New Army "Caliber Configuration Study"

[stanc]

Well, since you've ducked the question about the Bren gun (and various similar devices)...

I didn't duck it. I attempted to address that by saying: "There are a number magazine-fed weapons from years gone by which were classified back then as machine guns, not automatic rifles." The WWI-era Madsen LMG is another example.

...what about the RPK and RPK-74 then? One-man operated, magazine-fed, fixed barrel (albeit heavier and longer than standard), bipod attached, closed bolt firing - and the Russians call it an LMG.

Actually, the English translation of "Ruchnoy Pulemyot" is "handheld machine gun," not "light machine gun."

I guess if you don't want to consider them automatic rifles, then we'll need to add an HHMG category to the list. :p

The fact is that there are various characteristics which might - or might not - distinguish the IAR from an LMG...

The problem is that different weapons use different combinations of those features, as illustrated by the examples I've given.

Nevertheless, we are still left with the irrefutable fact that the M27 IAR is -- according to the USMC -- an automatic rifle, not a machine gun.