I am pleasantly surprised. This 7 minute overview of the new L403A1 carbine with the British Royal Marines goes over the rifle and accessories in very digestible terms while maintaining exceptional accuracy in the information conveyance.
My friends over at Reptilia are partnered with Vortex and Aimpoint to provide the visible spectrum optic suite, only available (for the moment) through a special Daniel Defense limited release. The short bodied Vortex 1-10x LPVO AMG and the Aimpoint ACRO P2 ride in the Reptilia AUS and ROF-90 to give the operator a fast and effective combination of shot options at any range.
The L403A1 Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) is entering UK service in a manner similar to how the M27 IAR entered service with the United States Marines, it will not be outright replacing the H&K produced L85A3’s overnight but the services will likely be evaluating troop feedback on both systems and making their procurement decisions from that data.
The Knight’s KS-1 that is the foundation of the new weapon represents both the modern pinnacle standard of the AR-15 and a look at current service rifle standards across most of NATO. The HK416, SCAR MK2, Bren 2, MSBS Grot, and M4A1 URG-I are all the current leading edge of 5.56 service rifle tech.
Interestingly, at least at this point, the new XM7 and 6.8x51mm is not propagating across NATO the way 7.62 and 5.56 did. Most nations are sticking to 5.56. We are seeing the XM7 and XM250 start to enter mass evaluation with US Forces but the option still remains to return to 5.56. We could potentially see another shoe in service carbine in the form of a MCX SPEAR-LT, already in service, if the 6.8×51 gets shelved. I would still be interested in seeing what hybrid case tech can do to 5.56 as far as increasing safe operating pressures. If we can get 75-77gr EPR type rounds at 3000fps out of rifles the size and weight profile of the M4 or M27 that would be a very viable system.
My speculation on service carbines aside, the next decade of small arms development is going to be interesting. Optics are starting to plateau in a few ways with LPVO/Dot as the optimum visible and clip-on alternative spectrum systems are getting lighter. What the next great advancement will be is unknown but onboard power systems seem to be a priority.
