After a short discussion with Marcase and rereading the KITUP! article, it struck me that this weapon system has nullified the former king of Infantry combat...the Machine gun. USMC Gunners are definitely caught in the past. Unless the IAR is a backdoor attempt to field a replacement for the M-16A4 and M4 then we must dump it quick and join the US Army in procuring this weapon!
A modest proposal.
Dump the inept, still born, poorly conceived Infantry Automatic Rifle and go instead for a real Grenadier in the form of an XM-25 Gunner.
What has me on this kick?
Catching up on my reading and getting this blurb from KitUp!
The XM-25 has fired 55 rounds in nine firefights between Dec. 3 and January 12, when the formal Forward Operational Assessment ended. Officials say the weapon “disrupted” two insurgent attacks against an observation post, destroying one PKM machine gun position in one of those attacks. That is where the ”usually our engagements last for 15-20 minutes. With the XM-25 they’re over in a few minutes” line came from.Unless the Marine Corps is actually after a replacement for the M-16A4 then the IAR is not whats needed.
The XM-25 also “destroyed” four ambush sites during engagements on foot patrols or movements to contact. In one instance, the 25mm HE round exploded on a PKM gunner and he was either wounded and fled or scared and fled, but dropped his machine gun, which Soldiers later recovered.
The US Army in this instance has made a common sense decision when it comes to future small arms procurement.
It seems (in my opinion) that the Marines have been bitten with the precision fires bug. Nothing wrong with that as long as you remember that precision fires with area weapons is good too!