Americans Outgunned By Taleban’s AK47s

Marines on patrol armed with the M4 rifle. It may be the wrong weapon for the job

From Time Magazine:

The future of the standard issue infantry rifle used by American troops in Afghanistan is under review amid concerns that it is the wrong weapon for the job.

With its light bullets the M4 rifle lacks sufficient velocity and killing power in long-range firefights, leaving US troops outgunned by the Taleban and their AK47 Kalashnikovs and the old Russian SVD sniper rifle.

British Forces face the same dilemma but the Ministry of Defence said yesterday that there was no plan to review the SA80A2 rifle, which fires the same Nato 5.56mm calibre rounds as its US counterpart. “We constantly review all of our capabilities,” a spokesman said.

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My Comment: I have posted my comments on this story before .... but this Times article is from a British perspective, and the points they make are very valid.