03-08-2013, 08:39 PM
Guardsman26 Wrote:If 6.5 Grendel was used across the squad - everyone would have a DMR rifle as well as a carbine and LMG.
I am pretty sure that .338 Lapua will edge out .300 Winchester Magnum across all US forces in time. The .338 appears to have really proved its worth in Afghanistan. Without any NATO competition, it has established itself as a new de facto NATO sniping calibre. Which shows, when you get it right, perceived barriers to adoption fall away. The same is true for 4.6 mm as a PDW calibre and H&K's MP7. Both has seen much wider adoption than FN has managed with its own calibre 5.7 and its PDW.
I think there is a real need for a semi-automatic .338 rifle. if Bill gets AA's model right, he could easily sell it across NATO. It just has to way less than H&K's G28 which is a monster. Using a reinforced AR10 platform, it might even be possible to make a .338 weapon capable of firing short automatic bursts. A .338 light machine gun would be a welcome piece of additional firepower.
Grendels at the Squad Level would make a lot of sense, especially in the 16" Carbine format for Afghanistan, and an LMG with constant-recoil in a half-bullpup configuration, like a micro-M60E4 with a reliable operating system a la MAG58.
Augmented with .338 Medium-Heavy machine guns and long-range sniper rifles, with 6x35 PDW's for soft skills, and you have a simple ammunition mix that is lighter across the logistics weight/volume displacement, with better performance characteristics than 5.56/7.62/.50 BMG.
The main distinguishing weapon characteristics between the DM carbines and assault rifles would be select barrels, triggers, and optics peculiar to the DMC, where 2 MOA or better accuracy is required, a crisp/reliable trigger like the Geissele is dropped-in, and a good compact variable power optic is used that goes up to 8x or 10x.
Depending on the theater of operations and force posture, squad-level infantrymen could use a mix of 6x35 PDW carbines with 6.5 Grendel 16" Carbines.