Improved Infantry Squad Capabilities Article

[JASmith]

...I was afterwards approached by a US special forces soldier fresh from Afghanistan who told me that he was happy with the 5.56mm within 200m but was very dissastisfied with it at longer ranges and wanted something much better for his rifle (he put it a lot more colourfully than that, but you get the picture!).

This observation is very close to the large body of both commentary and analysis we've seen over the last decade or longer.

The problem seems to be that the current issue weapons capable of good use in the hands of a properly trained shoulder at ranges of 300 meters and beyond tend to be heavy in both rifle and ammunition weight. These weapons include the 7.62 in DMR format, the MMG, grenade launches, and the company-level 60mm mortar.

My take is that LLRPF52 is on a good path with the notion of an intermediate-caliber cartridge in machine guns and DMR weapons for the squad and platoon. This keeps the heavier weapons in the picture, but at the company level where one could assert they would be more effectively employed.

Cheers!