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What News I Found About Replacing M-16


Militiaman

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I have been looking all over the internet for the latest news on the new rifle which will replace the M-16. I haven't found anything newer than July 2005.

I put the most relevant part of the article below. All the rest of the article is news we have already heard (if you are keeping up on this subject). According to the July 2005 article it looks like testing for a replacement of the M-16 may not be done until December 2006.

“It will be something completely different from the M16,†he said. “It will be something along the lines of SCAR.†SCAR is the special forces combat-assault rifle—a family of 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm weapons with a grenade-launcher attachment—that FN Herstal is producing for the U.S. Special Operations Command,

The process of evaluating the proposals and testing prototypes could take another year to 18 months, Clarke said. “The linchpin is going to be coming up with a system that is compatible with a light machine gun,†he said. “There are plenty of people out there who make a good 5.56 mm rifle.â€

Meanwhile, “we’re still working the M4s,†he said. “We’re buying several thousand a month from Colt,†he said. “Also, we’ll probably buy a few more M16s to replace those that can’t be repaired. We have to maintain our current fleet while we develop a new one.â€

If you want to read the entire article use the internet link below:

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/iss...Jul/Back_to.htm

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I wouldn't put too much stock on anything you read on the internet concerning the issue. The regional HK guy told me last year that the US military had purchased something along the lines of 100,000 HK M4's, as that's what the military had decided on. Clearly, that's not the case.

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I wouldn't put too much stock on anything you read on the internet concerning the issue.  The regional HK guy told me last year that the US military had purchased something along the lines of 100,000 HK M4's, as that's what the military had decided on.  Clearly, that's not the case.

LOL. That is what they were saying when I saw the grey room. They were talking like they had already bumped off Colt's contract. They guy talking like a complete replacement of the current Colts were just days away. That was the summer of 2004.

Don't get me wrong the 416 was very nice. It felt solid as a rock, but when you took it apart there really was nothing ground breaking about its design. Even the piston drive is something that has been around for a while.

I remember running into a guy at a gun range that had a piston drive system on his Bushmaster AR15, and that was a back in 2002.

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  • 10 months later...

I don't know if anyone has seen this website, but the information on it has been updated as of July 26th 2006.

http://www.defense-update.com/products/s/scar.htm

Apparently the 5.56 x 45 Mark 16 will have three barrel lengths. Standard configuration is a 13.78 inch barrel. Close Quarters Combat configuration will likely have a barrel of around 10 inches. They will also have a long range barrel for the Mark 16 that will likely be 18 inches to 20 in length. The weight of the Mark 16 in standard configuration is only 6.8 pounds unloaded.

The weight of the 7.62 x 51 SCAR H is 7.2 pounds with a barrel length of 19.7 inches.

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Cool find! Also, not the pistol in the background of that top photo. Sam Fisher would be proud- FN-Herstal Five-seveN (5.7mm x 28mm). You can tell it anywhere by the goofy ambidextrous safety. Wonder if the SF crew are thinking on buying THOSE too?

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The EGLM is a 40mm grenade launcher with a side-opening breech to allow loading longer munitions

Hmm ... looks like GRAW got that wrong, not that this really surprises me - I was actually a bit shocked to see the breach-loading GL in GRAW since side-loading tubes are really the norm now to fit longer HEAT and PFA-type projectiles.

Looks like SOCOM is really serious about this rifle, which is good - I love the M-4 but it is really time for it to go. The one thing that bugs be about the SCAR is the bolt release catch. With the M-4 is always annoyed me that I had to use my support hand to hit the catch after loading a fresh mag; the XM-8 really had this figured out IMO with the best mag-change system I have ever seen.

It is manufactured to be corrosion resistant, and is capable of lube-less firing.

Where have I heard that before ... :unsure:

Clark

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Data I've been able to find, and can't find again online :wall: at the moment points at the following barrel lengths.

Mk16: CQC: 9.96in, Carbine: 13.82in, Marksman: 18in

Mk17: CQC: 9.96in, Carbine, 15.75in, Marksman: 20in

Weight without mag ranges from 6.71 to 7.45pounds for the Mk16 and from 6.87 to 7.64 for the Mk17

And yes the ELGM is a sideloader...that slides straight forward just like the good old M203 and that you after extending fully can swing to the side if you need to load longer grenades. So the Grin boys animated it correctly :P

Edit: found the link.

SCAR DATA .pdf

And also this to illustrate how the breach works on the ELGM

_EGLM_03.jpg

_EGLM_04.jpg

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And yes the ELGM is a sideloader...that slides straight forward just like the good old M203 and that you after extending fully can swing to the side if you need to load longer grenades. So the Grin boys animated it correctly tongue.gif

Oh! Cool!

Very interesting .pdf also ...

Clark

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But that's the AG36, not something like the EGLM.

Well they work a bit differently, but they are both side loading. The AG-36 / XM-320 is a true side loader in that the whole tube pivots to the side to load. The EGLM slides forward like the M-203 and then the tube can be pivoted to either side to load longer ammo. I haven't looked at the reload animation in GRAW yet to see how that is modeled, but the EGLM can be loaded just like an M-203 anyway if you have short enough ammo - like a standard 40mm HE round.

Clark

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well the appearance is similar to the FAL/ FNC family of weapons but everyhting ive read says they work differently

Externally they are very similar the AR-15 family of weapons. Internally, from what I understand, they use a much more conventional gas/pusher-rod/blowback design something similar to what HK did with the 416.

Clark

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