The Firearm Blog

I have read through solicitation request for the Army's M24 Sniper Weapon System upgrade. I am struggling to see how it can be considered an upgrade. The original M24 is going to have little in common with an upgraded version. As I read the solicitation request only the original receiver must remain after the upgrade. Maybe some of the bolt's internal components will be used, but that is about it. Barrel, bolt face, stock, optics, sights, suppressor, flash hider, iron sights, rail system, magazine, bipod and trigger group are all likely to be replaced.

It looks like the Army is trying to get a new rifle in a roundabout way, much like how the USMC is procuring a new rifle under the guise of a machine gun. What do you think?

Remington's M24A2 (a product name, not a military designation) is a possible candiate for the M24 upgrade.

Here are a few interesting specifications for the new M24 ...

• Trigger pull must be between 3 - 5 lbs. Operators must not be able to adjust the trigger.

• Magazine must have a minimum capacity of 5 rounds. It must not touch the ground when the bipod legs are at their shortest setting.

• The rifle, with minimum length of pull set and with suppressor attached, cannot be longer than 48".

• It cannot weigh more than 17 lbs with magazine full and with day optic and suppressor attached.

• MRBS (Mean rounds between stoppage) must be at least 1200. The MRBEFF (The mean round between essential function failure) must be at least 2300.

• The minimum accuracy must be 1 MOA (at 100m), although they are hoping for at least 0.8 MOA. These days 0.8 should be easily achieved.

• The rifle and optics must survive a 5 foot drop test.

• Iron sights that mound on the rail system must be included.

• The day scope must have variable magnification. The minimum magnification must be from 3.5-6.5x. The maximum magnification must be from 14-25x.

Metal Storm seems to have survived the ... uuuggghhh ... storm. This video shot by the US Navy (who funds Metal Storm research) shows a Metal Storm FireStorm 40mm grenade launcher mounted on a iRobot 710 Warrior unmanned ground vehicle.

The four barreled FireStorm holds 24 40mm grenades.

[ Many thanks to Daniel Watters for emailing me the vid. ]

From the NYT ...

As envisioned, the teams will work like American politicians who campaign door to door and learn what voters care about. A team is to arrive in a village, get permission from the male elder to speak with the women, settle into a compound, hand out school supplies and medicine, drink tea, make conversation and, ideally, get information about the village, local grievances and the Taliban.

...

On patrols, the women will carry M-4 rifles, which are shorter and more maneuverable than the military’s standard M-16s, but once inside an Afghan compound, and with Marine guards posted outside, they have been instructed, assuming they feel safe, to remove their rifles and take off their intimidating “battle rattle” of helmets and body armor.

In my opinion the article implies that these woman are being treated less-equal than the male Marines when behind the wire, but isn't it standard operating procedure to remove armor and helmet?

UPDATE: As some commenters realized, I misinterpreted "Afghan compound" to mean inside their base of operations, not inside a native compound.

[ Many thanks to Mik for emailing me the link. ]

Yesterday PEO Solider had a media roundtable discussion. I should have phoned into the event but I only just realized it was on. One of the topics discussed was the Improved Carbine Competition. According to the PEO Solider twitter account, which was live updated during the roundtable event, the Improved Carbine Competition requirements do not specify a caliber.

Some companies are sure to submit 6.8 SPC chambered carbines; whether they get anywhere is another story altogether.

LTC Chris Lehner of PEO Solider wrote a comment on the blog that I thought deserved its own post. He addresses the issue of why the Army did not just adopt one of the existing anti-tilt follower designs instead of developing their own.

LTC Lehner here. My program office is responsible for the development, production, and fielding of the Improved Magazine (tan follower) along with all the pistols, shotguns, grenade launchers, sniper weapons, rifles/carbines, and even airburst weapons that our Army uses.

Hotgun, you are on target! Our Improved Magazine has been thoroughly tested in every environmental condition for the last several years. We have fired 40,000+ rounds through them, filmed their performance with high speed cameras, and did things to them to try and make them fail. Bottom line, these Improved Magazines offer a 50% reduction in the risk of a magazine related weapon stoppage over our previous Green follower magazines. P-mag, H+K, and others may have “tested” their magazines, but no one has the resources to test the way we do. When an Improved Magazine is fielded from my office (along with all the other kit we provide) there is a commitment and promise to our Soldiers that it will serve them extremely well in combat. The other manufactures of magazines (commercial magazines) usually will not or can not make this promise because of all the unknowns their magazines will face in battle.

As a side note, our Improved Magazines (with the tan, anti-tilt, follower) were developed a few years before similar magazines hit the market. The reason our magazines are only now available is due to the extensive testing regime we must put all of our equipment through. And it is a good thing we do, because there are many commercial magazines that our soldiers bought “off the shelf” that are starting to give them problems. More on this in the future.

For all Soldiers in OIF or OEF, be sure to keep your eyes open for the Armed Forces Network (AFN) Infomercial due out at the end of this month. You will actually learn valuable information on your Improved Magazine and where they are being issued in theater. Also you can log onto the PEO Soldier Web site to learn more about the magazine, new weapons, night vision devices, and body armor that we are fielding. Thank you for your time and keep up the fight!

Chris Lehner LTC, SF PM Individual Weapons

Read more about the Improved Magazine here.

New Zealand blogger WhaleOil emailed me a link to these photos of New Zealand SAS taken after a firefight in Kabul, Afghanistan. What is odd about the photos is that the elite SAS troops appear to have tied their magazines to the trigger guard with cord ... ?!?!

The British, Australian and New Zealand active and retired soldiers who read the blog may have to correct me, but I remember reading somewhere that British soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan are not allowed to throw away empty their magazines in a firefight. I also recall reading that in the Vietnam war the NZ and Australian soldiers where also not allowed to dump empty magazines.

That seems the most likely explanation for the above photo but it seems bizarre!

Can anybody shed light on this?

This cartoon encourages soldier to upgrade to the Army's new "tan" M16/M4 magazine.

The "New, Improved Magazine" (left), "Old Timer" (Middle, Right)

[ Many thanks to Concerned_Soldier for emailing me the cartoon. ]

These photos of Marine snipers were taken earlier this month during Operation Moshtarak (Helmand province, Afghanistan).

(Currently my desktop wallpaper. High-Res download)

Kit Up has published a post discussing the photos.

Solider Systems reports ...

LTC Cummings of the Army Public Affairs Office has confirmed that the Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John McHugh approved a plan today to begin the fielding of MultiCam uniforms and individual equipment as soon as possible

MultiCam in Afghanistan's Kunar province, Feb. 6, 2010. (Thanks to Lance for the pic)

This US Navy training video at GENE SLOVERS US NAVY PAGES website shows how the 1950s mechanical fire control computers worked. It is explained simply enough for a layman to understand. I found it fascinating to watch. It is crazy to think that the ballistic software on my $199 iPod Touch can do nearly everything that this huge mechanical device did.

UPDATE: Part 2 can be watched online here. Thanks to Steve for the link.

OnPoint Firearms, an online gun retailer, have published an article explaining the different between each generation of nigh vision gear. I learn't quite a lot from reading it.

It’s true that a sportsman could get by with a $500 system since his primary mission would be spotting fallen cans of Coors Light from a tree stand. However, shooters and survivalists have different needs. They require ruggedness, clarity, and waterproofcicity. I made up that last word, but you get the picture. In an extreme situation, having NVGs can be a huge force multiplier. You can have all the guns and ammo in the world, but you can only carry a little at a time. When the power grid is down, the ability to see at night is unparalleled. Well, situational awareness and training helps, but we’re not selling that today!

They are doing a group buy of NVG and the prices look very good. I have always wanted a decent NVG but there is always a firearm I want more

UPDATE: OnPoint looks to be pulling the plug on their group buy.

The last gun Garand worked on before retirement was the T-31 Bullpup. From the Springfield Armory website ...

U.S. RIFLE GARAND T31 "BULLPUP" .30 (T65E1) SN# 2 Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. - Limited prototype experimental select-fire weapon shoulder weapon; never went into production. Lightweight, selective full and semiautomatic rifle with an in-line stock in an attempt to reduce recoil. Cyclic rate of fire 600 rpm. Weapon weighs approximately 8.7 lbs. without accessories. Handguard cooled by circulating fresh air. German FG42 rear sight. Rubber stock and handguard. This was the last model worked on by John Garand.

What is especially interesting about this gun is the recoil system. The tube that surrounds the barrel is not a handguard but gas tube (I use the term lightly). A small around of gas deflected by the muzzle brake would enter the tube causing a shockwave to ripple down the tube towards the receiver end where it would actuate a piston. The system did not work very well because the tube would accumulate 3 grains of dirt for every shot fired!

Garand retired before the second version of the rifle was complete and so the project was terminated. The legacy of this rifle can be seen in the magazine design which was adopted for the M14 rifle.

[ Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for emailing me the the info. ]

Posted because everybody love the MP7. My first impression was that it is much bigger in real life than in photos. While it is a sexy gun, the .17 cal (4.6x30mm) cartridge does not inspire me with confidence.