#EPM

The US Army is seeking 12,600 Magpul PMag Gen M3 magazines, or equivalents, from commercial vendors, according to a recently updated listing on FedBizOpps, posted in early August. This announcement was updated soon after the news that Army TACOM had authorized the requisition of Gen M3 PMags with unit funds, by unit commanders

The US Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) has just authorized the purchase of Magpul PMag Gen M3 polymer magazines through requisition by unit commanders, marking a major step in the use of PMag magazines in Army service. Although a previous clarification in 2012 authorized the magazines for use, they could not be purchased using unit (that is to say, Army) funds. The full announcement is replicated below, courtesy of Soldier Systems Daily:

The US Air Force’s recent decision to adopt the Magpul PMag Gen M3 was based on Army testing conducted in 2015, according to a spokesperson for the Air Force. In a communication with Military.com writer Matthew Cox, Vicki Stein of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center said that the US Army’s  M855A1 Conformance Testing on Commercial Magazines report, published by Aberdeen Proving Grounds in January of 2015, was the basis for the USAF’s decision. “When pursuing any capability based requirement, and before conducting any tests, the Air Force will first work closely with our joint partners to see if they have conducted any testing. In this instance, we utilized the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center’s M855A1 Conformance Testing on Commercial Magazines to make our decision,” Stein told Cox.

The United States Air Force has become the second US military service to adopt the Magpul PMag as their standard rifle magazine. According to the document USAF AUTHORIZED SMALL ARMS and LIGHT WEAPONS (SA/LW) ACCESSORIES (as of 28 July 17) the Magpul PMag Gen M3 magazine will be replacing both the legacy grey body USGI magazines, as well as the new tan body/blue follower Enhanced Performance magazine in USAF service. The document can be viewed here, but the relevant segment is excerpted below:

Will the US Army adopt the Magpul Gen M3 PMag? Until recently, it seemed the answer was “no”. The Army had produced several magazine iterations replacing the legacy “black follower” design, culminating with the latest Enhance Performance Magazine (formerly High Performance Magazine), which they claimed reduced malfunctions by two-thirds. However, buried in the back of Lt. Col. Steven Power’s presentation released with the 2017 NDIA conference records last month, was a reference to a Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP) begun in February to procure and test polymer magazines with the possibility of procuring them for the Army proper. The overview of the program was confined to a single slide on Lt. Col. Power’s presentation:

Four US Senators sent a letter to US Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley on Friday, requesting to know why the US Army does not authorize polymer magazines “for use in training or combat”, given that the USMC recently picked the Magpul PMag Gen M3 as their combat magazine. The odd thing about this request is that the US Army does not, exactly, ban the use of PMags in training or combat. I’ll explain later in the post, but first, the Senators’ request:

An update from the USMC has been released today authorizing the purchase of Gen M3 PMags with unit funds for Marine Corps combat units. The update reads:

While soldiers are typically lauding the M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round, it has come at a cost of long-term durability and reliability of the M4A1. The M855A1 exposed steep tip loading is substantially different from its predecessor, the venerable M855 steel-core, which had been in-service for decades prior to the change-over. The high-pressure load to eek out velocity has been burning through barrels quickly and another issue reared its head from the steel tips gouging the upper receiver’s extended aluminum feed ramps over time.