Report: USMC's M27 IAR to be Used as a SDM-R

M27 infantry automatic rifle — Lance Cpl. Corey A. Ridgway, a Marine with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fires the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle from the kneeling position at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 17, 2016. As the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed unit, the 31st MEU air-ground-logistics team provides a flexible force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations, from limited combat to humanitarian assistance operations, through the Indo-Asia Pacific region.

marines M27 rifle — Lance Cpl. Raja Patel, an automatic rifleman with Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, provides cover with an M27 infantry automatic rifle while participating in a mechanized raid as part of the Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise (MEUEX) at Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 16, 2017. MEUEX integrates aviation, ground and logistics elements to build the interoperability between the components of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

marines M27 IAR — Marines fire M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles during a squad-sized, live-fire range at Camp Lejeune, N.C., March 29, 2017. The Marines engaged targets from unknown distances with the IAR and M240B medium machine gun. The Marines are with 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

marines M27 infantry automatic rifle — Marines with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, sight-in with M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 16, 2016. As the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed unit, the 31st MEU air-ground-logistics team provides a flexible force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations, from limited combat to humanitarian assistance operations, through the Indo-Asia Pacific region.

M27 FASTCENT — U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. John M. Haines with Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Central Command fires his M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle while conducting squad attack exercise in the 5th Fleet area of operations, Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, 2016. Marines deployed with FASTCENT provide short-notice, limited support in order to protect vital Navy and national assets within the U.S. CENTCOM area of responsibility.

M27 rifle test — U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Luke J. Patterson, a rifleman with 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division (2d MARDIV), ceases firing an M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle for an ammunition, casualties, and equipment report during squad-level attack live fire training at Afghan Alley shooting range on U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds for Talon Exercise (TalonEx) 2-17, Yuma, A.Z., March 30, 2017. The purpose of TalonEx was for ground combat units to conduct integrated training in support of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) 2-17 hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1).

U.S. Marine M27 rifle — A U.S. Marine with 3rd Platoon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division (2d MARDIV), fires an M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle during squad-level attack live fire training at Afghan Alley shooting range on U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds for Talon Exercise (TalonEx) 2-17, Yuma, A.Z., March 30, 2017. The purpose of TalonEx was for ground combat units to conduct integrated training in support of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) 2-17 hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1).

USMC M27 IAR — Marines assigned to Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment take aim with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) during their Integrated Training Exercise at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. This is a training event within their predeployment training curriculum. The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory provided some different unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and unmanned ground systems (UGS) for the Marines to employ during their training cycle.

M27 infantry automatic rifle test — Lance Cpl. William Lopez fires his M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle at a simulated target at range 410A Marine Air-Ground Combat Center Twenty-nine Palms, Calif., Oct. 21, 2016. Marines with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division are preparing to support a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force for their upcoming deployment.

The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)’s 2017 Armament Systems Forum, which just wrapped yesterday in Fredericksburg, Va., contained a number of juicy tidbits regarding the weapons used by our armed forces. The first revelation was that the US Army had selected soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division to be the first to field the new Sig Sauer XM17 service pistol. Now we’re seeing that the NDIA forum also included a discussion on an expanded role for the USMC’s M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR).

RELATED STORY: US Army Selects First Troops to Field Sig Sauer P320 Pistol

According to Soldier Systems, the Corps wants to capitalize on the long range of the M27 — adopted in 2011 and based on the Heckler & Koch HK 416 5.56mm — by equipping an as-yet undetermined amount of M27s with 3-9x optics for use as a Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R) beginning in Fiscal Year 2018, with fielding expected to be completed by Fiscal Year 2019. Chris Woodbury, Deputy for the Maneuver Branch of the Marine Corps Capabilities Development Directorate, dropped that particular nugget of information.

The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory is also continuing to evaluate squads that are equipped solely with the M27, but as Soldier Systems notes, fielding the M27 to all Infantry seems more likely, as that’s been Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller’s priority in terms of modernization.

RELATED STORY: Don’t Call it a Comeback – Army Said to be Mulling the Return of the 7.62 Battle Rifle

The Corps is continuing to evaluate submissions received from industry manufacturers after putting out a Request for Information (RFI) for 11,000 additional IARs back in February. Kit Up! notes that, while the M27 is the current IAR, the RFI is competitive because of “contracting rules and practices.” Among the requirements is that the submission must accept and function with all Department of Defense 5.56mm ammo; weigh less than 12.5 pounds; measure less than 40 inches in length with the buttstock extended to a Length of Pull of 13.5 inches; and have a rate of fire of 36 rounds per minute for 16 minutes and 40 seconds without a barrel change or risk of cook-off.

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