DoD Buzz
Online Defense and Acquisition Journal
Friday, July 11th, 2008 6:23 am
Hill Dives Head First Into Carbine Debate
By Christian Lowe
Posted in International, Land
In a move that could ruffle the feathers of an Army command that views the
Colt Defense-built M4 as the best carbine in the world, a select group of
top senate staffers is gathering today to look at what could be the future
of the military's standard assault rifle.
About 30 legislative aides have signed up to attend a July 11 demonstration
at Marine Corps Base Quantico, just outside Washington, D.C., that will
feature weapons from various manufacturers vying to end the reign of the M16
and M4 as the U.S. military's most fielded personal weapon.
The range day is intended to help familiarize key lawmakers with possible
alternatives to the M16 and M4 once the exclusive contract with Colt Defense
of West Hartford, Conn., ends in the summer of 2009, a senior senate aide
told DoD Buzz.
"When you re-compete the M4 it shouldn't just be for the same thing we've
been building for the last 20 to 30 years," said the senior senate staffer
who requested anonymity because the issue is so sensitive with the Army.
Over the past year the Army has taken fire from M4 critics who say there are
better options available to troops, weapons that require less intensive
maintenance and fire more lethal rounds. While the Army - which is
responsible for procuring small arms for all the services - continues to
stand by the M4 and M16, a small group of tenacious senators, including
Oklahoma Republican James Coburn, have pressed the issue, forcing the
service to subject the M4 to rigorous environmental tests and pushing for
side-by-side competitions with several M4 alternatives.
"There's no urgent need to improve the M4, it's clearly working better than
the M16," the senior senate aide said. "Our concern is that, urgent or not,
we really ought to be improving it on par with technological improvements
[and] not be wedded to an older weapon just because that's the way we've
always been doing it."
While the aide declined to list all the companies participating in the demo,
congressional and industry sources say the shoot will feature the standard
5.56mm M4 carbine, the FNH USA-build Mk-17 - which fires a 7.62mm round -
and a modified "M4-style" rifle that fires a new 6.8mm special purpose
cartridge round, among others.
The 6.8mm SPC round was born of a 6-month program launched by the
interagency Technical Support Working Group which looked into how an M4 or
M16 could be easily modified to fire a round that had better ballistic
characteristics than the current arsenal when fired from a short barrel.
According to the TSWG, the so-called "modified upper receiver group" that
accommodates the 6.8mm round "can be installed on [government-issued] M4
carbine lower receivers by operators in the field quickly and without tools
for an immediate, considerable increase in projectile weight, surface area,
and on-target terminal performance."
"The 6.8mm MURG offers improved combat capability and user survivability
over comparable 5.56mm platforms," a TSWG statement said.
A consistent criticism of the M4 has been the 5.56 round's perceived lack of
stopping power. A 2006 Center for Naval Analyses report conducted for the
Army showed 30 percent of Soldiers surveyed wanted a rifle with a more
deadly round.
"Across weapons, Soldiers have requested weapons and ammunition with more
stopping power/lethality," the report said.
And one special operations Soldier who spoke to DoD Buzz couldn't agree
more.
"I know that when I'm shooting at someone I want to be confident that when I
hit him, he's going to go down," the Special Forces operator said during a
recent interview. "That's why I like the AK and its 7.62 round. It'll drop
whatever you're aiming at."
The Army brushes off such criticism, saying lethality is closely tied to
marksmanship. If you hit a target in the right place, you'll stop him, Army
leaders argue.
The point of the July 11 test shoot is to allow manufacturers to showcase
their M4 alternatives before an audience that's becoming more influential on
small arms procurement decisions. The senate group tried to hold a similar
demo last year, but the Army abruptly pulled out when news reports of the
event leaked out, senate sources said.
Participants will have the opportunity to observe the effects of different
caliber rounds in ballistic jelly, be shown how to fire each weapon and, of
course, there will be some hands-on time as well.
Colorado Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar is heavily involved in the M4
alternative push and wants a competitive process that rewards the kind of
innovation that leads to a host of choices when the M4 is re-bid in June of
next year.
"Senator Salazar's concern is that the process itself could stifle industry
innovation, it can result in lower weapons reliability and it can increase
costs," said Salazar spokesman, Matt Lee-Ashley.
"He's going to work through the Army and the Armed Services Committee to
make sure that when [the M4] is re-competed next June the process is open,
that it's based on performance-based requirements and that it encourages
industry innovation."
What say you riflemen?
TC
