POTD: Tropic Lightning Puts the M7, M250 & M157 To Test
I’ve never been to Hawaii, but it looks like paradise. I’m sure it isn't always. Heat, humidity, torrential rainfall, salt air, dense vegetation, the environment around Schofield Barracks is about as demanding as it gets for weapons and optics, which makes the 25th Infantry Division's backyard exactly the right place to find out whether the Army's next-generation small arms family can hack the jungle.
According to CPE Ground, the M7 rifle, M250 automatic rifle, and M157 fire control optic are currently undergoing tropical environmental testing at Schofield. The 25th - the "Tropic Lightning" division - has been closely tied to the NGSW fielding effort for some time. 25th Infantry Division soldiers have been training on the M7 at Schofield Barracks as part of the ongoing fielding, with the Army Marksmanship Unit supporting the transition. This latest round of testing is a different exercise entirely: not familiarization, but deliberate environmental verification, stress-testing the system against the conditions it may actually be called upon to operate in.
The M157 fire control system is arguably as critical to the NGSW concept as the rifle itself. Electronics and optics have their own failure modes in tropical environments, and no amount of range performance means anything if the glass fogs, the electronics corrode, or the zero shifts after a week in the jungle. Just to repeat, the Army is fielding the M7 and M250 to replace the M4 and M249, respectively, a shift designed to provide increased lethality, longer range, and advanced optics at the squad level. Whether it all holds up in the rain is what Schofield is there to answer.
If you haven’t seen it, check out the XM8 Carbine as well.
(Source: CPE Ground / LinkedIn)
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
More by Eric B
Comments
Join the conversation
the amount of ammo you can carry is vital. Just ask the guys carrying the SCAR-17. Videos on YouTube about them realizing the amount you could carry and function wasn’t enough and they went back to the M4. World War II was an example of having versatile weapons but logistics was a nightmare. I believe and understand bullets that can penetrate armor and shoot out to 1000 yards plus is great. But that’s not where most fighting occurs and that’s where the M4 is better than any other weapon in the world. Maybe that’s why the Marines wants to keep it and every other NATO country is going to it. I also believe that the squad Weapons and the crew serve Weapons definitely needs to be able to shoot out further because that’s what they were designed for and it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of designated marksman( with M-7s). It confuses me that every time NATO comes together on a weapon and ammo, the U.S. always goes to something different. One of the reasons the rest of NATO is going to a variant of the M-4 is because it’s tried and true. It works for about 95% of all combat situation. Plus you can carry eight magazines on your body and six more in your assault pack. This is why I believe the Army is making a big mistake going to the M7. Again, I believe maybe a couple of M-7s in each squad would be better,
The article and its title read like a pitch for a B-movie. Oh, wait ...
I suspect, but cannot prove, that if Hal Moore and his men had been armed with M-14s instead of M16s at Ia Drang, they might well have met Custer's fate. No matter how the Army spins it, the only positive thing about the M7 is that it delivers M14 performance out of a much shorter barrel. Weight, recoil, and ammo load-out remain close to the M14. Muzzle blast is much greater and dangerous to the shooter and anyone near him unless a suppressor is employed, which then negates any weight or length savings.
Here's a thought...Put a 12-inch barrel on an SR-25 and call it a day. You have the TO&E in most units to handle a couple in a platoon. Everyone else carries the M-4 as you guys know the M-16. Go to heavier bullets as standard and we shove ALL the limited pile of the budget money into and fund higher production in Lake City and the Iowa production facilities.