The US Military's new rifle

[pkveazey]

I've been hearing about the Military adopting a new 6 point something mm rifle. Now, I heard that they actually have adopted it. Hmmmm... The 5.56 has been the NATO standard for years and years. What idiot decided to break away from the NATO standard and use something different? Hmmmmm.......... I guess those $1,200 AR 15's will hit the surplus market now. There is nothing wrong with the AR 15 and I don't even own one. I talked to a fellow who is part of Seal Team 6 and I asked him why the Military used a 22 caliber rifle. It seemed a bit piss weak to me. He said, "Nooooo... That 22 caliber is powered by a tremendous powder load and the longer full metal jacket bullet has a steel rod in it for penetration power." Some of the You Tube experts have compared the AR 15 and the new rifle and they say that the AR 15 is still superior. I think this is nothing more than change for the sake of change. Do any of you know anything about the new rifle?

[RB in GA]

Supposedly it allows engagements at longer ranges than the 5.56mm. It uses a necked down 7.62 x 51 mm case.  My thought is, if they wanting longer range engagements, why not use the 7.62 x51?  Its already developed, adopted, and available. Yeah the 6.5 might give incremental improvements, but is it worth the millions in developmental costs?  Personally, I think its just the military-industrial complexes way of sucking more cash from the government tit.

[JohnyMac]

RB, Industrial War Complex needs to reinvent something to sell.

[CJS06]

Supposedly it allows engagements at longer ranges than the 5.56mm. It uses a necked down 7.62 x 51 mm case.  My thought is, if they wanting longer range engagements, why not use the 7.62 x51?  Its already developed, adopted, and available. Yeah the 6.5 might give incremental improvements, but is it worth the millions in developmental costs?  Personally, I think its just the military-industrial complexes way of sucking more cash from the government tit.

The new 6.8 x 51mm round is a completely new animal as well as the rifles and LMG that use it.  It uses a brass case that has a stainless steel base and rim. This is to allow the chamber pressure to eclipse 80,000psi  (5.56 is approx 48,000psi).  It will be interesting to see how quickly they burn up barrels.

I can see where it has definite performance superiority to the 5.56, but suddenly we are at the reverse point from when the 5.56 was adopted. Loadouts will be significantly heavier or will suffer in number of rounds being carried per soldier.

They are selling t as a giant leap forward.  I dont see it but hey, who am I.

Chris

[Sir John Honeybucket]

Adopting a new rifle with a new logistics chain with war on the horizon - bad idea.

[DMCakhunter]

The new cartridge requires a suppressor on all weapons as well.
Can you say ca-ching on the cash register

[Jarine88]

There are pros and cons for the rifles (i.e., there are two variations: XM5 and XM250) and the round, just like there were pros and cons for M16  in the 5.56x45mm when it came out. There are still detractors who will the sing praises of the M14 over the M16 and others who complain about the adoption of the M9 over the 1911.

Carrying more weight and less ammo seems contrary to the reasons given to go to the smaller .223 rounds back in the ?60?s. But if you can score more effective hits on target at a longer range, you will need fewer rounds.

My guess is that in 60 years, if the world is still around, people will be asking why the military is switching away from the 6.8x51 Fury ammo to some new, wiz-bang round.

[grizz]

Any links to this nightmare?

[RB in GA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzxA2XnqZ_k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm0XId4kftg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEf3ZlUkOCg

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3005746/army-announces-2-new-rifles-for-close-combat-soldiers/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3oWZhjCrk8

[Jackalope]

    Meanwhile, The U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, just selected the SIG Sauer MCX Rattler to be their new personal defense weapon or PDW.  The firearms will be chambered in 5.56 and 300  AAC Blackout.  https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/socom-picks-sig-sauer-mcx-rattler-for-new-pdw/

 

[RB in GA]

Wait, wasn't the 6.8 originally conceived as a SOCOM project?

[CJS06]

RB

That is a different 6.8 round.  The 6.8 SPC was developed as a SOCOM project. The 6.8x51 Fury is a big army project.

Chris