Individual Carbine: Difference between revisions

The Individual Carbine is a carbine that is the planned successor to the M4 carbine in the United States Army.

The United States Army intends to conduct an open competition for a successor to the M4. This competition is for the Army only—the United States Marine Corps and other branches are staying with current weapons in service. The proposal was passed before the Joint Requirements Oversight Council in August 2010, and the Army will solicit submissions from the small arms industry by the end of that year.^[1] The competition will be open to all manufacturers and is intended to provide an evaluation of the full range of weapons available. Presolicitation notice W15QKN-11-R-F003 was posted January 31, 2011.^[2]

Complete results of the competition and selection of a new carbine are not expected before FY 2013, and it is anticipated that it would then take another three to four years to fully field the new weapons.

The Individual Carbine will provide accurate and reliable firepower. It must be capable of semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Integrated rails will accept MIL-STD-1913 (colloquially "Picatinny") rail-mounted accessories. It must be fully ambidextrous.^[3] While the caliber for any new weapon is open for the competition, any contributions not of 5.56×45mm NATO and/or 7.62×51mm NATO will have the burden of test ammunition and extra costs placed on the competitor.

Weapons submitted include the XCR by Robinson Armament Co., an off-the-shelf or derivative of the M6A4 by LWRC, the ACR by Remington, the SR-16 by Knight's Armament Company, the FN SCAR by FN Herstal, the CM901 by Colt's Manufacturing Company, and the HK416 by Heckler & Koch. A draft request for proposal (RfP) will be issued in late 2010 followed by an industry day. The finalized RfP will issued in second quarter FY 2011 to which industry will have a month to respond. A 12–18 month testing phase will commence and over 1 million rounds will be fired. Testers will look at the consistency in accuracy of the carbines as they age. Costs will also be considered. The Office of the Secretary of Defense will monitor tests and the evaluation and there will be congressional oversight to ensure the competition is full and open. US$30 million will be spent on testing. The winner of the competition must be a "measurable improvement" over the M4 carbine to replace it; otherwise, the program will instead convert all M4 carbines to the enhanced version. The winner of the competition will sell their rights to their weapon to the military and choose two other competing suppliers to help manufacture it.^[4]

As for fielding a possible winner, the Army has over 1.1 million armed personnel, approximately half are front-line combat brigades. If a new carbine is selected, the Army would see 500,000 purchased for infantry brigade combat teams (IBCT), and the existing and improved M4s given to support troops to replace their M16s. If the improved M4 turns out to be the winner and the new carbine program is scrapped, then the IBCTs will likely be fitted with the improved M4s, and the existing M4s would again be given to support troops to replace their M16s.^[5] On November 17, 2011 the US Marine Corps announced they will not participate or adopt any new weapon which may or may not come out the the competition. The USMC said they will continue to use standard M4s and M16A4s. They did mention they are considering upgrading the M16A4. ^[6]

As of 2012, the contenders are the FNAC, the HK416, the Remington ACR, the Adcor Defense BEAR Elite, and the Beretta ARX-160.^[7]

The first round of tests will be carried out from January to May. Rifles chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO will participate in a "familiarization shoot" at ranges of 25 and 300 yards firing the M855A1 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. Rifle contenders will also be allowed to participate in the "compatibility check" which consists of the firing of the M320 grenade launcher and M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System underbarrel attachment systems.^[8]

• Special Purpose Individual Weapon—United States
• XM8 rifle—United States
• Advanced Combat Rifle—United States
• Objective Individual Combat Weapon program—United States
• Advanced Individual Combat Weapon Program—Australia
• Project Abakan—Russia
• Modular Handgun System—United States