02-01-2017, 12:53 AM
Texas Wrote:I know there is a lot of discontent around the 5.56X45 in the military, and there is about $2 billion budgeted for the upgrade of the M16/M4 system. The 6.5X39 would be welcome by a number of well respected military leaders. I have had the opportunity to discuss this with Army and Marine Corp personnel. The M249 can be configured to fire the 6.5X39 which could illiminate the need for an M240 and the 7.62X51 cartridge and provide for a one caliber supply chain.
There are two nearly perfect calibers (in terms of BC), 6.5 and .338 (8.59). It has been suggested that if we moved to the 6.5x39 for the SAW and infantry rifle (and DMR) then we should upgrade the m240 to 8.6x63 (.338 NM) which would give the M240 nearly the impact of the .50 M2 but with less recoil and weight.
Similarly we need to merge the three cannon calibers (20mm, 25mm, 30mm) into the 25mm (1 inch) which also is nearly a perfect BC. A 25mm makes more sense than the M2 .50 anyway.