Just last month, the Marines released an RFI for suppressors that can be used for the M4, M4A1, and the M27 IAR, with the possibility of purchasing these that will run into over a hundred thousand cans that will be issued to the Corps.
But it looks like that instead of having the suppressors as separate attachment for the weapons, they may just want to call for proposals for integrally suppressed rifles according to the Marine Times.
In their report, the news site mentions that in a panel at the annual Modern Day Marine military expo at Quantico that took place last week, Marine Col. Mike Manning, the Ground Combat Element Systems Commander for Marine Corps Systems Command, they will soon be drafting a request for proposal for the industry to follow and answer.
While he did not mention any specific weapon the suppressors will be for, they are already testing commercially available suppressors. But if there is an integrated suppressor in the weapon, meaning integrated with the barrel, the better. The reason is that an integrated suppressor may not impose an additional length and perhaps weight to the rifle. Attaching a suppressor module to any rifle these days obviously adds length and weight at the front-end.
“Quit throwing it on the end so that now we have a 14-and-a-half inch barrel or a 16-inch barrel. We just added four or five inches to that barrel,” Manning said in the same Military Times report.
There is no mention also of the number of suppressors they will require other than saying that it will be “across forces” indicating that it will probably across the board, with most of the combat units of the USMC receiving the suppressors rather than just specific units in the Corps.
The 2nd Marine Division has been testing suppressors when they got deployed to Norway in May of this year. They tested the suppressors in live training and live fire training and they do not want to go back. Using suppressors has obvious benefits of stealth, easier communications and coordination, as well as lesser hearing problems for the shooters.
Top photo: Battalion Landing Team 31st MEU with suppressors (Photo by Lance Cpl. Stormy Mendez, USMC)