Let the Bullets Fly: Why the M4 Carbine and M16 Rifle Will Stay on the Battlefield

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The Army may be working overtime to field a more powerful rifle to replace the M4 carbine and M16 rifle that soldiers have been complaining about for years, but that's not stopping the branch from buying more: A presolicitation published by Army Contracting Command on April 11 proposes up to two five-year contracts to supply the branch with between 18,000 and 215,000 5.56mm M16A4 rifles apiece, for a possible total of 430,000 weapons.

(This first appeared last year.) 

Such a major purchase over an extended timeline seems to run counter to the Army’s recent phased transition away from the M16 platform, given the M4’s relative superiority downrange. It also seems counterintuitive, given the Army’s stated desire to develop a Next Generation Squad Weapon that would chamber an intermediate caliber superior to the M4 and M16’s standard 5.56mm round.

So why the sudden reversal? Don't worry, soldiers: According to PEO Soldier, the purchase is for foreign military sales and not for U.S. service members.

The solicitation comes amid the Army’s request for $71.1 million to procure an unknown number of M4A1 carbines for soldiers as part of the branch’s fiscal 2019 budget proposal — an increase over the $43 million and $40 million requested for the weapons in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017, respectively. That’s on top of the roughly $31.5 million the Army has shelled out annually to upgrade its arsenal of M4s to M4A1 carbines.