New Army "Caliber Configuration Study"

[Ridgerider]

In the US Army Infantry, 7.62 NATO Medium Machine Guns are at the Platoon Level in the Weapon's Squad, but your gun teams often are tasked to the Squads depending on the mission. You have 3 Rifle Squads (each with 2 SAW per), and a Weapon's Squad, with (2) 3-man Gun Teams.



We might initiate an offensive operation where the Gun Teams are in the support element on the support-by-fire position with good fields of fire and overwatch on an objective, while the assault element moves onto and seizes that objective during the initial stages of the attack. Once security has been established, the SBF will either collapse onto the objective, or maintain overwatch for the assault element to withdraw (raid).

There really is no way to make this GPC concept work, unless you can get match-or-exceed 7.62x54R performance from the same weight as the current 5.56 NATO space-weight profile, and that isn't going to happen. No NATO Army is looking for a one-size fits all solution here, because it simply isn't realistic. The Army Caliber Configuration study seems to be addressing the weight penalties of the larger calibers, and finding lighter weight solutions to them.

The next logical step is replacement calibers for .50 BMG, and possibly 7.62 NATO. 5.56 NATO is one of the strengths in the system, not a weakness.

Dont you mean 7.62x 51 Nato as the 7.62x54 was a former Soviet now Russian Federation round