst or automatic fire could be very difficult to use effectively. There may also be issues with barrel lifespan as the new cartridge used ultra high pressure to get high muzzle velocity from a short barrel.
The M16 and it's variants have been the primary service rifle for 60 years but that's cumming to an end as the Army and Marines have announced they will be replacing it with SIG's XM5 rifle (the X will get dropped as it's no longer experimental) They are also introducing new optics, and the M249 light machine gun with the XM250.
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-St...mbat-soldiers/
This is a controversial decision, mainly because these weapons use a new 6.8x51mm cartridge, which is much larger and heavier than the 5.56 cartridge used by the M16\M4. This will give it more range and more punch. It's possible the new cartridge is designed to defeat body armor, but it seems to me it's easier to upgrade body armor than replace your rifle and ammo so I don't see the balance shifting much. This is also just speculation, not enough is known about the new cartridge to make
The trade off is that the larger heavier round means magazine size will be smaller (probably 20 rounds instead of 30), soldiers won't be able to carry as much ammunition and the rifle will have a much heavier recoil which could make for lower rates of aimed fire and possibly reduced accuracy. The rifle itself will almost certainly be more accurate but getting it back on target after the fist shot will be more difficult and burst or automatic fire could be very difficult to use effectively. There may also be issues with barrel lifespan as the new cartridge used ultra high pressure to get high muzzle velocity from a short barrel.
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/JqD8Scd
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