Grendel as a Universal Infantry Cartridge

[cory]

... I think whatever cartridge will need to impress the crap out of those making the decision. Beat the 308/7.62x54 with a lighter weapon and ammo combo that has less recoil and more controllability than the 308 rifles and LMGs currently in use.

Why don't we get them a unicorn to ride into battle with while we're at it.

Woohoo no direct hit on you man, but I keep hearing this. Until we figure out how to manipulate the laws of physics, this isn't going to happen.

The Civil War, WWI, & WWII were all won through attrition due to superiority in numbers. We relied upon this in Korea and Vietnam, it eventually failed both times. The next conventional war will be the same outcome if we continue down the same path.

This is all true for fighting on the ground and in the fight for air superiority.

How did we overcome this in air space? Training, Speed, & Technology

I'm not saying Grendel is the answer, but it can reach the same distances just not always with equal energy. That in all reality is enough, if the future combat weapons system's technology continues to be improved upon and employed.

Big advances have been and are being made in autonomous vehicles, grenade launchers, and mortars. Not to mention in networking.

If we can efficiently make all of these systems talk to each other we can render any advantage in range the enemy has in respect to small arms obsolete. We deploy, with each patrol, autonomous atv's armed with smart mortar systems and HMGs and small arms or optics with the ability to designate a target with minimal input from Marine/Soldier.

At this point what we need is a round that can reach the target with enough energy to convince the enemy to put their head down long enough for our boys to get a fix on their location.

Lessons learned: We learned in Vietnam in the battle for air superiority that all the technological advancements mean nothing without proper training and skilled pilots.

We've got to focus on training and the retention of our most skilled Marines/Soldiers and not just the retention of the ass kissers.