US Marine Corps starts mass fielding of small arms suppressors
Thousands of silencers for the M4, M27 and M4A1 rifles are being issued to infantry, reconnaissance and special operations troops
Eyal Boguslavsky
| 05/01/2021
Photo: Sgt. Christopher Q. Stone/US Marine Corps
The U.S. Marine Corps has begun an extensive distribution of thousands of suppressors for the M4, M27 and M4A1 rifles to infantry, reconnaissance and special operations Marines, according to a statement issued by the Marine Corps headquarters in the middle of last week.
"We’ve never fielded suppressors at this scale," said Maj. Mike Brisker, weapons product manager in the Marine Corps System Command’s Program Manager for Infantry Weapons (PM IW). "This fielding is a big moment for the Marine Corps."
The Marine Corps began suppressing its M38 and M4A1 rifles in recent years. However, an increasing number of commanders felt that suppressing additional weapons would increase the overall lethality of the infantry. The impetus for equipping additional weapons with suppressors came from a series of experimentations at a 2016 "Sea Dragon" event, which enables the Marine Corps to experiment with current and emerging technologies and operational concepts. At the event, a battalion employed the suppressors as part of a Marine Corps Warfighting Lab experimentation.
In 2020, PM IW procured about 6,700 small arms suppressors through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Tailored Logistic Program, and acquired more than 7,000 additional units on the first delivery order upon the contract award. Brisker said the goal is to field approximately 30,000 suppressors by fiscal year 2023.
Thousands of silencers for the M4, M27 and M4A1 rifles are being issued to infantry, reconnaissance and special operations troops
Photo: Sgt. Christopher Q. Stone/US Marine Corps
The U.S. Marine Corps has begun an extensive distribution of thousands of suppressors for the M4, M27 and M4A1 rifles to infantry, reconnaissance and special operations Marines, according to a statement issued by the Marine Corps headquarters in the middle of last week.
"We’ve never fielded suppressors at this scale," said Maj. Mike Brisker, weapons product manager in the Marine Corps System Command’s Program Manager for Infantry Weapons (PM IW). "This fielding is a big moment for the Marine Corps."
The Marine Corps began suppressing its M38 and M4A1 rifles in recent years. However, an increasing number of commanders felt that suppressing additional weapons would increase the overall lethality of the infantry. The impetus for equipping additional weapons with suppressors came from a series of experimentations at a 2016 "Sea Dragon" event, which enables the Marine Corps to experiment with current and emerging technologies and operational concepts. At the event, a battalion employed the suppressors as part of a Marine Corps Warfighting Lab experimentation.
In 2020, PM IW procured about 6,700 small arms suppressors through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Tailored Logistic Program, and acquired more than 7,000 additional units on the first delivery order upon the contract award. Brisker said the goal is to field approximately 30,000 suppressors by fiscal year 2023.
