The Marine Corps not too long ago celebrated its 250th Birthday this yr (in 2025), and in celebration of that milestone, I needed to debate the M27 Infantry Computerized Rifle (IAR). It’s a considerably controversial system that I used to be initially a doubter of. How are you going to substitute a belt-fed weapon with a magazine-fed rifle? It’s not like this hadn’t been tried earlier than.
The BAR (Browning Computerized Rifle) proved efficient, however that was as a result of there wasn’t something smaller and lighter on the time. The Marine Corps experimented with the Stoner 63 in its computerized rifle format and located it unsatisfactory. For a short while after Vietnam, the Marines even carried out an M16A1 with a clamp-on bipod to offer help hearth in a squad of M16A2s.
The M249 SAW (Squad Computerized Weapon) swept in and have become the rifleman’s gentle machine gun. The Marine Corps nonetheless referred to M249 customers as computerized riflemen and didn’t name them machine gunners. Marine machine gunners would nonetheless wield the M60 or M240, relying on the time-frame, in addition to the heavier M2 and Mk 19.
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The M27 IAR is a variant of HK’s (Heckler & Koch) HK416 rifle. It’s a short-stroke gasoline piston rifle. The M27 IAR is fed from 30-round STANAG magazines and fires from a closed bolt design. The gun’s short-stroke gasoline piston design is best fitted to prolonged computerized hearth than an M16 or M4’s Direct Impingement (DI) design.
It runs cooler and cleaner, each vital when you’re placing numerous ammo downrange. The rifle has a 16.5-inch barrel that put it proper between the M4 and M16A4 by way of size. The rifle weighs 7.9 kilos empty, however when outfitted with the Marine Corps loadout, it will get as much as 13 kilos.
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The present loadout, which features a 30-round journal, Blue Drive Gear sling, Trijicon 1-8X VCOG (Variable Fight Optical Gunsight), Knight’s suppressor, and PEQ-16 (laser/gentle module), brings the burden as much as round 13 kilos. An M249 with a 200-round drum, a Trijicon SDO (Squad Day Optic), and a PEQ-16 brings the burden to almost 25 kilos, sans sling. The M27 IAR is hefty for a rifle, however light-weight for a squad help weapon.
My Little Machine Gun
Going to Afghanistan in 2009 was an attention-grabbing time. I used to be a machine gunner and deployed to Afghanistan with an M249 as a result of newer, extra stringent Guidelines of Engagement (ROEs) that have been a part of President Obama’s first time period. It wasn’t till halfway via the deployment, after numerous firefights of being outgunned by PKMs (Russian-designed belt-fed machine weapons), that we have been lastly allowed to hold M240s.
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At first, I recoiled on the considered an M249. I needed my heavy-duty, huge, dependable, beastly M240. Nevertheless, after numerous miles of foot patrols and some firefights, I appreciated the M249. Once we lastly closed the gap after being overmatched by enemy forces, the M249 proved to be an efficient platform.
We have been usually miles from pleasant forces, and any response can be on foot as a consequence of a scarcity of infrastructure. If we would have liked backup, it was a good distance away. The M249 did enable me to hold 1,000 rounds of linked 5.56mm, and whereas initially I balked on the additional weight, in a firefight, it went shortly.
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I grew to become an M249 convert. It didn’t substitute my love of the M240 and its capabilities, however I appreciated the little brother much more. I used to be within the Marine Corps simply because the M27 IAR started changing SAWs, however not lengthy sufficient to see its total results.
Most machine gunners and computerized riflemen weren’t too eager on the M27 IAR. They didn’t suppose it may successfully substitute the SAW. Within the wake of the M27’s adoption, somebody stated one thing that caught with me, “Machine gunners are going to get much more helpful.” I wasn’t the one doubter; everybody doubted the system, together with former Commandant James Conway.
The M27 IAR Hits Afghanistan
The Marine Corps despatched a batch of M27s to Afghanistan, and the outcomes have been surprisingly optimistic. The M27 IAR proved to be lighter, simpler to hold, and simpler to maneuver with. The M27 was praised for its elevated reliability and superior accuracy in comparison with the SAW. Marines realized that they had two weapons in a single.
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At longer ranges, they may place correct photographs at targets at expanded distances, they usually may swap to full-automatic hearth for the 200 to 300-yard rushes. The M27 proved much more correct than the M4s and M16s because of the free-floating barrel. The Marine Corps leaned right into a suppression doctrine of suppression by precision somewhat than suppression by quantity of fireside.
The thought is that one spherical hitting nearer to the enemy has a greater impact than three to 4 rounds fired from the SAW hitting farther from the enemy. The efficient precision of the platform additionally aided in stopping collateral harm as a consequence of its total accuracy.
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The M27 proved so profitable that the Marine Corps started issuing them en masse to Marine infantry and fight arms forces. It will definitely changed the M16A4 and the M4 amongst fight arms forces. Presently, the M27 is the Marine Corps’ normal infantry fight rifle.
The Evolution of the M27 IAR
The unique optic for the M27 IAR was a 3.5X variant of the Trijicon ACOG outfitted with a piggybacked RMR (Ruggedized Miniature Reflex). The Marine Corps sought to take further benefit of the M27’s accuracy and started fielding the VCOG, a 1-8X LPVO (Low Energy Variable Optic). This helped improve the M27’s precision.
The Marine Corps would equip the M27 with a 2-10X Leupold scope and designate that variant the M38 Designated Marksman’s Rifle. The M27 was now an computerized rifle, a normal problem infantry rifle, and a delegated marksman’s rifle.
In comparison with the M4, the M27 IAR is considerably giant and heavy. The Reconnaissance (Recon) neighborhood initially rejected the M27 for the M4, however the Marine Corps went on to undertake the Recon Weapons Equipment, a shorter higher receiver that options an 11-inch barrel.
The Way forward for the M27 IAR
The Marine Corps expressed the opportunity of adopting the Military’s NGSW (Subsequent Era Squad Weapon) after Military testing, but it surely’s unclear how far that may go. There isn’t any agency sure or no with the NGSW M7. The Marine Corps actually appears pleased with the M27 IAR, and so does the typical grunt. It’s seemingly the M27 will keep within the Marine Corps armories for the close to future.
