By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - After nearly 40 years of battlefield service around
the globe, the M-16 may be on its way out as the standard Army
assault rifle because of flaws highlighted during the invasion and
occupation of Iraq
U.S. officers in Iraq say the M-16A2 the latest incarnation of
the 5.56 mm firearm is quietly being phased out of front-line
service because it has proven too bulky for use inside the Humvees
and armored vehicles that have emerged as the principal mode of
conducting patrols since the end of major fighting on May 1.
The M-16, at nearly 40 inches, is widely considered too long to aim
quickly within the confines of a vehicle during a firefights, when
reaction time is a matter of life and death.
"It's a little too big for getting in and out of vehicles," said
Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division,
which controls Baghdad. "I can tell you that as a result of this
experience, the Army will look very carefully at how it
performed."
Instead of the M-16, which also is prone to jamming in Iraq's dusty
environment, M-4 carbines are now widely issued to American
troops.
The M-4 is essentially a shortened M-16A2, with a clipped barrel,
partially retractable stock and a trigger mechanism modified to
fire full-auto instead of three-shots bursts. It was first
introduced as a personal defense weapon for clerks, drivers and
other non-combat troops.
"Then it was adopted by the Special Forces and Rangers, mainly
because of its shorter length," said Col. Kurt Fuller, a battalion
commander in Iraq and an authority on firearms.
Fuller said studies showed that most of the combat in Iraq has been
in urban environments and that 95 percent of all engagements have
occurred at ranges shorter than 100 yards, where the M-4, at just
over 30 inches long, works best.
Still, experience has shown the carbines also have deficiencies.
The cut-down barrel results in lower bullet velocities, decreasing
its range. It also tends to rapidly overheat and the firing system,
which works under greater pressures created by the gases of
detonating ammunition, puts more stress on moving parts, hurting
its reliability.
Consequently, the M-4 is an unlikely candidate for the rearming of
the U.S. Army. It is now viewed as an interim solution until the
introduction of a more advanced design known as the Objective
Individual Combat Weapon, or OICW.
There is no date set for the entry into service of the OICW, but
officers in Iraq say they expect its arrival sooner than previously
expected because of the problems with the M-16 and the M-4.
"Iraq is the final nail in the coffin for the M-16," said a
commander who asked not to be identified.
The current version of the M-16 is a far cry from the original,
which troops during the Vietnam War criticized as fragile, lacking
power and range, and only moderately accurate. At the time, a
leading U.S. weapons expert even recommended that American soldiers
discard their M-16s and arm themselves with the Kalashnikov AK-47
rifle used by their Vietcong enemy.
Although the M16A1 introduced in the early 1980s has been
heavily modernized, experts say it still isn't as reliable as the
AK-47 or its younger cousin, the AK-74. Both are said to have
better "knockdown" power and can take more of a beating on the
battlefield.
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