Matthew Cox over at Military.com has a great article identifying the companies that have been down selected for the US Army Individual Carbine program. He says Colt Defense LLC, Heckler & Koch, Remington Arms Company and Adcor Defense Inc have made the cut to compete in Phase II.
Tags: Adcor Defense, Colt Defense LLC, Heckler & Koch, Military.com, Remington Military Products
Is there any info on what weapons these companies submitted?
I’m just going to speculate, but I imagine Colt is fielding a modified/improved M4 variant. I believe H&K is using the HK416. I’m not going to guess at the other two companies.
ADCOR offered their BEAR: http://www.adcorindustries.com/wordpress/index.php/products/bear/
LWRC didn’t make the cut? 🙁
Remington: ACR
Colt: Advanced Piston Carbine… correct?
So, H&K and the US Army were not interested in further improving the XM8, or is it that system a totally dead issue?
Unless these weapons are shooting something other than 5.56, what’s the critical advantage of them over either a current (or “improved”) M4, or the XM8 (as Ken just mentioned)?
Didn’t the Army already go down this path with the XM8 program? And didn’t they kill the XM8 becuase they decided they didn’t need an ergonomically improved, piston-driven 5.56mm platform?
I’m confused…
Let me get this straight, the POS Adcor Bear got picked but not the LWRC M6IC you gotta be kidding me, what a joke, they should just give every soldier 3 grand and tell them to pick what you want lol that would be awesome
I own an AR-15 with an ADCOR upper. An EXCELLENT system, very reilable. I plan on a registered FA lower for it… Maybe the LWRC had a malfunction in the 6000 round test—ADCOR didn’t, not one..LWRC is heavier and very pricey..
The XM8 did not go down this road. That was never a program of record and it wasted millions of taxpayers’ dollars for a Generals pet program (and one of the reasons the 416 was never entered into the SCAR program). The XM8 was not ergonomically anything; most end user reports (from actual testing not internet rumor) was the exact opposite.
Technically, and I know this pains the hell out of the gun industry, but technically, the XM8 was part of a program of record; the XM29 OICW. The Army could have legally fielded the weapon as a spiral off of the OICW just like they are with the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System. It’s just a G36 in a different skin. I’ve fired it. Overall, ergonomically it was a dud. The pistol grip sucked in particular but it was very controllable and the optics package was great.