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DISTRUST IN THE DUST (www.StrategyPage.com) November 29, 2007: Last May, the U.S. Army ordered another $375 million worth of M-4 rifles. This got a lot of troops agitated because of the continuing jamming problems with the M-4 and M-16s. The emails have been flying among the troops these past six months, and apparently many were passed on to members of Congress and the media. Once more, the Army is on the defensive regarding its choice of combat rifles. The Army agreed to run more tests involving dust and reliability. These tests were supposed to take place in August. They didn't, and after several delays they are now to take place in December. Meanwhile, the troops keep passing around horror stories. The Army wishes it would all go away, but the web makes that impossible.
In dusty places like Iraq and Afghanistan, you have to clean your rifles constantly, otherwise the combination of carbon and dust in the chamber will cause jams. The Army and Marines both decided to stick with their current weapons, rather than adopt an easier to maintain weapon, like the XM-8 or H&K 416, because of the billion or so dollars it would cost to switch rifles.
If the issue were put to a vote, the troops would vote for a rifle using a short-stroke system (like the XM-8/H&K 416). But the military is not a democracy, so the troops spend a lot of time cleaning their weapons, and hoping for the best. The debate involves two intertwined attitudes among senior Army commanders. First, they don't want the hassle, and possible embarrassment, of switching to a new rifle. Second, they are anticipating a breakthrough in weapons technology that will make a possible a much improved infantry weapon. This is likely to happen later, rather than sooner, but the generals keep thinking about it.
Earlier efforts to just get the troops a more reliable rifle have failed. Back in 2005, the U.S. Army's design for a new assault rifle, the XM-8, was cancelled. But now the manufacturer has incorporated one of its key components into M-4 rifles, and calls the hybrid the H&K 416. Heckler & Koch designed the XM-8, which was based on an earlier H&K rifle, the G36. SOCOM is using the 416, but no one else is (except for a few police departments).
The XM-8 had one major advantage over the M-16. It (like the G36 and 416) uses a short-stroke piston system. The M-16s uses gas-tube system, which results in carbon being blown back into the chamber. That leads to carbon build up, resulting in jams. The short-stroke system also does not expose parts of the rifle to extremely hot gases (which wear out components more quickly). As a result, rifles using the short-stroke system are more reliable, easier to maintain and last longer.
H&K developed the 416, for SOCOM, at the same time the XM-8 was being evaluated by the Army. SOCOM got the first 416s in 2004, a year before the Army cancelled the XM-8. The 416 looks like the M4, for the only thing that has changed is the gas system that automatically extracts the cartridge after the bullet has been fired, and loads the next round. SOCOM can buy pretty much whatever they want, the U.S. Army cannot. SOCOM listens to what its troops want, the Army often doesn't. In trying to avoid embarrassment and scandal, the Army leadership is blundering into it anyway. Now the issue is getting revived, and is getting more attention from Congress. The Army doesn't like that either.
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes.” -- Princess Leia Organa
“War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil.” -- George Orwell
“If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.” -- P.J. O’Rourke
In dusty places like Iraq and Afghanistan, you have to clean your rifles constantly, otherwise the combination of carbon and dust in the chamber will cause jams. The Army and Marines both decided to stick with their current weapons, rather than adopt an easier to maintain weapon, like the XM-8 or H&K 416, because of the billion or so dollars it would cost to switch rifles.
If the issue were put to a vote, the troops would vote for a rifle using a short-stroke system (like the XM-8/H&K 416). But the military is not a democracy, so the troops spend a lot of time cleaning their weapons, and hoping for the best. The debate involves two intertwined attitudes among senior Army commanders. First, they don't want the hassle, and possible embarrassment, of switching to a new rifle. Second, they are anticipating a breakthrough in weapons technology that will make a possible a much improved infantry weapon. This is likely to happen later, rather than sooner, but the generals keep thinking about it.
Earlier efforts to just get the troops a more reliable rifle have failed. Back in 2005, the U.S. Army's design for a new assault rifle, the XM-8, was cancelled. But now the manufacturer has incorporated one of its key components into M-4 rifles, and calls the hybrid the H&K 416. Heckler & Koch designed the XM-8, which was based on an earlier H&K rifle, the G36. SOCOM is using the 416, but no one else is (except for a few police departments).
The XM-8 had one major advantage over the M-16. It (like the G36 and 416) uses a short-stroke piston system. The M-16s uses gas-tube system, which results in carbon being blown back into the chamber. That leads to carbon build up, resulting in jams. The short-stroke system also does not expose parts of the rifle to extremely hot gases (which wear out components more quickly). As a result, rifles using the short-stroke system are more reliable, easier to maintain and last longer.
H&K developed the 416, for SOCOM, at the same time the XM-8 was being evaluated by the Army. SOCOM got the first 416s in 2004, a year before the Army cancelled the XM-8. The 416 looks like the M4, for the only thing that has changed is the gas system that automatically extracts the cartridge after the bullet has been fired, and loads the next round. SOCOM can buy pretty much whatever they want, the U.S. Army cannot. SOCOM listens to what its troops want, the Army often doesn't. In trying to avoid embarrassment and scandal, the Army leadership is blundering into it anyway. Now the issue is getting revived, and is getting more attention from Congress. The Army doesn't like that either.
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes.” -- Princess Leia Organa
“War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil.” -- George Orwell
“If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.” -- P.J. O’Rourke
