Sunday, November 30, 2003
SO LONG M-16?
Here's an article from the Houston Chronicle about dissatisfaction with the venerable M-16 as the U.S. military's main infantry weapon. It seems that it's too long and bulky to be handled with ease in and around vehicles. Makes sense to me, although whenever I've handled one, it's always struck me how light and well-balanced the rifle is. This article says the M-4A1 carbine, basically a cut-down M-16 is more popular with soldiers who have to work in the cramped confines of Bradleys and Humvees.
Current plans call for a completely new infantry weapon, the so-called Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW), to replace (or at least heavily supplement) the M-16 and its derivatives over the coming years. Here's another link on the OICW. (What I want to know is what makes this weapon "objective"? What would a "subjective" gun look like?) The OICW looks like something out of a science fiction movie and some of its capabilities sound like SF: The ability to fire bursts of 20mm exploding ammo that the soldier can "dial-in" range info on is pretty amazing. But there's a price: each copy costs $10,000. That's a lot for something grunts have to carry through mud and sand. And nothing could be more telling than the contrast between that figure and the $50 or so that an AK-47 costs to make these days in the hundreds of plants that make it. I hope the OICW will be as robust as it is expensive.
Speaking of AK-47s, here's an interesting rifle. The SR-47 Stoner looks and shoots like an M-4A1, but is chambered for the 7.62 round fired by the AK-47 and uses AK mags. It's intended for use by Special Forces. The idea, as the manufacturer puts it, is to "enable [Special Forces] to use a sound suppression system, use enemy ammo, carry less ammo, and to leave behind only enemy brass." Good idea.
Surfing around about plans for overhauling the U.S. infantry rifle, I came across some informed commentary that the idea in many planners' minds is to have the OICW as a heavy squad-level "backbone," but make the main infantry rifle be the Heckler-Koch G-36. This looks like a much simpler, cheaper and more reliable weapon to me.
Then there's the whole question of whether the military should stay married to the .223 round fired by all these rifles, but that's another whole story.
GB, THHotA
posted by Greg 8:10 AM
