You first read that something was afoot right here at SSD last year when our friend Sal Palma mentioned that operations in Afghanistan were breathing new life into the Army’s reliance on the M24 Sniper Weapons System. The only shortcoming was caliber. Taking the lead from the Marine Corps’ success with the .300 winmag cartridge, the Army set about to retrofit a small fleet of rifles. Now known as the M24E1, a contract for up to $28.2 Million was awarded on September 20th to Remington to rebuild 3600 M24s currently in service to the new standard.
According to information provided by Remington, the weapons will receive:
New stock (Remington Arms Chassis System)
Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20x50mm Extended Range/Tactical (ER/T) M5 Locking Adjustment rifle scope
Quick detach AAC muzzlebrake and suppressor (Remington acquired AAC last year)
Five round detachable magazine
Corrosion resistant finish
Of special note is the stock which is called the Remington Arms Chassis System (RACS). Essentially a variant of the chassis system developed in 2008 for the Modular Sniper Rifle by a contracted industrial design house, the goals were to lower weight through modular 1913 rail segments, increase accuracy though a free floated barrel design, and maximize adjustability through length of pull and comb. The skeletonized fore end is finding its way on to everything from the Modular Sniper Rifle to the militarized variant of the Adaptive Combat Rifle, to developmental M4-style carbines with monolithic uppers and is becoming almost a trademark of the recent resurgence of Remington’s Military Products Division.