FN SCAR - Mk 16 Cancellation/Mk 17 Preference

Mk 16 Cancellation/Mk 17 Preference

On 25 June 2010 SOCOM announced that it was canceling the acquisition of the Mk 16 citing limited funds and a lack of enough of a performance difference in another 5.56mm rifle to justify the purchase. Remaining funds would be expended for the Mk 17 7.62×51 mm version and the Mk 20 sniper variant. "FNH USA believes the issue is not whether the SCAR, and specifically the MK 16 variant, is the superior weapon system available today...it has already been proven to be just that...recently passing Milestone C and determined to be operationally effective / operationally suitable (OE/OS) for fielding. The issue is whether or not the requirement for a 5.56mm replacement outweighs the numerous other requirements competing for the customers’ limited budget. That is a question that will only be determined by the customer." FN Herstal though has stated that the 5.56mm variant will be retained by SOCOM, and that "The choice between the 5.56 and the 7.62 caliber will be left to the discretion of each constitutive component of USSOCOM's Joint Command (e.g. SEALs, Rangers, Army Special Forces, MARSOC, AFSOC) depending on their specific missions on today's battlefield."

By 19 August 2010, word from US Special Operations Command had not changed. SOCOM decided to procure the 7.62 mm Mk 17 rifle, the 40mm Mk 13 grenade launcher, and the 7.62mm Mk 20 Sniper Support rifle variants of the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) manufactured by FN. SOCOM would not purchase the 5.56mm Mk 16. At that point the individual service component commands within SOCOM (Army Special Operations Command, Naval Special Warfare Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, and Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command) would or would not still buy the 5.56mm Mk 16 SCAR for some or all of their respective subordinate units even with overall US Special Operations Command opting not to.

On 9 December 2011, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division released a sole source 5 year IDIQ procurement notice for the Mk 16 Mod 0 (SCAR-L), Mk 17 Mod 0 (SCAR-H), Mk 20 Mod 0 (SSR), and MK 13 Mod 0 (40mm EGLM) from FN.