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Third, the military has made the decision to stay with the 5.56 M16/M4 series until a break through in weapons development happens. Simply put, no new rifle offers enough benefit to justify spending the billions to develop what is essentially the same thing we have with a few tweaks.
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The Army recently announced new trials to replace the M4.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/0...eased-021411w/
That's not to say the M4 won't win this latest competition, but it will face some stiff competition from the SCAR and ACR and even the Colt CM901.
The M4A1's evolution will continue while these trials are ongoing. After a winner is selected, then the brass will decide if the M4 will remain in service or if it will be replaced by the winner of the trials.
So there's no concrete commitment to the M4 and the Army is actively looking to replace it if they find a suitable replacement.