After first offering the replacement for the venerable M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) to some units in late 2010, the Marine Corps announced May 16 that the new piece – the Heckler and Koch M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) – will soon be used throughout the service. A short article on the Marine Corps Web site describes the M27 IAR as weighing less than half of its predecessor, and packing better firepower. Every infantry and light-armed reconnaissance battalion in the Marine Corps should have the new weapon by the end of next year.
