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Corps to reveal SAW replacement in October

The Marine Corps plans to announce next month a heavily anticipated plan for the infantry automatic rifle, which is expected to replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in Marine fire teams.

“We’re close to having a decision,” said Maj. John Smith, the weapon’s project officer at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va. “I’m on schedule to have a decision on the program to move forward. Maybe within three weeks or so, there will be a lot more information.”

Testing is complete, Smith told Marine Corps Times on Wednesday, and plans are underway to make sure logistics, training and maintenance of the weapon are handled.

Late last year, the Corps chose three companies — Colt Defense, FN Herstal and Heckler & Koch — to compete for the IAR contract, saying the new weapon would allow Marines to maneuver under fire more quickly and improve accuracy.

But the plan has incited some debate. Critics don’t like the idea of giving up the SAW, which can carry a 200-round drum and unleash a massive volume of fire, in favor of the IAR, which is drastically lighter but uses 30-round magazines. The IAR finalists weigh between 8 and 11 pounds empty, whereas the SAW weighs about 16 pounds empty — 22 when loaded.

Smith acknowledged that Commandant Gen. James Conway has questioned how the IAR will fit into fire teams but said that concern was “answered in short order.” He declined to elaborate. SysCom anticipates the project staying on schedule, with initial fielding next year. Maj. David Nevers, a spokesman for Conway, said the commandant was unavailable for comment.

In April and May, the Corps held reliability testing for the IAR at Marine Corps Base Quantico, using two weapons from Colt and one each from FN Herstal and Heckler & Koch, Smith said. Over three weeks, 20,000 rounds were fired from three makes of each weapon. The Corps also held limited user evaluations for about three weeks in April in Hawthorne, Nev., with Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif. assessing each of the finalists.

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