QUANTICO, Virginia -- Textron Systems unveiled its new 6.5mm case-telescoped carbine at Modern Day Marine 2016.
The weighted model represents Textron’s latest effort to develop a new age of infantry weapons that fire weight-saving, case-telescoped ammunition.
Textron has made significant advancements in this technology with its Light Weight Small Arms Technology, or LSAT – an Army funded program that has so far yielded working lightweight machine guns in both 5.56mm and 7.62mm.
The new 6.5 CS carbine emerged out of an intermediate caliber study Textron conducted in 2014, according to Ben Cole, project engineer.
Currently, the empty weight of the mock-up carbine is 8.7 pounds. A magazine loaded with 20 rounds of case-telescoped 6.5mm ammunition adds one pound. An M4A1 carbine weighs 7.74 pounds empty and about 8.74 pounds with a loaded 30-round mag.
Case-telescoped ammunition is about 40-percent lighter when you compare it to the standard brass ammo in the same caliber, Cole said.
The 123 grain 6.5mm has a muzzle velocity of about 3,000 feet per second, Cole said.
Comparatively, the 62 grain bullet on the M855A1 has a muzzle velocity of 2,970 feet per second, according to U.S. Army data.
“If you take this 6.5mm bullet at our muzzle velocity, it’s 300 percent more down-range energy than the M855A1,” Cole said. “So for a minimal weight gain, you would have significantly more down-range lethality.”
Textron officials hope to have a working prototype to begin testing early next year, Cole said.
“We are trying to go after the next requirement for soldier rifles,” Cole said.
