US Senator calls for rifle competition

M4 Debate Fires Up

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) sent a letter to the US Army asking for them to hold an open competition to select the best rifle for our soldiers. Here's part of it:

I am certain that we can all agree that America’s soldiers should have the best technology in their hands. There is nothing more important to a soldier than their rifle, and there is simply no excuse for not providing our soldiers the best weapon – not just a weapon that is “good enough." Unfortunately, considering the long standing reliability and lethality problems with the M-16 design, of which the M4 is based, I am afraid that our troops in combat might not have the best weapon.

He notes that if the M4 is the best, then that's great. But let's make sure we're doing the right thing. Go read the whole thing at Defense Tech.

'I love my Army. But this is a plain bone head move.'
JawBreaker 2 Delta weighs in on the piston vs. direct gas issue: Ok, here's my first rant....[READ]

More HK416s for Special Forces
About a month ago I noted an Army Times article on the decision by Delta Force to go with the Heckler & Koch HK416, a piston-driven assault rifle, over the standard M4 carbine. Now, it appears that a Special Forces battalion is taking things into its own hands and ordering...[READ]

6.5mm MPC
Defense Review points out another option for those looking to replace the 5.56x45mm NATO round with something a bit beefier: SSK 6.5 MPC: Best Assault Rifle Cartridge for 21st Century Warfare?. The 6.5 MPC (Multi-Purpose Cartridge), based on a standard 5.56 NATO case wit a modified neck and shoulder, has...[READ]

Valkyrie goes 100 miles in three minutes - 03 Jan 1966
I got a cool wall calendar for Christmas, and it has a bit of aeronautical trivia for each day. The factoid for January 3rd is: XB-70 flew for three minutes at 2,000 mph. I've long wanted to do a big XB-70 write-up, but it's one of those things I've never...[READ]

M32 Six-shot 40mm grenade launcher
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. James C. Sanchez aims in with the M-32 multiple-shot grenade launcher, an experimental six-barreled weapon that can deliver six 40 mm grenades in under three seconds. Marines are fielding the new rapid-fire weapon to troops to boost small-team capabilities to deliver greater indirect firepower....[READ]

UPDATE: New carbine
I'm traveling and haven't had much time to look into this, but someone in the comments at Heartless Libertarian points out Colt Canada, and last night on the plane I was re-reading the solicitations and noticed that the carbine calls for the majority of production to be in the "United...[READ]

New solicitations for Carbine and Light Machine Gun
I'm getting ready to head out for the SHOT Show, which begins Thursday in Las Vegas, but Daniel Watters of The Gun Zone tipped me off to this (many thanks!) and I can't help but post it for MO readers. A pair of new solicitations for 5.56mm weapons, a carbine...[READ]

Happy Halloween XM8 fans
A reader tipped me off to this amendment to the solicitation for the OICW Increment 1, which the XM8 and other assault rifle systems were competing for. The important bits: The purpose of this Amendment is to CANCEL Solicitation W15QKN-05-R-0449, OICW Increment One. This action has been taken in order...[READ]

XM25 testing overseas
Been thin on X-weapon news for quite some time. Last week I noted once again the return of the M79 grenade launcher, and a discussion in the comments section led to the merits of "smart grenades", magazine-fed launchers, and such. Lo and behold, in today's Strategy Page: The XM-25 grenade...[READ]

OMG - Dilbert's company is building the XM8!
(Click for better look) This story has been running for a couple of days now in the Dilbert, but it's suddenly so clear. Their project is the OICW Increment 1 program. As always, check out Dilbert.com for legal access to the cartoons. ...[READ]

Special Operations Command getting new MGs
The SOC recently ordered some of the new M60E4 "Commando" 7.62 machine guns, improved and lighter than other M60s. Now they're getting a newer, lighter version of the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, as well, the Mk46 MOD0. The Special Forces seem to be pretty unimpressed by the procurement process of...[READ]

OICW Suspended for the time being
Back in January of 2004, I wrote this: The XM8 seems to be an aberration in the military procurement sector.I was referring, specifically, to the fact that the weapon seemed to be an improvement on all fronts over its predecessor and that the cost wasn't spiraling out of control. Another...[READ]

H-K cautious in GA
There's been a dearth of news on the XM8 program lately, so we're left to scrounge the Georgia employment reports for any info:Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's office announced Wednesday that the city is receiving $300,000 from the OneGeorgia Authority to help Sterling, Va.-based Heckler & Koch Defense open a plant...[READ]

US rifles going to Hell in a Handbasket
Wait. That didn't come out quite right... Anyway, James Rummel has a good post entitled Just Some Friendly Competition with a little history, a little opinion, a few pics, and a bunch of links. Go read. Not sure how I missed it this weekend. Must have been my case of...[READ]

Two Marine corporals on the XM8
We Fear Change Buckethead at the Ministry of Minor Perfidy (yeah, those guys that tried to out-dork each other some time back...) has a great little post up on an encounter with a couple of Marine corporals. He asked them about the XM8. One was against it, but the second...[READ]

Our standard weapons meet Matador
A couple of readers have emailed me on this subject, and here's what I've come up with. Insurgents in western Iraq fight to finish This story from yesterday centers on the 3-25 Marines, the Reserve regiment that was mentioned earlier for losing an entire squad either killed or wounded. The...[READ]

Defense Review on XM25
ATK XM25 25mm Grenade Launcher for Future Infantry. Will it fly? David Crane at Defense Review has a great post up on the XM25 Smart Grenade Launcher. Definitely worth a look-see. (And I learned of it via Google News Alerts. How did Defense Review make the Google News list? That's...[READ]

5.56? 7.62? How about 5.56 + 7.62?
New .50-caliber sniper rifle approved The XM107 is now the M107.The term "full materiel release" signifies that the Army has rigorously tested and evaluated the item and determined that it is completely safe, operationally suitable, and logistically supportable for use by Soldiers, officials said. Product Manager for Crew Served Weapons...[READ]

XM25 prototypes
ATK Delivers First XM25 Prototypes to U.S. Army for Testing and Evaluation This seems to be the first new news on this weapon for quite some time. I did a write-up (based on a Strategy Page post, actually) back in February of 2004. Check it out for the basics on...[READ]