The Marines have decided to stick with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle instead of switching to the Army’s M7 Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, a Marine Corps spokesperson told Task & Purpose.
“The Marine Corps will retain the M27 for our close combat formations as it best aligns with our unique service requirements, amphibious doctrinal employment of weapons, and distinct modernization priorities, while ensuring seamless interoperability across the Joint force and with coalition partners,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
No further information was immediately available about exactly why the Marines had opted not to replace the M27 with the M7. It is also unclear whether the Marine Corps might revisit the issue in the future.
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“We will continue to monitor development of the M7 [Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle] to inform future requirements,” the Marine Corps spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the Marine Corps constantly evaluates equipment to see whether it meets “our unique expeditionary requirements.”
Marines first used the M27 in combat during a 2011 deployment to Afghanistan. The rifle was initially intended to replace the M249 machine gun, but the Corps ultimately decided not to do so.
In May 2020, Marine Corps Systems Command had to correct a news release that erroneously claimed that the Marines had decided to replace the M27 with the Next Generation Squad Weapon.
The Army is in the process of fielding the M7 along with the M250, a machine gun variant of the Next Generation Squad Weapon, to close combat forces, which include infantry, scouts, combat medics, forward observers, combat engineers, and special operations forces.
Both the M7 and M250 chamber a 6.8mm round, which is designed to provide soldiers with greater range and accuracy than the 5.56mm ammunition that has been standard across the U.S. military for decades.
Brig. Gen. Phil Kinniery, commandant for the Army’s Infantry School and Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, told Task & Purpose in May that the 6.8mm round “stops the enemy at one round versus having to shoot multiple rounds at the enemy to get them to stop.”
However, an Army officer’s presentation about the M7 — then known as the XM7 — during last year’s Modern Day Marine exhibition in Washington, D.C. raised questions about whether the new rifle was fit for combat. Including whether its 20-round magazine provides soldiers with enough ammunition in battle.
Both the Army and Sig Sauer, which was selected in 2022 to build the Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle and machine gun, disputed the officer’s criticisms of the M7.
“We have a very large staff of individuals that work daily on that rifle to ensure that every aspect of its performance is scrutinized, every aspect of its safety is criticized,” Jason St. John, the senior director of strategic products for Sig Sauer, told Task & Purpose in May. “We are highly confident that we have provided the U.S. Army soldier with a very robust weapon system that is not only safe, but it performs at the highest levels.”
