The U.S. Army has a pressing need to have a weapon that fires a round that can penetrate the latest body armour, worried that the 5.56mm round that is in use in the standard M4 rifle is underpowered. It is looking into the 7.62mm round which of course is used by the most likely opponents of the U.S. Military and its allies.

Matthew Cox of Kit-Up! of Military.com reports that Gen. Mark Milley admits that the M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round cannot penetrate body armour that is similar to the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert (ESAPI). Furthermore, the U.S. Army has developed a 7.62mm round that can penetrate body armour.

So does this mean that the U.S. Army will need to replace the M4 rifle as asked by Senator Angus King (Independent, Maine)? Gen. Milley responds that it may not necessarily be so as existing weapons can be made to chamber different calibers. For the M4 to be able to fire the 7.62mm round, experts say that it will need a new barrel, bolt carrier group, buffer system, and lower receiver. Also, Gen. Milley, also said that there are existing weapons in the market that can be easily modified to meet the U.S. Army’s requirements and that not every soldier will need a 7.62mm rifle.

In a hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee's Airland Subcommittee, in which Retired Lt. Gen. John Bednarek and retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales Jr. testified on the small weapons requirements of the U.S. Army, the latter mentioned the need for a rifle that can perform the role of a rifle as well as a light machine gun. The U.S. Marines already have adopted one in the form of the USMC M27 IAR that is made by Heckler & Koch, and are expanding the use of this weapon to more Marine units.

The 7.62mm round can be a standard round that can be used by NATO allies. But if the U.S. Army decides to just replace the M4, then which rifles should they look into? Airsofters would probably think that the FN SCAR-H is one possible candidate as it is in use by Special Operations Forces. But then who knows? There might be some rifle out there that the U.S. Army is eyeing that will not be as expensive as some existing rifles that fire the 7.62mm rifle apart from the Kalashnikovs.

All photos here by Master Sgt. Michel Sauret, U.S. Army.