FIRST LOOK: Textron's 6.5mm Cased Telescoped Carbine at [AUSA 2017]
At the 2017 Association of the US Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, Textron System displayed for the very first time their firing 6.5mm CT Carbine prototype. Previously, only non-firing mockups had been shown to the public, but after successful tests this summer the real thing was brought out to show at the conference, where TFB got its first look at the weapon.
In the meantime, the 6.5mm CT Carbine has gotten a little lighter, shrinking from 8.7 pounds unloaded to about 8.3 pounds, thanks to a weight reduction effort on the part of Textron’s engineers. Handling the rifle, it felt significantly lighter than it looked, although it should be noted that no optics or other major accessories were mounted to it. The entire upper receiver of the weapon was rapid prototyped from 3D printed sintered aluminum, but Textron representatives said the production weapon would use another production method, such as casting or forging for its receiver.
At the Textron booth was also a shooting demo for both the 6.5mm CT Carbine and the 5.56mm CT belt fed light machine gun, which TFB did not yet get a chance to try (tomorrow!). Interestingly, the Carbine mockup for the demo was based on an M4 or airsoft clone, hinting a little at the Carbine’s subtle AR-15 lineage.
Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
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Not a fan at all
It has a long way to go
This Cased telescoped cartridge should be subject to a study, like the Russians did when they came up with the 5.45x39 mm and the one they did when they got the unified 6mm cartridge.
Find the best specs/case and bullet design for the intended purpose, then release the cartridge to the industry and have them compete for a shooting platform.
What textron is doing now is pretty much whatever they want and I'm sure there are other companies that could come up with more efficient designs.