While the IAR will replace the M249 within the Marine infantry squad, it is likely that some quantity of M249 SAWs will be retained at the company level.

Significant recent activity has also taken place within the 7.62 mm arena.

One example can be found in the Army’s M14 7.62 mm Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR). In an effort to provide infantry squads with a squad-designated marksman capability to engage targets beyond the range of M16/M4-series weapons, the EBR emerged in response to theater-generated operational need statements (ONSs).

The Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Life Cycle Management Command at Rock Island Arsenal reconfigured the weapons, mating a rack stock M14 rifle to an enhanced aluminum billet stock, Leupold Mark IV tactical scope, and cantilever mount. A new adjustable buttstock, cheek rest, and adjustable pistol grip facilitate both long-range engagements and CQB operations.

An initial 5,000 M14 EBRs were reconfigured and assembled at Rock Island, with the upgraded weapons currently issued to selected units. The conversion of 1,200 additional systems was authorized during FY 10, with conversion of those additional systems slated for completion around the end of 2011.

Other representative U.S. Army 7.62 mm weapons and activities involve the bolt-action, six-shot M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) and the newer M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS), which exceeds both rate of fire and lethality of the M24 SWS. Additionally, SASS is the first U.S. Army weapon system to integrate a quick attach/detach suppressor to reduce the weapon’s firing signature.

SASS benefits also include a rapid fire/rapid reload design, 10- or 20-round detachable magazines, and a variable power day optic sight – a Leupold Mark IV 3.5-10x scope – that provides both a wide field of view at low magnification for close-in engagements and a narrow field of view for precision long shots at high magnification. Additional system features include a detachable folding bipod and U.S. Military Standard (MIL-STD) 1913 rail.

As of late 2011, service representatives were anticipating the release of an RFP for a new “M110E1 Compact Product Improvement Program.”

A representative example of Marine Corps sniper weapon activities surfaced in the August 2011 time frame, when representatives for Marine Corps Systems Command released a “sources sought” announcement requesting industry input on the availability of potential materiel solutions as product improvements for that service’s M40A5 sniper rifle system, a Marine Corps-designed, bolt-action, manually operated, magazine-fed, shoulder-fired weapon system in caliber .308 Winchester that serves as the main battle weapon of the Marine Corps scout sniper and is employed to engage and destroy targets out to ranges of 1,000 yards.

Commonly employed with the variable-powered M8541 Scout Sniper Day Scope (SSDS), AN/PVS-27 Scout Sniper Medium Range Night Sight (SSMRNS), Scout Sniper Urban Night Sight (SSUNS), AN/PVS-10 V2 Sniper Night Sight, and Surefire quick-detach suppressor, each of the current M40A5 weapons has been custom-built at Precision Weapons Section (PWS), Weapons Training Battalion in Quantico, Va.

The Marine Corps expressed interest in a Product Improvement Program (PIP) with the possibility of obtaining a product that incorporates a number of identified modifications “as a holistic, integrated solution (i.e., all components integrated as a single solution by the vendor).”

Specific improvement areas identified under the M40A5 PIP include the addition of a tripod, a modular stock, a 10-round magazine, and shorter barrel length to reduce overall system length and system weight.