I'd put money on the 5.56 still being the default cartridge for the average troops well into 2030 and beyond.
yeah...never gonna be replace...wonder bullets...best ev'ah since sliced bread...blah blah blah.
I'd put money on the 5.56 still being the default cartridge for the average troops well into 2030 and beyond.
yeah...never gonna be replace
You have missed the point, the Gov't Requisition and purchasing process is not nimble. It'll take a decade for them to get their ducks in a row.
The shear logistics of procurement and distribution of a new rifle and cartridge for the general troops will be a mammoth undertaking.
7.62/.308 ... adopt, and don't look back.
This article says the Army plans on starting the replacement of M249s and M4s in 2023: link
and awarded on 25 June 2018 six fixed amount, prototype OTAs to the following:
The period of performance for each prototype OTA is estimated to be 27 months. B
Following successful completion of this OTA, the Government intends to award a follow-on production contract.
The service's goal is to select a final design for both weapons from a single provider in the first quarter of 2022 and begin replacing M4s and M249s in an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) in the first quarter of 2023, said Hodne, director of the Army's Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team.
From the article linked in post 85
Not about the 5.56 wonder bullet, it’s about doing something better than everything else used in history.
And at this point, there’s not even a gun yet.
Ah, on cartridge selection, the military screwed the pooch a long time ago, back when McArthur vetoed the .276 Pedersen cartridge.
The Pedersen cartridge would've given the troops a lighter, easier-to-shoot M1 Garand, fed off a 10-rd clip. Not to mention, the .276 was demonstrably more accurate than the 30-06 and equalled it in penetration out to 300-/400-yds.
A slight improvement won't do it