When the US Military's M-16A2 rifle is eventually replace what will it's replacement be?
by 
Pointeman1
ANSWERS: 11
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I think it's up to the M16-A4 by now. The Army is tending to carry the M4 carbine, which is handier in built-up areas. Uh... I just read an occasional article, but they say that there's no clear direction. There are better, more reliable rifles, but it's a big expense to change, especially in the middle of a war.
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the M4 rifle is now in service taking over the M16A2..now the H&K 416 and Barrett M468 will take over the M4...
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Well, the M-16A4 is currently used in the USMC and the U.S. Army has continued to pay too much for M-4s that do not have a long service life when compared to the money spent on longer lasting, more reliable modern designs. In Special Operations, the SCAR Mk16s have just now entered service with the Ranger Battalions and other Special Operations units, so I would suspect that the Military will eventually go with the SCAR Mk16 and Mk17 in their various versions. The SCAR rifle just has to be shown to be effective in the field and the Military has to drop its love affair with the M-16 family and all the bureaucracy associated with it. It is time to move on to a more modern and capable design.
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It seems that while there are better designs (in the opinion of some) the M 16 rifle will simply evolve and adapt to changing conditions and battlefield environments as it has over 40 odd years. We have seen many incarnations of the basic Stoner design over time for varied reasons, as well as many contenders attempting to replace it, but nothing has been adopted except for modifications to the existing design. I see this trend likely to continue for some time yet to come, simply because of magazine availability, parts commonality and training standards, weapon familiarity concerns and most importantly ammunition availability. Complete change is a difficult process and while we are engaged in active combat we might see a few new special needs tools on the battlefield, but overall nothing much will change.
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If current economic trends continue the replacement for the M-16 family will be the QBZ-95 or one of its successors. This is a bullpup configured weapon chambered for a 5.8 X 42mm cartridge. It has been described as having the accuracy of an M16A2 and the reliability of an AK-47. It is made in China. And since the Chinese will own us, due to the imbalance of trade and their holdings of our national debt, what choice will we have. The advantage of the non-Nato standard ammo is that once ammunition and private ownership of firearms is outlawed, even if a weapon is captured or stolen, no ammunition will be readily available for it from pre-ban stockpiles. It is undeniable that the 20th century was the American Century. If current trends continue, the 21ST century belongs to China.
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XM8 after the H and K design
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the Red Ryder b-b gun.
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I think they have narrowed it down to the FN SCAR-L and H, and the HK416. They started thinking about the XM8 again, but I don't see that happening.
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Not for a long long time will anything replace the M-16. It is one of the single best shoulder weapons ever to be placed in the hands of the military.
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The US army rangers have adopted the SCAR m16 and m17. Good guns. AAI's new LSAT is being considered too. A new replacement hasn't been found yet but i bet it'll be the SCAR.
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with the current vacillation between final requirements and end applications we will probably be stuck with an M-16 based varient until we can choose a "Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range"
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