6.5 x 40 New AR varient

[cory]

Of little consequence??? That's just not true. The links are of major importance to a belt-fed weapon. Without them, at best all you have is an exceedingly expensive, overly complex, and unduly heavy, magazine-fed rifle. That's in the specific case of the M249. For others, like the Mk46 and MG4, you wouldn't have even that much. Viable links are absolutely critical.

All of that has been said before. Unfortunately, as with the others before you, all you have provided is speculation and wishful thinking. It is still yet to be proven that the link loops can be made sufficiently narrow, yet have the necessary combination of strength and elasticity.

Yes, they do. However, the tasks are quite different.

Grendel magazines have the same external dimensions as 5.56 magazines.

In contrast, Grendel links -- if the loops are narrowed as you suggest -- would have substantially different dimensions than 5.56 links. There is no assurance that such an altered design would work.

It's a relative comparison. Yes, the links are critical in the functioning. However, when analyzing the problems of the M249 the links are a minor factor compared to the real issues.

If all this has been said before, by no doubt other engineers, than what does that tell you? At this point you're only being ridiculous. It's being stubborn for being stubborns sake. What do you base your assumption on? Mine comes from professional and academic experience. We can design and build computers that fit in the palm of your hand that are orders of magnitude more powerful than the most powerful computers of the 1960's, yet it's hard to believe we can't design and build a disintegrating link for the Grendel case???