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so with all the offering for the new IAR for the marines why did they choose the HK?

i mean the one gun with a fucked up magwell that only takes GI mags basically, or super expensive magpul Emags, now they cant even use the new surefire mags, it just makes no sense.

i mean did it really outperform the other offerings that much?

Quoted:


All the usmc issues are "gi" mags.  Its on the individual Marine to buy pmags or emags etc...  

My personal opinion is that the mk48 would be much better in the saw category, but what do I know?

Quoted:


All the usmc issues are "gi" mags.  Its on the individual Marine to buy pmags or emags etc...  

My personal opinion is that the mk48 would be much better in the saw category, but what do I know?

Quoted:
The main issue is they wanted to replace the saw because its heavy and bulky, but they lost the supression it offered.

Now the iar was supposed to allow them to be more faster and more manuverable, but because the hk uses a stupid magwell incompatible with most us mags they now dont have the ability to run drum mags or surefires new 100 quad mag.

Imo removing the saw and adding the hk defeats its purpose cause theyll only be running 30 rnd mags so i dont see the point

Quoted:
so with all the offering for the new IAR for the marines why did they choose the HK?

i mean the one gun with a fucked up magwell that only takes GI mags basically, or super expensive magpul Emags, now they cant even use the new surefire mags, it just makes no sense.

i mean did it really outperform the other offerings that much?

Quoted:


It was down selected, vice being selected.

Quoted:
None of the weapons meet all the requirements, so the selected was the closest to the requirements.

a.The Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) will provide a maneuverable, high volume of fire weapon to the Infantry Fire Team in order to enable movement and suppression.  This system will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) in use by the automatic riflemen within the infantry battalions with a one-man operable, true automatic rifle.  The IAR is being developed to emphasize the characteristics of being lightweight and portable in order to maximize the dismounted maneuverability of the Marine Infantry.  The IAR will be employed throughout the same broad span of environments in which the Marine Infantryman operates.
b.By reducing the burden and increasing the mobility of the Infantry Fire Team without sacrificing firepower and flexibility, the IAR is directly linked to the Force Application Joint Functional Capability Concept and its attributes of lethality, agility, and tactical dominance.  
c.This capability directly supports accomplishment of the following tasks from the Expeditionary Warfare Capability List (ECL):
(1)ECL 2.F – Plan and Execute Movement and Maneuver.  The provision of a lightweight and maneuverable replacement for the M249 SAW at the Infantry Fire Team level will result in increased tactical agility throughout the GCE.  As a result of the excessive weight (21 pounds loaded) and length (41 inches), the current system used in this role causes an unnecessary burden to the individual Marine with a resultant delay to infantry maneuver units and a significant risk to the individual Marine in confined spaces.
(2)ECL 4.C – Employment Direct Fires.  The capability to achieve short term, high volume fires at the small unit level (Squad and below) will enable the attainment of fire superiority and suppression of the enemy using organic assets under the control of the tactical leader at the lowest level.  The current SAW provides a singularly high rate of fire (700-1,000 rpm cyclic rate) but requires the carriage of a spare barrel and employment of the SAW in two-man teams in order to achieve this rate.  Management of fires reinforced through continuous training can mitigate the risk of barrel overheating, however, the risk is always present that the user can fire his weapon to a point of destruction.
(3)ECL 2.E – Enhance the sustainment capability of the MAGTF commensurate with the GCE mission.  The replacement of the current SAW with a system possessing greater reliability and availability will serve to reduce the burden on maneuver and combat service support elements.    

2.Analysis Summary
a.The needs for any attributes of this capability are derived from the below analysis efforts:
Joint Service Small Arms Master Plan (JSSAMP), 2003.  The JSSAMP provides the description of the Services’ desire to evolve current small arms systems into the next generation of more capable and lighter weight systems.
US Army Infantry Center LMG JCIDS Capabilities Base Assessment (CBA), Version 1.2, November 2004.  Findings:  There is a need to replace the current M249 given the capability gaps that the current LMG displays.

Quoted:
Fanboys in procurement section and a lot of "private" job offers after date of seperation is my guess.

Quoted:
I believe the selection of the M27 is a back door attempt to replace the M16/M4 down the road.

Quoted:
I believe the selection of the M27 is a back door attempt to replace the M16/M4 down the road.