[surevaliance]

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a29613974/us-army-better-bullet/
The new 6.8-millimeter bullet will equip a new generation of army carbines, squad automatic weapons.

 

[Mike Weber]

From the sound of the article none of this 6.8mm ammo is designed to be reloadable.

 

[Mad Scientist]

From the sound of the article none of this 6.8mm ammo is designed to be reloadable.

I wouldn't be surprised if someday, somebody, somewhere didn't figure out a way to reload composite casings.

 

[MisterMills357]

The 6.8 mm SPC, [Special Purpose Cartridge] has finally found a home in the US Army. OK. It is about time. But why didn't they go to a 7mm, during development?
I am a mere mortal, and such things are above me, so I will leave it at that.

 

[Popeye]

MUCH more information: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/10/27/inside-armys-quest-revolutionary-new-bullet.html

 

[Mad Scientist]

From Popeye's link above ......

The team was fully aware of the dangers of higher pressures when it designed its automatic rifle and rifle prototypes, said Dave Stouffer, director of business development for the GD-OTS team.

"Higher pressures in the weapon drive all sorts of unsavory things -- barrel wear … the stresses that go back on the bolt face, extraction [problems], premature part wear -- there's all sorts of unfavorable things higher pressure drives," he said.

The GD team chose a bullpup design -- which puts the magazine and bolt-carrier group behind the pistol grip and trigger group -- to avoid the problem and still meet the Army's requirements, Stouffer said.

"One of the benefits of a bullpup-style weapon is that you can run much lower pressures and still achieve the desired velocities because you have a longer barrel," Stouffer said.

I wonder if the US military will eventually forgo the long standing AR designed rifles, in favor of a bullpup-style rifle, for their main battle rifle???

 

[deputy]

so............the 7.62x51 was deemed as too much weight ammo-wise and too much recoil for the avg joe and the weapons were heavier.....

the 5.56 was born to address those perceptions......and bullet design evolved and bullet weight increased and the AR platform continues to evolve......

now they want a faster and heavier round for a rifle that has not been invented yet and the ammo will produce more wear and tear, more recoil, and proprietary ammo that will not work in any existing systems.....and we get to tell NATO to kiss off again.....

yep.....its a govt operation........

now....is this search to replace the infantry rifle/carbine.......or is it to just replace the specialized squad weapons?

 

[Stevejet]

Contractors and "special interests" selling to the Pentagon, never rest.