Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Proposed amendments would speed up three Army small arms programs

Army Times: An Iowa senator and her committee colleagues have amended the annual defense spending bill to speed up three Army small arms programs — the acquisition of a new interim service rifle, a squad designated marksman rifle and armor-piercing ammunition.

Sen. Joni Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, added the amendment following hearings earlier this year from retired Army generals who testified that the M4 and 5.56 mm round could not penetrate newer generation body armor.

The Army is in the process of developing a new service rifle to replace the M4 and M16 family of rifles, along with an intermediate caliber that would fall between 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm.

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