Assault rifles and their ammunition

[LRRPF52]

You make a good case that 7.62mm is too big and heavy and recoils too much, and there seems to be general agreement about that.

However, there is also general agreement that 5.56mm is a 400m cartridge at best, in rifles or MGs, and runs out of effectiveness pretty rapidly after that. Which is why the Taleban so often attack from longer ranges than that. The PEO Soldier document on effectiveness stressed the importance of general-purpose rifles and ammunition, suited to engaging the enemy at any distance from which he can attack.



Yes that would be great! However, as we know, it is entirely possible to match the 7.62 M80's long-range performance with a significantly lighter, more compact, and lighter-recoiling cartridge.

For the type of terrain and general lay of the land in Afghanistan, the Grendel makes a ton of sense for DMR's, Spotters, and LMG's. It makes a lot of sense for LMG's anywhere. The Taliban prefers to initiate contact out of all small arms range, especially with 12.7mm & 14.7mm weapons, in conjunction with RPG's. No shoulder-fired small arms appropriate for a rifleman address that threat. For a rifleman, a 400m capable carbine is plenty fine, balanced with the more common demand for him to deal with close-in targets in tight confines, whether they be a bunker or trench complex, or an urbanized or rural farm community.

I think we're at a point where projectile, propellant, and cartridge or energy-harnessing technology needs to take a step forward, since we have some pretty stretched systems given the current state of metallic cartridges. The Grendel is a tweak of that existing technology that offers a lot of bang for its weight for an intermediate range weapon, just like the 5.56 offers a lot of bang for its weight in the 0-300m realm.