Army solicits industry for M4 replacement - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Army solicits industry for M4 replacement

Army weapons officials want to see what gun companies, big and small, have to offer as a possible replacement for the M4 carbine.

Officials with Project Manager for Soldier Weapons put out a recent solicitation to the small-arms industry, seeking “the state of the art in small arms technologies” for soldiers, according to documents.

The “request for information” is the first step toward a carbine competition the Army intends to open next year after Colt Defense LLC, the company that makes the M4, turns over the weapon’s technical data rights in June 2009.

“We want to make sure we know what’s out there” said Col. Douglas Tamilio, who runs PM Soldier Weapons. “The door is wide open for any type of system.”

If all goes as planned, the Army will release a request for proposals late next summer, formally inviting weapons makers to submit plans and prototype weapons for testing, said Maj. Tom Henthorn, small-arms branch chief for Soldier Requirements Division at Fort Benning, Ga.

The process could lead to a replacement for the M4, a weapon that has been the subject of increased scrutiny by lawmakers on Capitol Hill concerned about whether soldiers have the best available weapon.

the effort will also look at what gun makers can offer in the form of a subcompact weapon for drivers, pilots and others who operate in tight quarters.

The request for information, which was open between Aug. 22 and Sept. 16, called for companies to present “potential improvements in individual weapon performance” over the M4 in areas such as accuracy to 600 meters, reliability and durability in all environments, modularity and ballistic performance.

The Army is open to looking at other calibers besides 5.56mm as long as they don’t violate international standards that prohibit the use of expanding or hollow point ammunition, Tamilio said.

“We definitely don’t want to limit ourselves to 5.56mm,” he said.

It’s still unclear how many companies have responded, but Army weapons officials say all interested companies will be invited to an industry day sometime this fall.

“We are looking at late October” in the Washington, D.C., area to ensure the event is more accessible to gun companies, senior Pentagon officials and interested lawmakers, Tamilio said.

This is all being done in anticipation of new small-arms requirements Infantry Center officials are drafting at Fort Benning, Ga.

The goal is to have a new carbine requirements document in the Pentagon for review by late December, said Col. Robert Radcliffe, director of Soldier Requirements Division, formerly known as the Directorate of Combat Developments.

Benning officials remain tight-lipped about the details of the carbine document.

“We probably won’t be very open about this through the whole process,” said Radcliffe, adding that he wants to avoid a “big circus.”

Weapons officials did say that “extreme environment reliability” will play a key role in the requirement, Henthorn said.

One of the most recent questions surrounding the M4 came in late November, when the weapon finished last in an Army reliability test against other carbines. The M4 suffered more stoppages than the combined number of jams by the other three competitors: the Heckler & Koch XM8; FNH USA’s Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle, or SCAR; and the H&K 416.

Army officials have downplayed the results of that reliability test, saying that the M4 continues to receive a 92 percent approval rating from soldiers in combat.

Once the carbine requirement is complete, officials intend to focus on a new requirement for the subcompact weapon, smaller than the carbine but with more firepower than the M9 pistol and an effective range of about 200 meters, Benning officials said.

Related reading:

Survey: Soldiers satisfied with M4

Multimedia:

Comparing carbines — H&K 416 and the M4