No More M4 — USMC Adopts H&K M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle
Photo by USMC, public domain.
The U.S. Marine Corps will be adopting a new rifle to replace the M4 select-fire carbine. Designated the M27 IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle), the new rifle is based on Heckler & Koch’s HK416, which looks like an AR, but runs with an internal gas piston system. The HK416 has been used by the German Army and some USA Special Operations units. This change-over has been in the works for some time, but the “protest period” has concluded, so now it is official.
The adoption of the M27 was announced at SHOT Show 2018. GunsAmerica reports: “H&K has officially received the contract for the USMC to replace the M4 carbines. The H&K model selected is the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, a derivative of the famous H&K 416″. The U.S. Marine Corps initially planned to purchase 6,500 M27s to replace a portion of the M249 light machine guns employed by automatic riflemen within Infantry and Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions. In December 2017, the Marine Corps revealed a decision to equip every Marine in an infantry squad with the M27, so this is a major change. (Source: Wikipedia.com.)
According to Wikipedia: “The M27 is a lightweight, magazine-fed 5.56mm, select-fire weapon based on the Heckler & Koch HK416. It features a gas-operated, short-stroke piston action with a rotating bolt and a free-floating barrel. The handguard has four MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rails for use with accessories and optics. The simpler gas-piston rifle system reduces the amount of time it takes to resolve malfunctions on the IAR compared with the M249 light machine gun.”
CLICK HERE for full-screen M27 Photo by Heckler & Koch.
As deployed, early versions of the IAR have done well in combat: “The IAR was initially fielded in December 2010. 1st Battalion 3rd Marines were deployed to Afghanistan in April 2011 with 84 IARs. Former SAW gunners initially did not like the M27, but appreciated it as time went on. It weighed 9 lb. loaded, compared to 22 lb. for an M249 — a significant difference when on 5-hour long missions. It also blended in with standard M16-style service rifles, making it difficult for enemy forces to identify the machine gunner. Marines issued with the M27 [report] it is friendlier to troops [than the M249] due to its cleaner, lightweight system having fewer moving parts and jams. IAR gunners consider the rifle-grade accuracy to be a huge improvement over the SAW, despite the loss of sustained firing.” (Source: Wikipedia.com.)
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Tags: Germany, Hechler Koch, HK, HK 416, IAR, Infantry Automatic Rifle, M249, M27, m4 Carbine, USMC
But still in 223…. How many more wars do we need to fight with a substandard calibre?
Thought I’d check out the Daily bulletin article about the M27 replacing the M249 and found this 2011 comment extremely insightful:
Conspiracy Theorist says:
October 15, 2011 at 3:11 am
I wonder if something else might be going on here? In WW2 the germans referred to the Sturmgehwer Stg44 as a machine pistol during its early development to keep hitler out of the loop. Only when glowing battlefield reports reached hitler did the weapon get his blessing.
Perhaps the marine corps would really like to replace the M4 with something more reliable, but are blocked by some influential politicians with financial interest in the M4.
Makes sense to then introduce the weapon as a replacement for the M249, and then when glowing battlefield reports come back, push to have the weapon adopted universally.
Does this make the M27 (as issued) legal for Service Rifle competition?
Completely agree with Richard . Why do we keep sending our outstanding military into battle with a high-powered B.B.gun . When it absolutely , positively has to be KILLED ,give them a .cal weapon that will do the job , the first time .
I’ve not heard much of anything from actual military or scientific sources backing up the claim frequently made on the internet that the “high-powered B.B.gun” lacks the power to kill effectively in the field.
I would rather carry a can of 223 than a can of any of the 30 cals any day (30-06, 308, or 7.62×39 in order of weight). And if I’m out there, I’d rather carry more ammo to know I won’t run out vs having big, heavy ammo in a smaller quantity. There are some pretty interesting stats about number of rounds fired in an engagement vs number of kills going back to WW2. The short story is that thousands of rounds are fired for each kill and it hasn’t improved over the decades. With a kill rate like that, why would you pay monetarily as a government, and weight-wise as a grunt to carry less 30-06 for your M1 and run out sooner?
Love how the wannabes complain about the 5.56.
And for what it’s worth for you arm chair Generals go to Camp Perry and see how many .30 cal are shot in the President’s 100.
The whole point of replacing the old BAR (1918) was because it had no quick change barrel. Unless this barrel magically cools down faster than other metal barrels I’m sure the marines will find out the hard way it’s not cut out for the job. Adding a beta mag to my AR does not make it squad automatic weapon.
Of course, if you criticise the 223 for being inadequate (mostly because it is), the immediate response is to say 30 cal.
Since all the research since the end of the Boer War has been in the 6.5 – 7mm range, it is worth reminding readers of the ongoing efforts to field a 6.5mm cartridge as the standard military round. See https://www.military.com/kitup/2017/10/lethality.html for example.
Just remember the US crushed the 280 British/7 x 43mm in the early 50s in favour of the 7.62 then ditched that in favour of the 5.56.
I read Defense News Early Bird Briefs every day and have not seen anything mentioned about replacing the M249 with an H&K. Not saying this is not fact.
On something like this change, Military Times, Marine Corps Times or some other military publications would have let this slip out. This announcement has caught me off guard.
EDITOR: This has actually been in the news for quite some time. Here is August 2017 report in MARINE TIMES: “Marines are on track to replace nearly all M4s in every infantry squad with 11,000 M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles from Heckler & Koch. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said earlier this year that he wants the rifle in the hands of every “0311” rifleman in the Corps. Marines began fielding 4,000 M27 IARs in 2010 to replace the M249 squad automatic weapons, but that later shifted to also replace the M4.”
In polite response to those who chose to be critical of my opinion regarding the 5.56 / M-16/ M-4 : It is based on 26 months in Vietnam , Republic of . The happiest day of my two + tours was being transferred into a Unit where I could carry the weapon I chose . If you don’t understand the in-effectiveness of the 5.56 in heavy jungle foliage , please be courteous enough to consider why one would prefer a .30cal , rather than criticize un-justly . My preferred weapon “In-country” was a SKS . It had a longer barrel than a AK , making it more accurate to a longer range , and I had .30cal Hit & Kill power in average combat range . 12-20 meters . The weapon performed better in the conditions of the Highlands , than a 5.56 would . And the ammo was lighter than .308 . Lot better choices in quality available fire-arms today for Airborne “grunts” / Rangers than fifty years ago .
And if memory serves my tired old a&& , wasn’t most of the rest of the planet using AK’s / SKS’s , and Mosin-Nagant’s while we were going to the 5.56 . And the European’s and African nations were adopting the FLN and dirivites in .30cal . Always thought the 6.5’s & 7mm were over-looked . Remember children ; Mr. Stoner designed that weapon in .308 …Not 5.56 . The beaura-crats in the “Swamp” forced that change to be made . If you’ve ever spent any time with a LR-308 , you’d be askin why they changed it . And for the record , my field base-load was a average 60-65 pounds , plus a PRC-25 ?
Personally, I am not a big fan of the LR-308, AR10 etc. The are big, heavy, kick hard, lower capacity and the controls are all heavier to operate. Pigs!
IF there’s a problem with the .223 it’s with the bullet itself.. But that probably won’t be changed.
Thank you GeneD. Echoes of our experience.
Pat B. They have changed the 223 bullet multiple times since 1975. It still is sub-optimal.
Fred. Go and look at the 280 British and compare/contrast with your statement.
When I was in the US Army I started out with the M1 Garand and then the M14. I have owned and have substantial experience with a number of military rifles including the M1, M14, FAL, CETME and G3 copy, AK, AR15 (in 5.56, 6.5 Grendel, and 6.8 SPC).
While I loved the M1 and M14 and not the delayed roller CETME and G3, my favorite is clearly the AR. The caliber needs to be the 6.5 Grendel and the barrel length needs to be 18 inch. The 6.8 is better than the 5.56, but not as good as the Grendel.