"US Army Wants New Bullets" Topic

DA BUG

The Army has been working on a new bullet that is bigger, bolder and harder hitting that will help make U.S. soldiers even more unstoppable…

link

After getting everybody else to drop the 7.62 in favour of the 5.56. Genius.

That was almost 60 years ago, 22ndFoot.

Ironically, the 6.5 Grendel is ballisticly identical to the old 6.5mm Arisaka the Japanese used in WW2! Grendel was designed to get 7.62NATO range and punch in a 5.56 length.

Though this is apparently a whole different ballgame than the 6.8SPC (which was designed to get more punch than 5.56 out to about 300m). The description makes it sound more like the British .280/30 cartridge from the 1950s.

From left to right: 6mm SAW, 6.5mm Grendel, 6.8mm SPC, 7mm Bench Rest, .280/30 British, 7 mm-08, 7mm Second Optimum (Liviano), .276 Pedersen, .308×1.75", 7.62×51mm NATO.

6.8mm means .270 caliber bullets (which are actually 0.277" in diameter, 7mm are 0.284").

And no mention of whether this is using brass cases, plastic case-telescoped, or caseless.

So another 6.8 cartridge. I wouldn't get my hopes up about it coming true.

Lion in the Stars,

It may have taken the US Army sixty years to recognise it but it was a dumb idea whenever the decision was made.

I remember hauling round 100 rounds of 7.62 ball and 300 of link in Her Majesty's service – it was damned heavy but at least you knew that what you hit would stay hit.

If my history serves me correctly, the UK actually pioneered the 6.8/.280cal as a battle rifle cartridge immediately following the end of WW2 citing better ballistics and controllability in semiauto/select-fire weapons. The rifle was the bull-pup EM2. The US went with the 7.62mm instead and we know where that went. Interesting to see things going full circle again.

@Lobsterback: Not quite, the M1 garand was originally intended to use that .276 Pedersen round, but the Army insisted on .30-06.

I just find it deeply ironic that the various militaries are working back to ~6.Xmm with ballistics identical to stuff from over a hundred years ago (either 6.5 Arisaka or 6.5 Swede).