Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?

[Twoboxer]

Yup! Phaser.

Whether there'll be one or more calibers in between remains a mystery.

[Gun]

Second on the Phaser, only because the 5.56 can't be set to stun.

[Ecclectic Collector]

I'm hardly the expert, but it seems our military does things from a mission need basis. The .223/5.56mm platform has a lot of sheer inertia going for it. To replace it you'd need a radically different need brought about by some sort of change in the nature of combat mission or technology that renders the current system obsolete. This happened at the end of the Civil War and again 25 years later when smokeless powder was perfected rendering black powder based weapons systems outdated.

No surprise but many of the cartridges adopted shortly after the changeover to smokeless powder hung on for decades in military use simply out of the sheer economics. You still have the Russian 7.62x54mm being used widely and its a 19th century design (1891).

[Socialist_Millennial]

Thanks for the input everyone! I really appreciate the time everyone took to answer my question

[rifleshooter2]

No

[JAKIII]

Thanks for the input everyone! I really appreciate the time everyone took to answer my question

How’d you get all those red chicklets... your screen name?

[internet troll]

How’d you get all those red chicklets... your screen name?

If I were to take a guess, probably something from this thread.

http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=336836

[Yellowfin]

The AR10 platform is picking up a lot of the momentum that would be going to non 5.56 AR's.

[DavidH]

Eventually, but not anytime soon! Every couple years there is another “fan boy” round that is supposed to be SO SUPER MUCH BETTER than 5.56. From the 6.8spc to the 6.5 Grendal, the 300 Whisper, 458 Socom or 50 Beowulf. Now the new one is the Blackout. The Ar15 platform has been kickn’ Butt & takn’ names for over 60 years! We are not going to see a replacement anytime soon. And we certainly won’t be seeing the best performing round in this platform being replaced, while it’s still in use.


I believe the next “BIG” thing will be infantry Rail Gun Technology. The advancements made in the last few years have led to successful large scale, repeating rail guns. A battleship in China has already been photographed with a full size rail gun, although we do not know it’s performance. The US DOES have fully functional units which can send rounds at Mach7, with a range of 100 miles away! And I ALSO believe they are on our ships as well. The next logical step would seem to be smaller versions which the soldier could use.

[JAKIII]

The muzzle velocity generated from that little 5.56 bad boy wreaks trauma on anyone it touches... can you say yaw and fragment?

The 5.56×45mm NATO SS109/M855 cartridge (NATO: SS109; U.S.: M855) with standard 62 gr. lead core bullets with steel penetrator will penetrate approximately 38 to 51 cm (15 to 20 in) into soft tissue in ideal circumstances. As with all spitzer shaped projectiles it is prone to yaw in soft tissue. However, at impact velocities above roughly 762 m/s (2,500 ft/s), it may yaw and then fragment at the cannelure (the crimping groove around the cylinder of the bullet). These fragments can disperse through flesh and bone, inflicting additional internal injuries.