US Army Considers Adopting an Interim Battle Rifle in 7.62NATO: eventually adopt 6.5

[LRRPF52]

Is there any update on this? First we heard that the Army was looking at the 6.5 Creedmore then just going to 7.62x51 rifles. That the purchase would be 50,000 weapons. I would gather that would be combat units (BCT).

I could see why they would want a 7.62x51 rifle. There is ammo enough for it. It would reach out as well as higher penetration of buildings. Plus some of the rifles, if based on a SR25 or AR10 design, could be set up as an IAR platform to replace the SAW. This would solve the short term problems giving the military time to figure out what they really want.

Support personal would still have M4s and M249 along with the M240B/G

7.62x51 is a horribly retarded idea in every way for mass issue, and we've known this since it was first tried with the M14/M60 mix.

An SR25 platform can't even begin to do a fraction of the job of the SAW, not even close. 20-25rd mags versus a 100-200rd sack or drum on the gun, comes off target with every shot versus tracks somewhat well on target, closed bolt vs open bolt, terrible full auto handling characteristics versus manageable full auto, no quick barrel change versus the fastest quick barrel change system of any machine-gun (one of the very few things I like about the SAW), no way to carry a basic load versus the 5.56 linked basic load...

An AR10 is not only a non-starter as a service rifle, it's especially a non-starter as an LMG. The Dutch built a bunch of prototypes for belt-fed use, and Stoner was a big fan of a belt-fed AR10, but it's just not a viable system as an LMG, mainly because it was designed as a rifle and not a machine-gun.

The only place I see a role for a Stoner 7.62 NATO rifle patterned after the AR10 is what they should have done from the start, which is a DM or Semi Auto Sniper System. We've done the latter already, but seem to still be spinning our wheels when it comes to accepting the necessity of a DM within the Rifle Squad and providing a permanent training program or rifle/optic/ammo system for him.