VIDEO: GWOT Weapons And Gear That Were Failures

An interesting look at some of the weapons and gear that were rejected or useless by someone who actually had a hand on getting a couple of the items dropped from adoption or use:

• The Mark 23 Mod Zero pistol by HK (intended to be a primary CGQ weapon, it was too big for a handgun and its purpose was better fulfilled by the adoption of the M4A1);
• The SCAR Light in 5.56 (a weak lockup of the folding stock and a reciprocating charging handle system that permitted misfeads that would require the weapon being disassembled to clear, and offered no advantages over the M4--however the host notes that these problems have been fixed in the civilian version, and the SCAR Heavy in .308 was very popular);
• The XM25 Punisher 25mm grenade launcher (very little application in Afghanistan, with the host noting that the whole premise is now obsolete with the advent of small, explosive laden drones);
• The Spear-Bulk body armor system (poor quality, stupidly used vertical MOLLE);
• The Uniform Camouflage Pattern or UCP (actually made troops highly visible because the pattern didn't match any sort of terrain in which the troops operated);
• The improved outer tactical vest or IOTV (although it offered high level of protection, it was too heavy and bulky slowing down the troops). 

VIDEO: "Top 5 GWOT gun and gear fails: Barely used, not tested properly, or completely worthless."
Modern Tactical Shooting (28 min)