Infantry automatic rifle is Afghan-bound

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 5, 2010

Five units will soon deploy with the new M27 infantry automatic rifle, a 5.56mm weapon that may one day replace the M249 squad automatic weapon. A total of 458 rifles will be delivered by the gun’s maker, Heckler and Koch, and meted out to five battalions working up for deployments to Afghanistan.

They are:

• 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

• 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

• 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

• 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, out of Pendleton.

• And 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, a Reserve unit out of Fort Devens, Mass.

Marine Corps Base Hawaii, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment armorers perform a function check on new M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles under the supervision of a Marine Corps Systems Command New Equipment Trainer last Friday. The 1/3 Marines will train and deploy with the weapons to provide feedback that will help decide the weapon systems future in the Marine Corps.

This M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, along with 83 others, was delivered last Friday to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment armorers. Since then, M27 IAR gunners and armorers have received training on operating and maintaining the weapon system from Marine Corps Systems Command and gun makers Heckler and Koch.

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