The Army is testing rifles that fire as powerfully as a tank – IOTW Report

The Army is testing rifles that fire as powerfully as a tank

AMN: By 2020, the Army plans to start using new 6.8mm rifles that are said to be “better than any weapon on earth today, by far.”

Army Chief of Staff. Gen. Mark Milley said the new assault rifle “will tear through any body armor with the pressure of a battle tank, strike from unprecedented ranges, and withstand the rigors of weather, terrain and soldier use,” Fox News reported.

The Army claims that the 6.8mm rifle will be a huge upgrade to the outdated M16 and M4 weapons in terms of capabilities.  MORE

35 Comments on The Army is testing rifles that fire as powerfully as a tank

  1. 6.8 SPC has been around for some time. However, I do not believe the pressure is anywhere near 160,000 PSI. The article mentions KSI which is kilopounds? If a kilo is 2.2 pounds I’m assuming it is 2.2 PSI greater than typical PSI case rating?

    5
  2. Yeah, okay, I figured it out after finding a calculator. 60KSI is equal to 60 000.06 pounds per sq. inch (psi) which is about on par with current 6.8 SPC at a maximum rating of 58,700 psi.

    Where they’ll get another 20,000 psi remains to be seen, I guess.

    10
  3. @old_oaks – one KSI = 1,000 PSI
    The “kilo” prefix doesn’t have anything to do with kilograms. The new rifle will reportedly have chamber pressure between 60,000 PSI and 80,000 PSI.

    @Claudia – Of COURSE you can’t have one, silly! (-:
    What, you think the 2nd Amendment actually means what it says?!?

    13
  4. Hope the barrel never gets clogged during automatic fire. That would be some serious blow back. (understatement of the day) The ammo is apt to be pricey. (un-attainable) They will need to keep the M4 for CQB, close quarter battle. I wish there was a new gizmo that could bring peace to the earth, instead of more destruction.

    5
  5. 6.8SPC II in 110gr. Barnes TSX ~2600 fps is excellent at killing plains game, big ungulates inside 100 yards. But they had better push it faster and give the bullet a higher B.C. if the really want to dominate past 300 meters. Just isn’t as stable as regular GM308M at 500 and beyond.

    2
  6. @Bad_Brad December 15, 2018 at 11:15 am

    > Oh and high chamber pressure is not a good thing and has never killed anyone with the occasional exception of the guy holding the gun.

    Wacky, indeed. The shiny new feature is the bullet, supposedly, will have enough kinetic energy to kill a target, even without penetration. (Think “stopping a train” when you’re not Clark Kent.) Show of hands “Who wants to be in sight of the guy holding that thing?”

    1
  7. @iwitness02 December 15, 2018 at 10:57 am

    > I wish there was a new gizmo that could bring peace to the earth, instead of more destruction.

    You want an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

    1
  8. Who we gonna’ shoot with it? More flip flop wearing ragheads? Probably. Russian infantry? Nope. Chinese infantry? Nope.

    Big wars are gone. Buh Bye. They don’t fit with the bankers projections of how to steer military procurement and acquisition. Armageddon level conflict stands too high a risk for the banking houses themselves.

    But low level insurgencies by goatfuckers, cross border nut shaking by more sophisticated militaries, production of ever more sophisticated stealth tech (that will never be necessary in any real sense) are just the ticket to milk billions in defense spending that the banking houses sit in the middle of.

    Armed conflict is the most lucrative segment of our financial sector. Military procurement is the driving force that it hinges upon.

    7
  9. @Lowell December 15, 2018 at 12:11 pm

    > Big wars are gone. Buh Bye. They don’t fit with the bankers projections of how to steer military procurement and acquisition.

    You know where this would fit? Scientific research vessels. To keep away pirates. In rubber boats. It’d be handy on the bow of the GSF Explorer.

    2
  10. @Boehnerdict Ryan,

    I’m not making that comment from a couch potato standpoint. I worked in the middle of R&D of DOD weapon systems test and the interface of the biggest defense contractors. If you’re not stone stupid, some few things about all that become blatantly obvious. And sickening.

    4
  11. @Left Coast Dan:

    I have to assume from the comment you are not a recreational shooter. 6.8 ammo ain’t new. It ain’t all that and a bag of chips. It ain’t stronger than a tank round. Poor shot placement on a human target with a 6.8 round is not a bit more effective than the current issue 5.56 round.

    Both of which rely on blood loss to kill the opponent, if you didn’t shoot them in the brain. Which if you did, a .22 rimfire is equally effective.

    But step it up a bit. A .50 cal Browning machine gun with a shoulder hit will sever the arm on that side and toss it meters away. Mass times velocity squared wins every phucking day.

    But the increased lethality of 6.8mm vs: 5.56mm resides in multi-disciplined studies that do not involve shooting Hadji at short range when he’s trying to cut you up with a BFK (Big Fuckin’ Knife).

    Other folks will try to educate you about things like “hydrostatic shock” and “knock down power”, and other terms that make it look like they are addressing killing humans from a scientific viewpoint.

    Human bodies aren’t scientific. Talk to a cop put 4 rounds in the upper chest of a bad guy that then proceeded to kill two other cops. Ask that Infantry guy that watched a Somalian missing a leg lunge up and slice the femoral out of the platoon medic.

    Ballistics are math. Humans are not.

    4
  12. It ain’t that. It’s the 6.8 SPC. Not like we just birthed the Renaissance of 600 yard plate shooters, these are the same 30 yard shoot at a sound infantry we’ve always had.

    I know that sounds harsh, but I’ve lived there.

    Yes, we do have individual units that far exceed that standard. But they are the exception. MOST are no better than the Viet Nam spray and pray small arms deployment scenario and you know it. It don’t matter what caliber they are touching off. If it’s not aimed fire it accomplishes nothing.

    2
  13. It has been known for years that the best combination of lethality (on deer sized game ~humans~); controllability, along with a high ballistic coefficient, and enough diameter for special cores, are the 6.5mm projectiles.

    Design the case and rifle TOGETHER, that will give the desired parameters; velocity, pressure, feeding, dimensions, working together with the platform.

    Quit trying to retrofit existing platforms. Start with a clean slate!

    (But, I’d say somewhere between the Grendel & Creedmoor is where)

    1
  14. @Manbearpig December 15, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    > Every time I see some new military arms breakthrough I envision it being used against me by my government.

    Don’t worry, good citizen. If you’re rich enough for it to be “your” government, your own private army will protect you.

  15. Hmmm … I think I read somewhere (though, of course, we old guys have notoriously poor memories) that Artillery causes more casualties than small arms fire.
    The nature of the fight’s the thing.
    Personally, I’d rather have a Microwave Ray-Gun or X-Ray Laser which could destroy Armor at a distance.

    izlamo delenda est …

    1

Comments are closed.