Military.com reports that "The Army Has Finally Fielded Its Next Generation Squad Weapons," as well as the the XM7 Next Generation Rifle which "is intended to replace the M4 carbine in close combat formations". The benefits of the XM7, according to the article include:
... that the XM7 is noticeably heavier than the M4 carbine -- 9.8 pounds suppressed in a basic combat load compared to the M4's 7.4-pound combat load, per the Army -- and delivers increased recoil compared to the M4 on par with a weapon system chambered in 7.62 mm, according to Sig Sauer officials.
It also has duel non-reciprocating charging handles to make sure more dust and sand can enter the weapon. And, even though it has a slightly shorter barrel than the M-4 (13 inches versus 14.5 inches), the addition of a suppressor and the overall larger size of the receiver provides an overall longer weapon (36 inches versus 29.7 inches), a feature which will undoubtedly be appreciated by troops entering or exiting vehicles, engaged in CQB, or moving through heavy brush or jungle.
Although technically not part of the weapon, it is also supposed to be issued with "the XM157 Fire Control smart scope, built by Vortex Optics, which integrates advanced technologies such as a laser range finder, ballistic calculator and digital display overlay into a next-generation rifle optic." This is actually the most important part of the package because without it the primary advantage of the weapon--being able to engage targets at longer ranges--would be wasted.
And how much does an AK cost to make?
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming that you are talking about the cost to a government to manufacture or procure the rifle and not for a hobbyist to assemble their own rifle. I couldn't find information on how much the Russian military paid for an AK, but I found some information from 2014 indicating that the manufacture cost was between $300 and $500 per unit. In 2021, India entered into an agreement with Russia for $671 million to manufacture 750,000 AK-203 rifles, which works out to roughly $895 per unit; although I found another article that indicated that "[t]he cost of per rifle is expected to be around $1,100, including the cost of technology transfer and of setting up the manufacturing unit, according to the report."
DeleteConversely, I came across an Army Times article from 2019 that indicated that the U.S. government paid about $600 per unit for M4 carbines.