M-16 is not working in Iraq...

[SUBMAN1]

So soldiers have resorted to throwing ammo at the enemy as this lady is demonstrating!! hahahahahaha! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Stupid over-dramatic people. Any dumbass knows what she is holding has yet to be fired. That is even SS109 ammo - not green tipped.

-S

[JALU3]

Wow who ever wrote this news story knows nothing of how bullets work! I wonder what insurgent group feed this one to the western news media. And I bet the anti-victory crowd will just eat it up if they didn't know any better.

[The Avon Lady]

I saw this yesterday at Hot Air. Lots of added info since yesterday.

[Chock]

I love this comment on the picture from that link to Hot Air:

Of course, the photo is from Agence France Presse. The French can hardly be expected to know what happens to a bullet that has actually been fired.

:rotfl:

Chock

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Chock

I love this comment on the picture from that link to Hot Air:

:rotfl:

Chock

Man - I was drinking a cup of tea when I read that. Time to get out the paper towel!

-S

[TheBrauerHour]

:rotfl: I agree, that comment made my day!

[Heibges]

Originally Posted by Chock

I love this comment on the picture from that link to Hot Air:

:rotfl:

Chock

Never fired, only dropped once.

[SUBMAN1]

You know that old lady will fake a faint if this was video. Arabs are so over-dramatic, its pathetic. Children.

-S

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

So soldiers have resorted to throwing ammo at the enemy as this lady is demonstrating!!

Well what do you expect the M-16s were built by Mattel so now our soldiers can't touch them due to the Chinese lead paint! :p

[Bort]

That pic is pretty funny, but as to the title of the thread (and what I thought it was going to be about) the US does need a modern and reliable rifle to replace the M-16, preferably firing the new 6.8mm round.

[Yahoshua]

Originally Posted by Bort

That pic is pretty funny, but as to the title of the thread (and what I thought it was going to be about) the US does need a modern and reliable rifle to replace the M-16, preferably firing the new 6.8mm round.

The M-16 will do the job, but they need to replace the gas pulse system with a gas piston system. The latter is more dirt-tolerant and more reliable than the gas pulse system now in place. And I agree with changing the calibers from 5.56 to 6.8 SPC, though I doubt the army will do that as the U.S. was the nation that pushed hardest for the 5.56 to become the NATO standard cartridge.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

The M-16 will do the job, but they need to replace the gas pulse system with a gas piston system. The latter is more dirt-tolerant and more reliable than the gas pulse system now in place. And I agree with changing the calibers from 5.56 to 6.8 SPC, though I doubt the army will do that as the U.S. was the nation that pushed hardest for the 5.56 to become the NATO standard cartridge.

Its a joke - The 5.56 does fine. The fact that it fragments makes it particulary good considering its weight. Has high speed and long range as well. It explodes in the body with devastating effects at short range if fired from at least a 14.5"(No one understood why until about 1986), and at long range it will only wound (taking a medic and possibly one other person for a total of up to 3 off the battlefield to help the wounded, instead of only 1 person). It is the best round for the job in my opinion. If armor penetration is needed, an M955 (tungsten core) round exists and it will penetrate 12 mm of armor from a simple M-16. M855 will penetrate 6mm with its steel core.

6.8 would be nice, but then you run into the ammo carrying capability of the standard foot soldier again - bigger calibre means less ammo carried. I'm not sold on this round.

HK is pushing for the adoption of it's 4.5 mm, so maybe we haven't seen the end of calibre shrink yet. I'd think it would be a mistake to go to this round over the 5.56, but HK insists it has better armor penetration. Maybe so, but I doubt it fragments like the 5.56.

-S

PS. I agree on using a gas piston.

[Tchocky]

What about this modification?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HK416

[Yahoshua]

Some SF groups already use the 416 uppers as a rule of thumb, and I certainly don't blame them.

Subman, currently th army is using a 1:10 twist (this overstabilizes the round) so the fragmentation effect is only good when you engage targets under 100 meters. If the army went with a 1:12 twist as the M16 was designed for, then fragmentation distance could be sustained for a much longer distance, but that comes with the significant reduction of armor penetration.

So the pentagon decided to go with better armor penetration than fragmentaion on soft targets. However, I believe a reversal of combat strategy would be necessary as the enemies we're fighting have no regard for their lives or of the lives of those around them. The theory of taking our 3 men and clogging up the enemy's logistics with wounding tactics only works against organized and disciplined armies, but it doesn't work here. But hey, it's only my opinon (not that it makes much difference).