November 25, 2009: The U.S. Army has finally addressed years of complaints about the M-4 and M-16 assault rifles. The M-4 is a short barrel M-16, and has become very popular with the troops. The army has asked the Department of Defense for permission to spend a few hundred million dollars on upgrades for its 400,000 M-4 assault rifles. The big change is replacing the main portion of the rifle with a new component that contains a short stroke piston gas system (to reduce buildup of carbon inside the rifle) and a heavier (by five ounces) barrel (which reduces barrel failure from too much heat, which happens when several hundred rounds are fired within a few minutes.)
I can only hope and pray this happens. Of course, if the Army actually put a better round in the M-4 I might just die of happiness, but replacing the gas tube with a short stroke piston (which some folks have been suggesting for decades now) will make a huge difference in the reliability of the weapon.
Found via AoSHQ.
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