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46-513: Colt submitted the APC as the “Enhanced M4” for the U.S. Army’s Individual Carbine competition to replace the M4 carbine in 2012. However, the competition was canceled in 2013 before a winning weapon was chosen. The APC was adopted in limited quantities by several military and law enforcement agencies. The weapon has a suppression-ready fluted barrel, which is lighter and cools better than previous M4 barrels. It

92-531: A "familiarization shoot" at ranges of 25 and 300 yards firing the M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round . Rifle contenders were also allowed to participate in the "compatibility check" which consisted of the firing of the M320 grenade launcher and M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System underbarrel attachment systems. Phase I of the competition commenced following the familiarization shoot. It included

138-482: A March 2009 letter, Senator Carl Levin , Chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, wrote that the department was apparently exercising the authority to appoint other significant officials—termed Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense (DUSDs)—"without statutory authorization, without limitation, and without Senate confirmation." Levin was "concerned that the proliferation of DUSDs at multiple levels of

184-637: A headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense . It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense , and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource management, fiscal, and program evaluation responsibilities. OSD (along with the Joint Staff )

230-737: A modified variant of the Remington ACR , the Adcor Defense BEAR Elite , the Beretta ARX-160 , and the Colt Enhanced M4 . Phase II test scoring, in order of priority, depended upon: Phase II was to last 12–18 months and narrow the field of contenders down to three. On March 19, 2013, the Defense Department released a testimony as part of their efforts to improve spending efficiency and reduce overall waste. Part of

276-447: A new carbine were expected before FY 2013. However, the competition was cancelled in June 2013. The Individual Carbine was to provide accurate and reliable firepower. It had to be capable of semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Integrated rails were to accept MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail-mounted accessories . It had to be fully ambidextrous . While the caliber for any new weapon

322-409: A private range. Westrom said ammunition and caliber conflicts had little to do with it, as neither those factors nor the rifle designs would fundamentally change the battlefield capabilities of a soldier or small unit, while previous weapon transitions advanced combat shooting doctrines and shooting tactics. ArmaLite did not participate in the competition because Westrom determined their designs weren't

368-508: A revolutionary improvement over the M4 weapon system, and because the published Army requirements "set the bar so low" that the outcome that no one would win a contract was "predetermined." On June 17, 2013, Senator Tom Coburn sent a letter to Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh expressing his disappointment in the decision to cancel the program without giving soldiers an opportunity to field test

414-638: A roundtable for reporters on May 23 which would include project managers and officials. The PEO Soldier press conference was postponed to an unknown date because senior leaders had not made any decisions on the competition or other equipment programs. On June 6, 2013, the House Armed Services Committee passed an amendment to the 2014 budget that would prevent the Army from cancelling the IC program before user evaluations. Committee members voted unanimously for

460-507: A significant advance in fighting ability. The Army admitted each entrant offered marginal improvements over the M4 Carbine, but that none would substantially increase a soldier's battlefield capability. Westrom said the carbines offered incremental improvements, not any that offered a tactically superior advance to justify replacing the entire inventory. There were also complaints about the ammunition used in testing. The competition began while

506-451: Is claimed to have "markedly better" accuracy. To improve reliability, Colt used an articulating link piston (ALP) which "reduces the inherent stress in the piston stroke by allowing for deflection and thermal expansion". In traditional gas piston operating systems, the force of the piston striking the bolt carrier can push the bolt carrier downwards and into the wall of the buffer tube, leading to accelerated wear and even chipped metal. This

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552-481: Is known as carrier tilt . The ALP (articulating link piston) allows the operating rod to wiggle to correct for the downward pressure on the bolt and transfers the force straight backwards in line with the bore and buffer assembly, eliminating the carrier tilt. This relieves stress on parts and helps to increase accuracy. This article relating to rifles is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Individual Carbine The Individual Carbine

598-1144: Is the Secretary of Defense's support staff for managing the Department of Defense, and it corresponds to what the Executive Office of the President of the U.S. is to the U.S. president for managing the whole of the Executive branch of the federal government. OSD includes the immediate offices of the Secretary (SECDEF) and the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF), as well as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller); Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security. All of these positions are Presidential appointments which require U.S. Senate confirmation, as do each of their sole deputies. Other positions include

644-777: The M6A4 by LWRC , the ACR by Remington , the SR-16 by Knight's Armament Company , the FN SCAR by FN Herstal , the CM901 by Colt's Manufacturing Company , and the HK416 by Heckler & Koch . A draft request for proposal (RfP) was issued in late 2010 followed by an industry day. The finalized RfP was issued in second quarter FY 2011 to which industry had a month to respond. A 12–18-month testing phase commenced and over 1 million rounds were to be fired. Testers looked at

690-510: The Army announced it was considering cancelling the Individual Carbine competition. Phase II of testing had been completed, but not soldier evaluation or contract awards as part of Phase III. With M4A1 Carbines being purchased through 2018, the Army was rethinking carbine acquisition. PEO Soldier (Program Executive Office Soldier), a group responsible for rapid prototyping, procurement, and fielding of equipment for soldiers, had scheduled

736-427: The Army decided not to pursue a new carbine because of consideration of operational requirements in the context of available small arms technology, the constrained fiscal environment, and the capability of their current carbines. One reliability requirement that was not reached by the vendors was firing 3,592 mean rounds without malfunctioning. In 1990, the M4 was required to fire 600 mean rounds between stoppages, while

782-547: The Army found the B.E.A.R. provided “outstanding” accuracy, even after firing thousands of rounds. The Pentagon Inspector General audit of the Individual Carbine competition continued despite the program's termination. On September 16, 2013, the Inspector General published a report on the audit's findings. The analysis said the Army wasted $ 14 million to find new rifles it did not need. The report reads, "The Army Deputy Chief of Staff … inappropriately approved and validated

828-524: The Army selected the companies and rifles that passed phase I of the competition and moved on to phase II. While phase I eliminated companies that would not have had the production capacity to manufacture sufficient numbers of their rifle, phase II included actual test firings of the weapons to assess accuracy, reliability, and durability. The phase II contenders were the FN FNAC , the Heckler & Koch HK416A5 ,

874-424: The Army simply did not find the capability it was after with the rifles submitted. None of the weapons met minimum requirements. The competition was a binary pass-or-fail venue, rather than a test-fix-test venue to improve the weapons following test results. Mark Westrom, owner of ArmaLite which designed the original M16 rifle , said the competition was "destined to fail" because the requirements did not represent

920-437: The Army was planning just weeks before cancellation. Other companies expressed concern that they had learned the program may be cancelled through media reports rather than being informed directly. Army officials said they were surprised that none of the rifles submitted passed muster and maintained that there was transparency throughout the three-year competition. Brigadier General Paul A. Ostrowski, head of PEO Soldier , said

966-422: The Army was to solicit submissions from the small arms industry by the end of that year. The competition was open to all manufacturers. However, Phase II testing reduced the field down to six rifles. The competition was intended to provide an evaluation of the full range of weapons available. Presolicitation notice W15QKN-11-R-F003 was posted January 31, 2011. Complete results of the competition and selection of

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1012-407: The Army's decision to terminate the program, and would focus on delivering BEAR rifles to commercial customers. Adcor Chairman and CEO Jimmy Stavrakis said though they were "disappointed that the Army chose to discontinue a competition that could have provided soldiers with significant improvements in accuracy and reliability," they accepted the decision. Test results made available to the company said

1058-583: The Assistant Secretaries of Defense, Assistants to the Secretary of Defense, General Counsel , Director, Operational Test and Evaluation , Director of Administration and Management , and other staff offices that the Secretary establishes in order to assist in carrying out their assigned responsibilities. The Secretary and Deputy Secretary manage several Under Secretaries each of whom in turn manage several Assistant Secretaries of Defense . There are also several special officers reporting directly to

1104-534: The Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF), all five Under Secretaries of Defense (USDs), and all Assistant Secretaries of Defense (ASDs), as well as any officials specifically designated in U.S. Code have historically been considered Presidentially-Appointed, Senate-Confirmed (PAS) officials, in that the Senate must provide "advice and consent" for each individual before he or she can operate in an official capacity. In

1150-401: The Individual Carbine competition was part of an overall ongoing small arms weapons strategy development, to include assessment and analysis of current individual weapons, optics, and training to determine if additional capabilities in range and lethality will be needed against future adversaries. Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense ( OSD ) is

1196-546: The M4A1, while the M4 Product Improvement Program worked on improving the current M4 design if the competition didn't yield major improvements. The Inspector General questioned why the Army was pursuing a new rifle when the structure of their total force will be reduced. In the next two months a draft report was to be released elaborating concerns and giving recommendations to the Defense Department. On May 2, 2013,

1242-686: The M855 round was in use. In June 2010, the M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round was fielded, and the competition began using the EPR in August. Army analysis found that the M855A1 may have contributed to lower than expected reliability performance. Even so, the Army insists they made industry aware of the ammo change, giving them time to adjust their designs and arranging for each vendor to fire 10,000 M855A1s at

1288-562: The Secretary may, at his or her discretion, appoint within OSD five additional non-PAS DUSDs beyond the five statutory PAS-PDUSDs. The USD(I) appears to be maintaining at least three non-PAS DUSDs, although they have been renamed. The USD (AT&L) has maintained the non-PAS DUSD for Installations and Environment, though the FY11 NDAA recommended merging this post with the newly created ASD for Operational Energy Plans and Programs. The USD(P) has maintained

1334-504: The Secretary of Defense. Major elements of OSD (listed hierarchically): The composition of OSD is in a state of consistent flux, as Congress and DoD routinely create new offices, redesignate existing ones, and abolish others. During the Obama administration, Congress has sought to clarify the organization of OSD, and has worked with the department to move toward a standardization of official naming conventions. Many Defense officials, including

1380-455: The amendment that would require user evaluations, a business case analysis, and reports back to congressional defense committees before a final decision is made. If passed into law, it would not take effect until October 1, 2013, which gave the Army four months to decide the fate of the program without violating a congressional directive. On June 13, 2013, the U.S. Army formally cancelled the Individual Carbine competition. The Army said none of

1426-515: The carbines evaluated during testing met the minimum scoring requirement needed to continue to the next phase of the evaluation. Letters were sent to gunmakers involved to inform them that no future contract awards would be made for the soldier evaluation phase. PEO Soldier reported that no competitor demonstrated a significant improvement in weapon reliability to justify buying a new carbine. Weapons tested also had low reliability performance using M855A1 Enhanced Performance Rounds (EPR) . Ultimately,

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1472-518: The competition. The USMC said they will continue to use standard M4s and M16A4s. They did mention they are considering upgrading the M16A4. However, General Jim Amos said on April 16, 2013, that the Marines were watching the Army program and whether or not they would join was "yet to be seen." The first round of tests were carried out from January to May 2011. Rifles chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO participated in

1518-401: The consistency in accuracy of the carbines as they aged. Costs were also to be considered. The Office of the Secretary of Defense monitored tests and the evaluation and there was congressional oversight to ensure the competition was full and open. US$ 30 million was spent on testing. The winner of the competition had to be a "measurable improvement" over the M4 carbine to replace it; otherwise,

1564-401: The current M4A1 fires 1,691 mean rounds between stoppages using M855A1 ammunition. PEO Soldier said that the new carbine had to be a superior improvement, not a small improvement. The Army has not released how close the competitors came to reaching the mean rounds between stoppages requirement, or how they performed compared to the M4A1. That information is seen as proprietary, and may be up to

1610-546: The existing and improved M4s given to support troops to replace their M16s. If the improved M4 turned out to be the winner and the new carbine program scrapped, then the IBCTs will likely be fitted with the improved M4s, and the existing M4s would again be given to support troops to replace their M16s. On November 17, 2011, the US Marine Corps announced they will not participate or adopt any new weapon which may or may not come out of

1656-461: The manufacturers to release data. Analysis has not yet been done to determine if any exact event cause per vendor led to performance failures. The Army clarified that it was not cancelling the IC competition, but that it was in a position to conclude it. Industry participants said the competition was plagued by miscommunication from the Army. Gabriele de Plano, vice president of military marketing and sales for Beretta , said he knew nothing of what

1702-536: The organization could muddy lines of authority and may not be in the best interest of the Department of Defense." Subsequent legislation established five Senate-confirmed Principal Deputies (i.e., "first assistants"), one for each Under Secretary of Defense. The FY10 NDAA gave the Department of Defense until January 1, 2011, to eliminate or redesignate all other Deputy Under Secretaries who are not Principal Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense (PDUSDs). The FY11 NDAA extended this deadline to January 1, 2015. During that time,

1748-479: The program would instead convert all M4 carbines to the enhanced version. The winner of the competition would sell the rights to their weapon to the military and choose two other competing suppliers to help manufacture it. As for fielding a possible winner, the Army has over 1.1 million armed personnel, approximately half are front-line combat brigades . If a new carbine was selected, the Army would see 500,000 purchased for infantry brigade combat teams (IBCT), and

1794-530: The requirements document used to support the establishment of the individual carbine program. As a result, the Army wasted about $ 14 million on a competition to identify a source to supply new carbines it does not need." It would have cost $ 2.52 billion for the 501,289 carbines the Army planned to buy over a 20-year cycle. The Army's own analysis suggested the procurement could be delayed for another 10 years with no impact on readiness. The Army will recoup $ 382 million it can “put to better use,” of which $ 375 million

1840-491: The testimony was the Pentagon Inspector General's reconsideration of the Individual Carbine program to replace the M4. An audit of the acquisition process was launched to re-evaluate the $ 1.8 billion program. Program experts and Army officials asserted that the testimony misunderstood the carbine replacement initiative. The Individual Carbine competition was to find a commercially available rifle design superior to

1886-417: The weapon's ability to mount accessories, such as optics and suppressors, the company's ability to produce 2,000-4,200 carbines per month, and production costs. In November 2011, Colt pulled its CM901 rifle from the competition. This was because the winner is required to turn over technical data rights to the Army, who would distribute the blueprints to two other companies that would each produce one-third of

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1932-419: The weapons purchased, and Colt did not want to reveal its trade secrets. Other companies backed out for similar financial reasons, including Smith & Wesson with their M&P 4, Stag Arms , LWRC , and Knight's Armament Company . Stag Arms then bid for the contract to produce one-third of the winning weapon order quantity, while Knight's Armament submitted components for the upgraded M4A1. In May 2012,

1978-495: The weapons to determine if they were improvements over the current M4. Senator Coburn's efforts in 2008 led the Army to look if industry had anything to offer that was better than the M4, which lead to the IC competition. Coburn wanted to know where money from the cancelled program would go and why near-term small arms strategies did not include an assessment of a medium-caliber round for increased battlefield capability. On July 17, 2013, Adcor Defense announced it would not protest

2024-617: Was a competition to select the planned successor to the M4 carbine in the United States Army . The U.S. Army conducted an open competition for a carbine to replace the M4. This competition was for the Army only—the United States Marine Corps and other branches chose to stay with current weapons in service. The proposal was passed before the Joint Requirements Oversight Council in August 2010, and

2070-497: Was open for the competition, any contributions not of 5.56×45mm NATO and/or 7.62×51mm NATO had the burden of test ammunition and extra costs placed on the competitor. The draft asked for a non-developmental weapon. Rather than working with the Army to develop a new weapon, competitors were to bring forward designs they already had available. Weapons submitted included the XCR by Robinson Armament Co. , an off-the-shelf or derivative of

2116-519: Was programmed procurement funding. The other $ 7 million was set aside for research, development, testing, and evaluation. Another $ 2.14 billion in expenditures will be avoided through 2018 as a result of the termination. Research and development funding set aside in the FY 2013 budget was put into operation and maintenance accounts, while procurement funding allocated in fiscal years 2015 to 2018 are under review to be funneled to other Army priorities. The review of

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