#Crane

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane has quietly posted one of the more interesting small arms solicitations in recent memory. The Hypervelocity Improved Capability Assault Rifle program, HICAR for short, is USSOCOM's ask for a carbine that can do something current M4-based platforms simply cannot: reach out past 600 meters with a standard 5.56mm package, without making operators carry anything heavier or bulkier than what they're already running.

The United States Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) is looking for a new variable-power rifle optic to allow users to engage targets out to 600 meters, while still preserving close-in capability. The solicitation, released last week on Fed Biz Opps, announces a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) supply contract for up to $33.2 million dollars worth of the new optics. The draft requires offerors to provide 12 sample optics before December 8th of this year. The solicitation follows a pre-solicitation notice issued in July.

The US Army is seeking 12,600 Magpul PMag Gen M3 magazines, or equivalents, from commercial vendors, according to a recently updated listing on FedBizOpps, posted in early August. This announcement was updated soon after the news that Army TACOM had authorized the requisition of Gen M3 PMags with unit funds, by unit commanders

The US Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) has just authorized the purchase of Magpul PMag Gen M3 polymer magazines through requisition by unit commanders, marking a major step in the use of PMag magazines in Army service. Although a previous clarification in 2012 authorized the magazines for use, they could not be purchased using unit (that is to say, Army) funds. The full announcement is replicated below, courtesy of Soldier Systems Daily:

The US Air Force’s recent decision to adopt the Magpul PMag Gen M3 was based on Army testing conducted in 2015, according to a spokesperson for the Air Force. In a communication with Military.com writer Matthew Cox, Vicki Stein of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center said that the US Army’s  M855A1 Conformance Testing on Commercial Magazines report, published by Aberdeen Proving Grounds in January of 2015, was the basis for the USAF’s decision. “When pursuing any capability based requirement, and before conducting any tests, the Air Force will first work closely with our joint partners to see if they have conducted any testing. In this instance, we utilized the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center’s M855A1 Conformance Testing on Commercial Magazines to make our decision,” Stein told Cox.

Naval Sea Warfare Center Crane (NSWC-Crane) has issued a pre-solicitation notice that it intends to purchase new optics for small arms. It is NSWC Crane’s intent to set requirements for three optical systems on small arms, the Miniature Aiming System – Day Optics (MAS-D) Squad – Close Quarters Sight (CQS) and Clip-On Magnifier (CM). It is anticipated the contract will purchase a minimum of 30 units and maximum is set at 39,300 units. Dollars will vary from $36,000 to $47,160,000, respectively.

Will the US Army adopt the Magpul Gen M3 PMag? Until recently, it seemed the answer was “no”. The Army had produced several magazine iterations replacing the legacy “black follower” design, culminating with the latest Enhance Performance Magazine (formerly High Performance Magazine), which they claimed reduced malfunctions by two-thirds. However, buried in the back of Lt. Col. Steven Power’s presentation released with the 2017 NDIA conference records last month, was a reference to a Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP) begun in February to procure and test polymer magazines with the possibility of procuring them for the Army proper. The overview of the program was confined to a single slide on Lt. Col. Power’s presentation:

MLOK is better. We can say it with conviction now that NSWC-Crane has released a slideshow that details the processes they used to conduct the testing and the results of said testing.

In May of this year, I got the rare opportunity to travel to Heckler & Koch’s headquarters in Ashburn, VA, to take a look at some of the experimental and prototype firearms they have located there in their famous “Grey Room”. It wouldn’t be worth as much for me to just tell you about it and to snap a few foggy cell phone pictures, though, so I brought along Othais of C&Rsenal to help me take high resolution light box photos of these unique and rare firearms.