US Special Forces adopt Belgium Assault Rifle

[Lordinajamjar]

Unconventional Belgian rifle becomes favorite of US special operations in Afghanistan.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08...s-afghanistan/

http://www.fnherstal.com/index.php?id=495


For Sale in US Semi Automatic Version $2,493.06
http://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com/...h-p-23545.html

[spaceghetti]

This is old news.

US SOCOM have been using it for years.

And it's not really that unconventional at all.

[Truck Driver]

I see the old "weight" versus "stopping power" debate has resurfaced here....

"An Army study found that the M-4s 5.56mm bullets don't retain enough velocity beyond 1,000 feet (300 meters) to kill an adversary. NATO commanders say U.S. firepower cannot always respond adequately to Taliban sharpshooters firing from 2,000 to 2,500 feet (600-800 meters)..."

Martin Fackler, a U.S. ballistics expert, said the SCAR-H round enjoys a clear advantage at long distances because the lighter 5.56mm bullets slow down significantly after about 400 meters (yards), sharply reducing their ability to inflict serious damage to the target.

"(In contrast) at 1,000 yards the 7.62 bullet is still traveling at over the speed of sound," Fackler said

[Aidan]

And it's not really that unconventional at all

It's plenty unconventional if the worlds best funded military has been using the same family of ARs for 40 years. It goes beyond a habitual thing - generations of US soldiers have used the 'AR platform' in one shape or other, and while they've complained about it for the start, it's become a cultural artifact at this stage.

So much so, in fact, that the SCAR-L has effectively been canned for 'cost reasons', with remaining funds being expended on the SCAR-H. Apparently the SCAR-L didn't offer sufficiently significant improvements over the M4A1 to justify the cost involved, and so SOCOM have focused their attention on the H model. There's been no word yet as to whats going to happen to the several thousand SCAR-L that are in service already, not least with Naval SF.

FN are (wait for it) working on a 5.56mm version of the SCAR-H (using the receiver from the H to mate with 5.56 mm barrel), meaning that the same rifle can be used to fire both rounds (as opposed to just having a very high degree of interchangable parts).

And then the USMC have gone with a version of the HK417 for their LMG/SAW supplement/replacement (call it what it is, it's a BAR replacement lads), and other elements of SOCOM are using the HK416. Simple really.