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A 'new' service rifle
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Current M16A4 rifles and M4 carbines could get a significant overhaul with mostly inexpensive components already available to consumers. The upgrades would drastically improve accuracy and function without incurring the expense of procuring an new rifle.
Those updates could include a free-floating barrel, rifle compensators, new reticles for the Rifle Combat Optic, more ambidextrous controls and a new trigger group. With significant advancements in rifle technology for the civilian shooting market over the past two decades, those are all features commonly seen on competition rifles and those carried by elite operators.
It's a novel and mostly inexpensive approach to improve the tried-and-true inventory of standard service rifles even as defense budgets continue to shrink and the service's procurement and sustainment programs compete for money. Small arms have often taken a back seat in recent years to big-ticket platforms like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Amphibious Assault Vehicle modernization and the procurement of the next generation ship-to-shore troop transport, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1.
In 2013, as the military's manpower drawdown got underway and the services scrambled to realign budgets and personnel, Brig. Gen. William Mullen, head of the Corps' Capabilities Development Directorate, said small arms were sufficient — even if not ideal. "The weapons we have right now are working pretty good," he said. "They aren't perfect. You talk to Marines and get 20 different opinions about our weapons. But they are doing the job."
But the Corps' top gunners have an eye toward giving current rifles a makeover that would make them shoot like a next-generation weapon. Over the next seven to eight months they will study proposed upgrades by surveying the commercial market, testing products on the range and estimating potential costs before presenting a recommendation at the next marksmanship symposium. The symposium's working groups will make final recommendations based on research now underway and hand those to the Corps' top general, Commandant Joseph Dunford, for a final decision — a process that can take several more months.
Comps. Among the simplest potential upgrades is the addition of a compensator, or "comp" on the rifles' muzzles in place of the decades-old birdcage flash suppressor.
"The best shooters in the world have comps. Why?" said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tom Layou, the battalion gunner at WTB Quantico. "It is hardest to hit multiple and moving targets and compensators manage that recoil."
While flash suppressors reduce a rifle's visual signature as shots are fired to help conceal the exact location of a shooter on the battlefield, compensators are designed to improve a firearm's handling. There are some hybrid devices on the market, but most focus on either reducing visual signature or managing recoil, which means officials must weigh the tradeoffs between handling and concealment. It should be noted, however, that flash suppressors do not entirely cloak a Marine's position, especially at night. Both flash suppressors and comps work by altering how combustion gasses from the propellant that drives a bullet through the barrel and then escape the muzzle. A flash suppressor disperses burning gasses to reduce the intensity and brightness with which they combust, while a compensator redirects gasses to reduce muzzle flip and counteract felt recoil.
For a Marine, a compensator would allow for faster follow-on shots since reduced recoil means each shot would lessen the disturbance to sight alignment and sight picture. That helps when several shots are needed in quick succession to strike moving targets or put down an enemy who continues to fight after being struck by the first round.
There are downsides, however.
"The positive is great shooting. The negative is the noise, especially inside," Layou said.
Because compensators typically direct a large amount of expended gas rearward and to the sides, there is a threat that the intense noise and overpressure will be hard for Marines to the left and right of a shooter to tolerate. Those effects are magnified indoors, which means they would be especially unpleasant and potentially injurious when clearing a building or compound.
Barrels. The adoption of a barrel that would increase accuracy is another significant but more expensive upgrade under consideration. Greater accuracy could be achieved several ways including the use of a heavier barrel, according to Layou. But the most obvious and common way to achieve greater accuracy is the use of a free-floating barrel like those used by most hunters and competitive shooters.
Standard-issue M16A4s and M4s use hand guards and rail systems that are directly connected to the barrel. As a result, any force exerted on an accessory like a rifle sling used to achieve greater stability also exerts force on the barrel. That can ever so slightly bend or pull the barrel off center relative to zeroed optics. The movement can translate into big variances over distance. The longer the shot, the further the external pressure exerted on the barrel will throw it.
A free floating barrel is achieved by using a hand guard and rail system that does not contact the barrel at any point. So any force exerted on a sling or other rifle-mounted accessory attached to the rail system does not translate to the barrel which contacts the rifle at only one point – the upper receiver. That ensures the barrel and optics which are also mounted to the upper receiver point in precisely the same direction.
"Free floating barrels have been seen in the competition world since the '90s," said Layou. "In combat you are not able to apply the same sling tension every time. You are shooting in different positions at different targets. So it's not a training solution, it is a material solution needed to reduce barrel flex."
If the need for more accurate barrels is approved in October after weighing factors to include cost, experts will write a requirement to improve accuracy. But it would be left to Marine Corps Systems Command to determine how to meet those specific requirements, which could also include the use of a heavier barrel, said Parker.
A free floating barrel could improve the M16A4 from a 4.5 minute-of-impact rifle to a 2 MOI rifle, putting it on par with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, which uses a free floating barrel, said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Vince Pope, the Marine gunner who directs the Marksmanship Doctrine and Programs Management Section at Quantico. That means the rifle will go from being accurate within a tolerance of 4.5 inches from its point of aim at 100 yards to just 2 inches. When engaging a target at an M16A4's maximum effective point target range, which is nearly 660 yards, according to Colt Defense, that 4.5 inches with the current barrel compared to 2 inches with a free floating barrel translates into nearly 30 inches compared to about 13. That can be the difference between still hitting an enemy in the torso and hitting him in the thighs or knees.
Optics. To help Marines better hit their target, experts at WTB Quantico are also deliberating an improved Rifle Combat Optic that would feature a reticle like that seen in the Squad Day Optic currently issued for use on the IAR.
Both are manufactured by Trijicon, but use a slightly different pattern. The RCO features a chevron-shaped reticle that covers the target with the point of impact at its apex. It works fine, said Parker, but the SDO reticle works better.
The SDO uses a semi-circle with a dot at its center. It is more intuitive for the human eye and doesn't obscure the target nearly as much, Pope said. At 300 or more yards, the chevron reticle nearly entirely covers a torso-sized target while the SDO reticle encircles it so a Marine can still see what he is hitting.
Because the reticle is already in use, it would be easy and inexpensive to swap them if it is done as RCOs are shipped back to Trijicon for routine depot-level maintenance, according to the leadership at WTB Quantico. That would require some minor modification of current contracts with Trijicon, however.
Current M16A4 rifles and M4 carbines could get a significant overhaul with mostly inexpensive components already available to consumers. The upgrades would drastically improve accuracy and function without incurring the expense of procuring an new rifle.
Those updates could include a free-floating barrel, rifle compensators, new reticles for the Rifle Combat Optic, more ambidextrous controls and a new trigger group. With significant advancements in rifle technology for the civilian shooting market over the past two decades, those are all features commonly seen on competition rifles and those carried by elite operators.
It's a novel and mostly inexpensive approach to improve the tried-and-true inventory of standard service rifles even as defense budgets continue to shrink and the service's procurement and sustainment programs compete for money. Small arms have often taken a back seat in recent years to big-ticket platforms like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Amphibious Assault Vehicle modernization and the procurement of the next generation ship-to-shore troop transport, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1.
In 2013, as the military's manpower drawdown got underway and the services scrambled to realign budgets and personnel, Brig. Gen. William Mullen, head of the Corps' Capabilities Development Directorate, said small arms were sufficient — even if not ideal. "The weapons we have right now are working pretty good," he said. "They aren't perfect. You talk to Marines and get 20 different opinions about our weapons. But they are doing the job."
But the Corps' top gunners have an eye toward giving current rifles a makeover that would make them shoot like a next-generation weapon. Over the next seven to eight months they will study proposed upgrades by surveying the commercial market, testing products on the range and estimating potential costs before presenting a recommendation at the next marksmanship symposium. The symposium's working groups will make final recommendations based on research now underway and hand those to the Corps' top general, Commandant Joseph Dunford, for a final decision — a process that can take several more months.
Comps. Among the simplest potential upgrades is the addition of a compensator, or "comp" on the rifles' muzzles in place of the decades-old birdcage flash suppressor.
"The best shooters in the world have comps. Why?" said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tom Layou, the battalion gunner at WTB Quantico. "It is hardest to hit multiple and moving targets and compensators manage that recoil."
While flash suppressors reduce a rifle's visual signature as shots are fired to help conceal the exact location of a shooter on the battlefield, compensators are designed to improve a firearm's handling. There are some hybrid devices on the market, but most focus on either reducing visual signature or managing recoil, which means officials must weigh the tradeoffs between handling and concealment. It should be noted, however, that flash suppressors do not entirely cloak a Marine's position, especially at night. Both flash suppressors and comps work by altering how combustion gasses from the propellant that drives a bullet through the barrel and then escape the muzzle. A flash suppressor disperses burning gasses to reduce the intensity and brightness with which they combust, while a compensator redirects gasses to reduce muzzle flip and counteract felt recoil.
For a Marine, a compensator would allow for faster follow-on shots since reduced recoil means each shot would lessen the disturbance to sight alignment and sight picture. That helps when several shots are needed in quick succession to strike moving targets or put down an enemy who continues to fight after being struck by the first round.
There are downsides, however.
"The positive is great shooting. The negative is the noise, especially inside," Layou said.
Because compensators typically direct a large amount of expended gas rearward and to the sides, there is a threat that the intense noise and overpressure will be hard for Marines to the left and right of a shooter to tolerate. Those effects are magnified indoors, which means they would be especially unpleasant and potentially injurious when clearing a building or compound.
Barrels. The adoption of a barrel that would increase accuracy is another significant but more expensive upgrade under consideration. Greater accuracy could be achieved several ways including the use of a heavier barrel, according to Layou. But the most obvious and common way to achieve greater accuracy is the use of a free-floating barrel like those used by most hunters and competitive shooters.
Standard-issue M16A4s and M4s use hand guards and rail systems that are directly connected to the barrel. As a result, any force exerted on an accessory like a rifle sling used to achieve greater stability also exerts force on the barrel. That can ever so slightly bend or pull the barrel off center relative to zeroed optics. The movement can translate into big variances over distance. The longer the shot, the further the external pressure exerted on the barrel will throw it.
A free floating barrel is achieved by using a hand guard and rail system that does not contact the barrel at any point. So any force exerted on a sling or other rifle-mounted accessory attached to the rail system does not translate to the barrel which contacts the rifle at only one point – the upper receiver. That ensures the barrel and optics which are also mounted to the upper receiver point in precisely the same direction.
"Free floating barrels have been seen in the competition world since the '90s," said Layou. "In combat you are not able to apply the same sling tension every time. You are shooting in different positions at different targets. So it's not a training solution, it is a material solution needed to reduce barrel flex."
If the need for more accurate barrels is approved in October after weighing factors to include cost, experts will write a requirement to improve accuracy. But it would be left to Marine Corps Systems Command to determine how to meet those specific requirements, which could also include the use of a heavier barrel, said Parker.
A free floating barrel could improve the M16A4 from a 4.5 minute-of-impact rifle to a 2 MOI rifle, putting it on par with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, which uses a free floating barrel, said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Vince Pope, the Marine gunner who directs the Marksmanship Doctrine and Programs Management Section at Quantico. That means the rifle will go from being accurate within a tolerance of 4.5 inches from its point of aim at 100 yards to just 2 inches. When engaging a target at an M16A4's maximum effective point target range, which is nearly 660 yards, according to Colt Defense, that 4.5 inches with the current barrel compared to 2 inches with a free floating barrel translates into nearly 30 inches compared to about 13. That can be the difference between still hitting an enemy in the torso and hitting him in the thighs or knees.
Optics. To help Marines better hit their target, experts at WTB Quantico are also deliberating an improved Rifle Combat Optic that would feature a reticle like that seen in the Squad Day Optic currently issued for use on the IAR.
Both are manufactured by Trijicon, but use a slightly different pattern. The RCO features a chevron-shaped reticle that covers the target with the point of impact at its apex. It works fine, said Parker, but the SDO reticle works better.
The SDO uses a semi-circle with a dot at its center. It is more intuitive for the human eye and doesn't obscure the target nearly as much, Pope said. At 300 or more yards, the chevron reticle nearly entirely covers a torso-sized target while the SDO reticle encircles it so a Marine can still see what he is hitting.
Because the reticle is already in use, it would be easy and inexpensive to swap them if it is done as RCOs are shipped back to Trijicon for routine depot-level maintenance, according to the leadership at WTB Quantico. That would require some minor modification of current contracts with Trijicon, however.
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