02-19-2013, 07:14 PM
LRRP52 said: "The UK needs to work with the Scandinavian countries, Baltics, and Visegrad 4 to develop a new set of requirements if they are going to steer a new NATO or non-NATO standardization."
Absolutely. But the UK will do nothing unless the USA does it first. Canada is actively considering alternate calibre's, so a JV between the USA, Canada and the UK is entirely possible.
I have seen the new Radom guns (Poland) the Cz 805 Bren (Czech Republic). They are interesting weapons, but really don't take the assault rifle game on. None is yet as reliable as the G36 or FN SCAR, which have obviously been tested and upgraded over a much longer period of time, making them more reliable and mature designs. I always thought that the XM8 was a very good design because its ergonomics were so good. If only it had been made out of aluminum instead of polymer. Don't expect to see ARs with polymer receivers adopted by the USA, UK or canada anytime soon.
The other very interesting point you make is about weapon recoil. The M16 has about 4 joules of recoil energy with the lighter M4 causing a slightly higher felt-recoil effect due to its lighter weight. The AR10 (L129A1 from LMT) in 7.62 mm has around 16 Joules. The buffer system in the AR10 does a very good job of controlling recoil, but even so no AR10 is controllable when automatic bursts are fired from the shoulder. The maximum recoil that can be easily absorbed is 10-12 Joules. I've confirmed this in tests I've conducted myself using AR15 5.56 mm, AR15 6.8 mm SPC, AR10 7.62 mm, and AKM 7.62 mm x 39. The AKM has around 9-10 Joules of recoil impulse. If you've fired it, then you'll know how easy it is to fire automatic. Similarly the .300 Blackout fired from an AR15 seems equally controllable, so the threshold for bearable recoil is well established.
I haven't shot 6.5 mm Grendel on automatic so any perspectives on this would be interesting and helpful.
Absolutely. But the UK will do nothing unless the USA does it first. Canada is actively considering alternate calibre's, so a JV between the USA, Canada and the UK is entirely possible.
I have seen the new Radom guns (Poland) the Cz 805 Bren (Czech Republic). They are interesting weapons, but really don't take the assault rifle game on. None is yet as reliable as the G36 or FN SCAR, which have obviously been tested and upgraded over a much longer period of time, making them more reliable and mature designs. I always thought that the XM8 was a very good design because its ergonomics were so good. If only it had been made out of aluminum instead of polymer. Don't expect to see ARs with polymer receivers adopted by the USA, UK or canada anytime soon.
The other very interesting point you make is about weapon recoil. The M16 has about 4 joules of recoil energy with the lighter M4 causing a slightly higher felt-recoil effect due to its lighter weight. The AR10 (L129A1 from LMT) in 7.62 mm has around 16 Joules. The buffer system in the AR10 does a very good job of controlling recoil, but even so no AR10 is controllable when automatic bursts are fired from the shoulder. The maximum recoil that can be easily absorbed is 10-12 Joules. I've confirmed this in tests I've conducted myself using AR15 5.56 mm, AR15 6.8 mm SPC, AR10 7.62 mm, and AKM 7.62 mm x 39. The AKM has around 9-10 Joules of recoil impulse. If you've fired it, then you'll know how easy it is to fire automatic. Similarly the .300 Blackout fired from an AR15 seems equally controllable, so the threshold for bearable recoil is well established.
I haven't shot 6.5 mm Grendel on automatic so any perspectives on this would be interesting and helpful.