"Now It's the Army That Wants a New Rifle" Topic

"On the heels of the Marine Corps' desire for a new rifle for its infantrymen, the U.S. Army now says it is contemplating a dramatic switch in rifles. The service is considering going back to battle rifles—heavier rifles that can hit targets at longer ranges. The last time the Army fielded such a rifle was in the 1960s

The story, broke by Soldier Systems Daily, says that U.S. Army troops feel they're "in a street fight with a guy with longer arms." That longer arm is the 7.62x54R cartridge, the cartridge used by the PK machine gun and Dragunov SVD sniper rifle. The PK squad machine gun is extremely common; it's in use by the Taliban, the Islamic State, and most insurgent and terrorist groups worldwide. Longer and heavier than the 7.62x39-millimeter round used in the AK series of assault rifles, a PK with the 7.62x54R round has an effective range of 800 to 1,000 yards, versus only about 350 yards for an AK-47…"
Main page
link

Amicalement
Armand

We all like a little more firepower …

nobody likes more weight

The weight only matters in peace time. In war time, I want to be able to hit them first not the other way around.

Yeah … IIRC … My M-14 fully loaded = @ 11.5 lbs. My later issued M-16 was @ 7.5 lbs. On a 12 mile Forced Road March at about mile 9 or 10 … they both weighed a "ton" !

Weight savings have been mainly aimed at allowing a soldier to carry more ammo, but in recent years military rifles have received a whole host of accessories that drive up the weight again so that M4 Carbines often end up weighing more than the original M16 rifle.

Although it makes sense to switch back to 7.62mm from an ammo availability perspective, it would require several major changes to existing rifles, whereas most 6.5mm and a few new ideas for 5.56mm would only need a new receiver, but could use the old magazines, a significant advantage.

An interesting new development is to redesign the 5.56mm to be more like the Russian 5.45mm which has a heavier, longer bullet that is more effective at penetrating armour while retaining the ability to cause major wounds when tumbling as the larger bullet causes a large wound cavity.

Lethality is a minor concern. Hit with either is gonna make a guy hors de combat. If you are not concerned with having to hump a weeks worth of ammo on your back, I can see a use for some troops equipped with more long range rifles…but not for all. Most guys can't hit at all at 250 meters or more, even when if they could be bothered to aim which they don't, and are just ammo bearers for the LMG crew. A bit of point defense and suppressive support at best. Heavier, longer range rounds would be a waste.

Max Effective Range for both the M-14 and M-16 is @ 460m. That obviously has to do with the standard open iron sights. Not the round itself. But as most of us know on the Qual Range, the furthest target is 300m. And that is tiny.

Plus based on historical/statistical data, etc. Most firefights occur at @ 250m max. Or less … based on terrain, etc.

IMO having a 7.62mm rifle or two in the Squad would probably be of use. Anything that allows the Infantrymen to engage/service more targets effectively is an advantage. I.e. killing more of the enemy as often as possible is why you are there.

A new rifle? This is news?
I can recall Janes claiming that a new rifle, an H&K using caseless ammo to increase the rate of fire and reduce the weight of the ammo, was to be in place in 1989. Since then, and even before, such rumors abounded, to include replacing the .50 cal with the auto grenade launcher.
Wake me up when the new, and I dont mean another version of the basic Stoner design, rifle is issued

There was a lot of grumbling in Australia when the L2A1 SLR was replaced with the Steyr and they felt they lost a lot of punch of the NATO 7.62mm.

I find my PSL in 7.62x54r to be quite effective, but then as my comment on the Marine topic noted, deer and elk don't shoot back and I only carry a dozen rounds of ammo. And hopefully only need one.

If they do start shooting back … well, that would be a real "game" changer …