Basic Information

Name

Heckler and Koch M27 German 5.56mm Assault Rifle

Designation

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Alternate Designation

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Equipment Type

—

Manufacturer

Heckler & Koch

Date of Introduction

2010

Description

The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) is a lightweight, magazine-fed 5.56mm, select-fire weapon based on the HK416 rifle designed and manufactured by the German company Heckler & Koch. It is used by the United States Marine Corps and is intended to enhance an automatic rifleman's maneuverability. The U.S. Marine Corps initially planned to purchase 6,500 M27s to replace a portion of the M249 light machine guns employed by automatic riflemen within Infantry and Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions. Approximately 8,000–10,000 M249s will remain in service with the Marine Corps to be used at the discretion of company commanders. The United States Army does not plan to purchase the IAR. In December 2017, the Marine Corps revealed a decision to equip every Marine in an infantry squad with the M27. After the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity conducted further testing at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, Fort McCoy and Camp Shelby (for dust, cold-weather, and hot-weather conditions, respectively), limited fielding of 458 IARs began to four infantry battalions (one per each Marine Expeditionary Force, one reserve) and one light armored reconnaissance battalion, all of which deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. n May 2011, Marine General James Amos approved the conclusion of the Limited User Evaluation (LUE), and ordered the replacement of the M249 LMG by the M27. Fielding of the approximately 6,500 M27 units was expected to be completed in the summer of 2013, at a cost of $13 million. Each M27 gunner was to be equipped with around twenty-two 30-round magazines of the type currently in use with the M16 and M4 carbine approximating the combat load of an M249 SAW gunner; although the M27 gunner would not be expected to carry all 22 magazines. The individual combat load would be determined at the unit level and was expected to vary by unit, based on results of evaluations conducted by the four infantry battalions and one light armored reconnaissance battalion that participated in the Limited User Evaluation. Though program officials were aware that switching from the belt-fed M249 would result in a loss of suppressive fire capability, Charles Clark III, of the Marine Corps' Combat Development and Integration Office, cited the substantially increased accuracy of the M27 as a significant factor in the decision to replace the M249. In early 2017, Commandant of the Marine Corps General Robert Neller said he wanted to equip every "0311" rifleman with an M27 IAR. Because of that, the Marine Corps issued a request in early 2017 for 11,000 M27 IARs from H&K. While talking about the Corps' request, Chris Woodburn, deputy of the Maneuver Branch, Fires and Maneuver Integration at Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said "The new order will replace all M4s in every infantry squad with an M27, except for the squad leader." He also stated that the change includes infantry training battalions. The timeline for funding was planned for fiscal years 2019 and 2020, with the Corps acquiring some of the rifles in fiscal year 2018. As of August 2017, officials have stated that "riflemen are the top priority," but that the M27 "will be in the hands of combat engineers and light armored reconnaissance battalion scouts next." The Corps later issued a pre-solicitation notice for the M27. "The new pre-solicitation notice of 50,184 [M27s]," said Woodburn, "is [meant] to up the production capacity that H&K must be able to meet as the sole-source provider [of the M27], should the Marines decide to order more in the future." At SHOT Show 2018, the Marine Corps announced that the deal with H&K to produce 11,000 M27s for the Marine Corps had been finalized and that the M27 IAR would be adopted as the standard issue service rifle of the Marine Corps infantry, replacing the M4A1.

Variants

HK416C The ultra-compact variant, with "C" for Compact. The HK416C has a 228 mm (9.0 in) barrel and is expected to produce muzzle velocities of approximately 730 m/s (2,395 ft/s).

M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle: A squad automatic weapon variant developed from the D16.5RS adopted in 2011 by the United States Marine Corps. In 2018 the USMC decided to adopt the M27 IAR as their standard battle rifle.

HK416A5 Improved carbine entered in the Individual Carbine competition.[28] The competition was cancelled without a weapon chosen.

HK416A7 Variant designed for the German KSK and KSM. Most significant change is a selector which now rotates 90 degrees rather than 180 degrees as on the M16 series.

HK417 larger caliber variant chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO

Civilian version Civilian variants of the HK416 and HK417 introduced in 2007 were known as MR223 and MR308 (as they remain known in Europe). Both are semi-automatic rifles with several "sporterized" features. At the 2009 SHOT Show, these two firearms were introduced to the U.S. civilian market renamed respectively MR556 and MR762. There is another variant of the MR556 called the MR556A1, which is an improved version of the former. It was created with input from American special forces units. The MR556A1 lets the upper receiver attach to any M16/M4/AR-15 family lower receiver, as the receiver take-down pins are in the same standard location. The original concept for the MR556 did not allow for this, as the take-down pins were located in a "non-standard" location. The MR223 maintains the "non-standard" location of the pins, disallowing attachment of the upper receiver to the lower receivers of any other M16/M4/AR-15 family of rifles. As of 2012, the MR556A1 upper receiver group fits standard AR-15 lower receivers without modification, and functions reliably with standard STANAG magazines. HK-USA sells a variant under the MR556A1 Competition Model nomenclature; it comes with a 14.5" free-float Modular Rail System (MRS), 16.5" barrel, OSS compensator and Magpul CTR buttstock. The firearm's precision is specified as 1 MOA by Heckler & Koch. In Europe, the MR223A3 variant is sold with the same cosmetic and ergonomical improvements of the HK416A5. The French importer of Heckler & Koch in France, RUAG Defence, have announced that they are going to sell two civilian versions of the HK416F, named the MR223 F-S (14.5″ Standard version) and MR223 F-C (11″ Short version).

System

Alternate Designation(s) Heckler & Koch M27

Primary Function / Type Assault Rifle

Manufacturer Heckler & Koch

Action Gas-operated short-stroke piston, rotating bolt

Rate of Fire Sustained: 36 rpm Cyclic: 700 to 900 rpm

Muzzle Velcoity 730 m/s

Effective Firing Range 600 m (point target) 800 m (area target)

Maximum Firing Range 3,601 m

Feed System 30-round STANAG magazine

Sights 3.5x Squad Day Optic, flip-up rear rotary diopter sight and front post

Sights Note Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (abbreviated ACOG) is a series of telescopic sights manufactured by Trijicon. The ACOG was originally designed to be used on the M16 rifle and M4 carbine, but Trijicon has also developed ACOG accessories for other firearms. Models provide fixed power magnification levels from 1.5× to 6×.ACOG reticles are illuminated at night by an internal phosphor. Some versions have an additional daytime reticle illumination via a passive external fiber optic light pipe or are LED-illuminated using a battery. The first ACOG model, known as the TA01, was released in 1987.

Dimensions

Length 36.9 to 33 in (940 to 840 mm) w/ adjustable stock

Barrel Length 420 mm

Width 79 mm

Height 240 mm

Weight 7.9 lb (3.6 kg) empty 9.8 lb (4.4 kg) loaded weight with sling

Ammuntiion

Type Rifle

Caliber 5.56

Cartridge 5.56×45mm NATO

Image Sources

Notes https://palmettostatearmory.com/hk-mr556a1.html; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-120427-M-SR181-035.jpg; https://www.facebook.com/107050540145209/posts/the-m27-infantry-automatic-rifle-iar-is-a-lightweight-magazine-fed-556mm-select-/487824242067835/ ;