The Army's M-4 Carbine: Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

The M-4 carbine is the Army's primary individual combat weapon for infantry units. The M-4 uses a direct gas impingement system that blows carbon from the fired cartridge back into the weapon's receiver, which can lead to weapon malfunctions. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is replacing its M-4s with the Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR). It is a modular weapon with a short-stroke piston system which eliminates carbon blow back that theoretically improves reliability. Some have questioned why the Army has not adopted the SCAR or another similarly designed weapon. A series of studies and tests of the M-4 and potential competitors have added to this debate, and the Army has taken steps to begin evaluating other weapons in late 2009 to replace the M-4. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 27, 2009
Accession Number
ADA494893

Entities

People

  • Andrew Feickert

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Assault Rifles
  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Congress
  • Grenade Launchers
  • National Security
  • Operating Systems
  • Procurement
  • Reliability
  • Rifles
  • Small Arms
  • Special Forces
  • Special Operations Forces
  • Standards
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States Special Operations Command
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Marksmanship and Weaponry.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3