US Army stands by M4 carbine as its future weapon of choice
Nathan Hodge JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC
The US Army plans to adopt the M4 carbine as the main weapon for its troops, continuing a shift toward more versatile, short-barrelled weapons for mounted operations.
"I don't think we'll ever go back to the long rifle as the weapon that our soldiers routinely carry," said Colonel Robert Radcliffe, director of combat developments at the US Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Georgia, in a 17 December press roundtable. "The carbine is going to be the weapon of choice."
The service is standing by the M4 despite recent questions about the weapon's performance and reliability in extremely dusty conditions.
In recent comparative testing, the Colt Manufacturing M4 fared worse than three other weapons: the Heckler and Koch (HK) HK416, the FN Herstal Mk16 Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) and the HK XM8. Testers subjected each test weapon to 25 hours of dusting and then fired 6,000 rounds; 10 of each model were tested, for a total of 60,000 rounds.
The XM8 performed best, with a total of 127 stoppages. The SCAR had 226 stoppages, including 16 major stoppages, and the HK416 experienced 233 stoppages. The M4, by contrast, experienced a total of 882 stoppages, including 19 'Class 3' (serious) failures.
Service officials said the tests reinforced the importance of proper cleaning and lubrication and downplayed any need to consider fielding an alternative to the M4.
Brigadier General Mark Brown, the army's top procurement officer for soldier weapons, said the service still had full confidence in the M4.
"We want to complete the full data analysis of this test, which is still in process, and provide the results to the [US Army] Training and Doctrine Command to inform the development of any future requirement," he said. "We want to continue to support the army with the M4 carbine and use these test results to improve the current force carbine wherever possible."
The service is planning minor design improvements to the carbine. A requirements document is to be drafted by mid-2009. Gen Brown suggested the service would look to new technologies - such as advancements in metallurgy - to enhance its performance.
Both the M4 and the M16 rifle designs - which are operated by direct gas impingement - have come under close scrutiny since the beginning of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some critics have argued that the service should adopt a gas-piston model that is less susceptible to dirt and fouling. The XM8, HK416 and SCAR are all piston operated.
US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), in fact, has selected the SCAR - a modular weapon system with different barrel configurations that can be chambered for NATO 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm cartridges - as its next-generation assault rifle. SOCOM began operational testing of the SCAR in July 2007. During this testing, the weapon has been tested in a range of conditions and environments, from woodland to riverine operations. Army special forces tested the SCAR in alpine and cold weather conditions in December.
A full-rate production decision on the SCAR is expected after SOCOM releases test findings in late January or early February. David Merrill, director of military communications for FNH USA, told Jane's that if the military approves full-rate production the company is expecting total orders of 15,000 to 20,000 weapons.
© 2008 Jane's Information Group
