As posted over on The Firearm Blog, FN SCARs in 5.56 currently “owned” by USSOCOM will be soon “divested.” Why? Well, it really doesn’t do anything that the M4A1 doesn’t do, but more importantly, it doesn’t do anything that the MK17, its 7.62x51mm bigger brother, doesn’t do – and the MK17 can be converted to 5.56, as well as other calibers that may not exist in the pipeline yet. We already knew that the MK16 was on its way out, but this serves as official confirmation.
Conversion kits to 5.56 for the MK17 may seem puzzling to some in light of the MK16 rejection, but they make a lot of sense, really. One serialized item that can do the work of two simplifies logistics.
We knew that there was an improved carbine competition, and it shouldn’t come as any real surprise that, if adopted, it would replace the M4A1 in SOF use. What many manufacturers participating in the competition might wish to take note of is the part that says “caliber-tbd.” Speculation on my part, but could something like 300 Blackout have a chance as a primary caliber here? Or will we be back to the 6.5 vs 6.8 wars of the last decade?
Also of note in the pdf shown on The Firearm Blog is that SOCOM is getting rid of the MK11 and MK12. The MK11 is a Knight’s Armament SR-25 variant, and the MK12 is a heavily modified AR-15 variant. They are, however, keeping the M110, which is a different SR-25 variant. There’s also a mention of an M110 A1 Compact, which could be interesting. The SR-25 EM Carbine comes to mind.
The MK17 and MK20 variants of the SCAR Heavy will be replacing the MK11 and MK12 in the semi-auto precision rifle role, but there’s also mention of the current M24 SWS – and the highly modified M2010, and the MK13 bolt action .300 Win Mag – being replaced by an unnamed Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR). Everything I had heard about the MK17 SSR/MK20 until now had been that it was exceptional, so its replacement of the MK11 comes as no real surprise.
Andrew- 6.8 would be a great change. I’ve seen many experts point to it as an ideal compromise round. While 300 Blackout offers exceptional terminal performance up close, it doesn’t have the reach to become a general service round.
But, all this is academic. Reading between the lines in the solicitation it’s clear the Army isn’t all that interested in a caliber change for the IC program.
Yeah, I was thinking that some sort of 10-13″ barreled carbine-like near-PDW, along with “something else” like the Mk17 and its caliber change capability, would make for a well-rounded arms room.
I do hope that the next carbine is shorter, because even the M4 is a bit long when working out of some vehicles.
The SR-25 being replaced seems about right to me. According to the guys I know that use them, they say they are not the most reliable weapon around. As one of them said, Knight’s makes great prototypes, but they seem to fall short on the production models of some of their weapons.
That statement threw me off when I first heard it because I had always believed that Knight’s stuff was just flawless based on reputation. Now, I hear fairly regularly that users are not super impressed with the SR-25.
This is a good call on the part of SOCOM, but just like any government agency (I was a SOCOM operator for 20+ years), what a waste of money!