It’s been a while since the US Marine Corps announced that they would be deploying the M27 IAR in a Designated Marksman Role, adapting it by mounting the Leupold TS-30A2 Mark 4 MR/T 2.5-8x36mm rather than an ACOG. The USMC have shared some photos of Marines from [Read More…]
Armor Express has been selected by the US Marine Corps to provide more than 65,000 Plate Carrier Generation III Soft Armor Inserts. Armor Express will work with KDH Defense Systems to manufacture the soft armour inserts and will also provide the USMC with data [Read More…]
The USMC recently posted some photos of the M45A1 CQBP in action during a training session aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp. Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit put some rounds through the M45A1, above we see Lt. Samantha Rosales, a logistics [Read More…]
The US Marine Corps have shared an interesting short video that gives us a look inside the Corps’ Precision Weapon Section, responsible for assembling, refitting and maintaining the Marines’ precision weapons such as sniper rifles and competition firearms. In [Read More…]
US Navy has published a solicitation for development of “Small Arms Long-Range Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) Munition”. The solicitation was published on the website of a US government program called SBIR (Small Business Innovation [Read More…]
Back in May, we reported that the US Marine Corps would, at last, be replacing its venerable M40A6 sniper rifles with the Mk 13 Precision Sniper Rifle. The Marine Corps has now confirmed that the Mk 13 Mod 7 will be fitted with the Nightforce ATACR Scope. The ATACR [Read More…]
In April, the US Marine Corps announced an ambitious procurement programme to purchase 15,000 M27 Individual Automatic Rifles from Heckler & Koch. The contract, worth $30 million, was to begin to be fulfilled with funds from fiscal year 2019. The Marine Corps has [Read More…]
Recent news from the Department of Defense has shown that the 2nd Marine Law Enforcement Battalion, based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina has been working with Marine Corps Systems Command in testing a new target system that the Marine Corps could possibly purchase [Read More…]
Back in March we reported that the USMC order just over 600 M320 grenade launchers. The Marine Corps has now confirmed that each squad will be equipped with three M320s – issued to specialised grenadiers who will be attached to the Marine Corps new three-man [Read More…]
It has been suggested that the US Marine Corps’ Weapons Training Battalion at the Quantico Marine Corps Base is currently evaluating accessories for the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle. The reality, however, is that the M27s, recently ordered by the Corps, will be [Read More…]
Everyone knows there is nothing worse than a tight pouch, especially if it could mean the difference between life and death. The Marine Corps has reportedly been struggling with this issue since the adoption of the Gen 3 PMAG. The USMC’s standard issue magazine [Read More…]
Back in April TFB reported that the USMC was finally moving to replace the venerable M40 Sniper Rifle. The Corps has confirmed this in a press release announcing the adoption of the Mk 13 Precision Sniper Rifle which will replace the M40A6 currently in service. The [Read More…]
The commander of the Marine Corps Systems Command has explained why the Corps is going to adopt the Army’s M17/M18 Modular Handgun System. Speaking at the recent Sea-Air-Space exposition, held at National Harbor, Maryland, Brigadier General Joseph Shrader, the [Read More…]
Marine Corps Systems Command have confirmed the signing of a five year, ‘firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract’ worth $30 million. In a USMC press release Corps officials confirmed that “the additional M27 IARs will partially replace [Read More…]
The US Marine Corps are working with the US Army to find a replacement for the 5.56x45mm ammunition currently available. The Army, has for some time been arguing that even the 5.56x45mm Enhanced Performance Round is insufficient to combat emerging threats. The Marine [Read More…]
At the 2018 Sea Air Space expo, April 9th – 11th 2018, the Marine Corps Systems Command showcased their latest version of the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer. The Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer III now has wireless connectivity for three more of the [Read More…]
In recent months the Corps has been increasingly open about its intentions to adopt the M27 as its standard issue rifle. Back in August 2017, the USMC released a sole source notice for the acquisition of as many as 50,000 M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles. It now seems the [Read More…]
After over 50 years of service, it looks like the Marine Corps is about to replace the venerable M40 Sniper Rifle. The USMC is set to purchase just over 350 new Mk 13 sniper rifles. The .308 Remington 700 bolt action hunting rifle entered Marine Corps service as the M40 [Read More…]
The US Marine Corps is interested in the Army’s Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS). Chambered in the longer ranged 7.62x51mm round, the CSASS has the edge over the Corps’ recently fielded M38 adaptation of the M27 IAR. While other outlets have [Read More…]
The US Marine Corps is set to replace its M9s with 35,000 Modular Handgun System pistols, budgeting over $6 million for the procurement. Since the US army’s adoption of the XM17/18 in January 2017, there has been much speculation around if and when the other [Read More…]
The Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Estimates Justification Book for the United States Marine Corps procurement gives us some insight into the Corps small arms aims for the next couple of years. The Marine Corps looks set to begin its transition to the M320 40mm under-barrel [Read More…]
Late last year we reported that the US Marine Corps had begun fielding the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle as the M38, a designated marksman rifle. The M38 is essentially a standard M27 mounting a variable power Leupold TS-30A2 Mark 4 MR/T scope instead of a standard ACOG. [Read More…]
We previously covered the Marine Corps M27 in last weeks episode and will be really getting into the weeds here in terms of some of the issues and benefits the weapon system afforded to Infantry Marines. Topics such as the choice of magazines for the automatic rifle, why it was so accurate and [Read More…]
Next up for the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is Federal’s T556TNB1 load, which is the civilian market name for the Mk.318 SOST projectile developed by US SOCOM as a “barrier blind” round for the M4 Carbine and Mk. 18 CQB upper [Read More…]
Next up for the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is Federal’s T556TNB1 load, which is the civilian market name for the Mk.318 SOST projectile developed by US SOCOM as a “barrier blind” round for the M4 Carbine and Mk. 18 CQB upper [Read More…]
The USMC M27 IAR first came on the scene in late 2010 when it was issued to five deploying units that would see if the new automatic rifle was to be as viable as claimed. This video will cover some of the issues with the weapon system and some of the debate surrounding it, getting […] [Read More…]
The USMC has begun fielding an unspecified number of M38 Designated Marksman Rifles. Converting existing M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle’s to the designated marksman role by adding a Leupold TS-30A2 Mark 4 MR/T 2.5-8x36mm variable power scope, replacing the standard [Read More…]
The United States Marine Corps has finally officially announced its adoption of the 5.56mm M855A1 EPR round, developed in the late 2000s by the US Army, marking an important step towards ammunition commonality between the two services. Until now, the USMC has officially [Read More…]
Marine Systems Command is currently testing and looking to put out a solicitation for a next-generation “Miles-like” system that will replace current training simulators that allow Infantry Marines to train more realistically by being able to engage each [Read More…]
There is a series of short videos made by the Marine’s. CW05 Gunner Wade covers topics pertinent to Marines. In this video he covers the simple decision to use semi auto fire versus full auto fire. They use an HKM27 for this demonstration. I was surprised to see [Read More…]