Marine Corps May Issue All Riflemen IAR In The Near Future

first published on February 10, 2017 by Funker

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In a recent RFI (request for information) the United States Marine Corps is hinting that all riflemen may soon be issued the IAR.

After conducting an extensive study where an entire Marine Infantry Battalion was outfitted with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR), the Marine Corps has put in a request for information (RFI) to see if the industry could deliver 11,000 brand new rifles and the equipment to conduct maintenance on them.

In the RFI, which you can view in the italicized link above, MARCORSYSCOM, (Marine Corps Systems Command) made a formal request for interested vendors to provide a timeline for production and on the new rifles, and all of the needed equipment that would come with the rifles. Those items included, Sling, Bipod, Blank Firing Adapter (BFA), Front Sight, Rail Cover Kit, Rear Sight, and Training Manuals.

The M27 IAR was introduced to the Infantry Battalions in 2010 as a viable replacement for the Squad Automatic Weapon. The weapon’s purpose was to outfit the smallest unit in the Corps, a Marine Fire Team, with a more light weight automatic rifle. In practice however, the weapon proved to be much more versatile, proving itself not only as a solid squad automatic rifle, but also as a reliable option for a squad designated marksman’s rifle as well.

This could be the reason we are seeing the Marine Corps make this shift towards the IAR as a new standard for the infantry service rifle.