M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle
A couple of weeks ago at the NDIA Joint Armaments Conference Brigadier General Michael M. Brogan revealed that Marine Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) had been given the designation “M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle”.
At the end of last year it was announced that Heckler & Koch had won the IAR competition with their entry of a slightly modified H&K 416.
I visually inspected the H&K IAR which was on display at SHOT Show and the only difference I noticed between it and the standard H&K 416 was a slightly heavier barrel profile compared to the standard M4-style barrel with its grenade launcher cutouts. It has a bayonet lug attached to the barrel which is something I have not seen before in H&K 416 marketing material.
The Marine command touted this project as the development of a new class of weapon. I have gotten the impression that in reality they wanted a new carbine but did not want to deal with DoD and Congress politics to get it. The Army is already looking into developing a new carbine and the USMC would have been hard pressed to persuade the powers-that-be to give them funding for their own independent carbine project.
[ Many thanks to Nathaniel for sending me info on the M27. ]
I founded TFB in 2007 and over 10 years worked tirelessly, with the help of my team, to build it up into the largest gun blog online. I retired as Editor in Chief in 2017. During my decade at TFB I was fortunate to work with the most amazing talented writers and genuinely good people!
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Love them piston driven ARs whether it's an HK416/M27 or a PWS unit on another manufacturer, you can't beat the increase in reliability, cooler operation and easier maintenance that they afford. I've run a PWS unit on a heavier barreled 16" upper for a number of years and compared to my DI ARs the performance benefits heavily outweigh any detriment. Great accuracy, clean running and extended operation without the need to clean as often? Good on the USMC for getting our troops a better weapon to bring into battle!
As far as the Ares Defense Shrike - MCR not being considered in the IAR trials, it wasn't yet in production until 2012.
On 15 September 2011, HK announced to the world that the tentative $23.6 million IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity ) contract it had gotten back in December 2008 was finally going to be exercised for full rate “production, delivery and associated support of the Marine Corps’ Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR).”
**** After rigorous testing at Ft. Benning, Ares Defense has recently won a U.S. Government IDIQ contract to supply the U.S. Army with Shrike - MCR's to be used in the same role as the Marine Corps IAR rifle.****
The Italian military had also bought Ares-16 "sub carbine" side folders in mag feed only.