Chicken Hawks can’t get enough of new military guns. There are many factors to consider when any military decides to replace a weapon.
However, with the newest machine gun purchased by the United States Special Operations Command (a.k.a. SOCOM), one question isn’t being asked:
But what is the cost of new military guns?
The MG338 Medium Machine Gun
After some attempts at trying to find the price of Sig Sauer’s new machine gun, the MG338 (or .338 Norma Mag), finding the price has proven to be difficult. All searches have lead to links like many of the following:
Army, Marines Want New Machine Guns to Replace the M240 and ‘Ma Deuce’
SIG MG 338: USSOCOM’s Lightweight, Norma Mag Machine Gun Is Here!
USSOCOM Completes Purchase of SIG SAUER MG 338 Machine Guns
USSOCOM TAKES DELIVERY OF NEW SIG SAUER MG 338 MACHINE GUN
BREAKING: SOCOM Testing SIG Beltfed – MG 338
Even one of search quieries resulted in a “People also ask” question of “How much is 338 Norma Mag?”
As you can see, the answer came from an article I had already checked out. However, I wasn’t able to find the price on the MG338, one of the new military guns.
“But the MG 338 Is Amazing!” Says the Chicken Hawk
It’s true. The MG 338 is amazing compared to the weapon system it aims to replace – the M240B. Much lighter, farther range, ambidextrous, and standard folding buttstock are all great improvements. SOCOM is lucky to have them.
But how much is this amazing weapon worth, and why isn’t this information available?
Perhaps it is too early to tell, especially with the other weapons Sig Sauer is bidding to win for the Army. However, since SOCOM already has purchased some, there should be some idea out there.
It is true – the Defense budget has increased dramatically under the Trump presidency. More money is being thrown at the military and they’re probably loving it.
And Sig Sauer and all the other defense contractors know this.
New Military Guns – The XM8?
When I joined the Army, the XM8 was a weapon system in development to replace the M16/M4 rifles. There was a lot of talk about the weapon, and like the MG338, was to be a huge improvement.
I remember its dependability was the number one thing that interested me.
However, after years of testing and development, the U.S. Army scrapped it, but it does live on in the Malaysian Navy!
The XM25 was a more expensive, more technological weapon than the XM8. It was a rifle that shot airburst rounds, and it was actually used in Afghanistan.
According to Defense Tech, the XM25 was about $25,000 per weapon! In Afghanistan, it proved not to be ready, and ultimately, was scrapped 5 years after pulled out of service.
Before the XM-series scrapping (part of the Army’s Objective Individual Combat Weapon, or OICW), there was the Advanced Combat Rifle and before that, the Special Purpose Individual Weapon. Many sites state the Advanced Combat Rifle program spent about $300,000,000, but none I could find had any source documentation.
Isn’t it crazy how much time, effort, and money has gone into trying to replace the M16 series of rifles? Perhaps the NGWS (New Generation Weapon Systems) will finally replace them.
So What If New Military Guns Cost a Lot of Money?
Chicken Hawks aren’t concerned with how much money is spent on the Army getting a new weapon. This money isn’t earned by the government – it simply is taken from citizens. Technically, the government doesn’t earn money.
Because of the guaranteed flow of money, they can afford to spend it and not worry too much about the results. When the Chicken Hawks see the results of a new, cool weapon, that’s all they see. What about the decades and hundreds of millions of dollars that went into creating a new weapon?
It’s still amazing so some of us that someone would rather create something that will more efficiently kill someone than drink a beer or hang out with friends instead.
And this is just the standard infantry weapons discussed in this post. Where do we begin with all the other money spent on weapons of war? Here? Or here? Or here?
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