Third Generation Battle Rifle

[LRRPF52]

Hit it on the head.

The 7.62 NATO is where its at in the SCAR 17 platform.

Not if everyone is carrying one, and accessories have reduced life on the SCAR. The military also doesn't have muzzle breaks, so SCAR-H handles differently than a civilian SCAR-17 with break. The lightweight carbine with manageable recoil is nice, but you simply can't carry enough ammo to sustain combat operations if everyone is carrying a 7.62 carbine. Some SOF units can get away with it on short-duration mission profiles with dedicated CAS assets on-station, but 7.62 NATO for every rifleman is a non-starter, we've been there and proven how invalid that force structure is in the past.

Think contact, base of fire, maneuver, actions on the objective, LOA, consolidate & reorganize...oh crap....we need re-supply or we die in place (and that's textbook, not reality where the leadership hesitates while guys are pinned down, trying to gain situational awareness, no real initiative...ammo is burning up). With 5.56 or 5.45x39, you can repeat a full contact-maneuver-actions on OBJ-C&R sequence 2-3 times before needing re-supply, and the main things that need re-supply the most are the 7.62 NATO and 5.56 belt-fed weapons if you've been making a lot of contact and are practicing stupid tactics that rely heavily on firepower.