experimental weapons systems like OICW

[Mustang]

I know this is kind of off-topic, but does anyone know what the Commanche's replacement will be or what it will look like? Those Apaches are getting old, and it takes maybe a decade to design a new helo, so they must be working on something now.

[thatguy96]

I believe the 25mm ammunition is the same family, but I don't know for sure.

According to FN the SCAR will be able to be chambered in 7.62x39mm. As far as I know this requirement was dropped by time the SOF-SCR program morphed into the SCAR. The SOF-SCR program had a number of alternative caliber requirements, and as far as I know none of these made it into the SCAR requirements. 6.8mm Remington SPC was generally found to not be ballistically superior to 5.56x45mm M855 or Mk 262 Mod 0/1 that its fallen out of the limelight.

As for Commanche replacement, Commanche was supposed to be the replacement for both the OH-58D and the AH-64D from what I gathered. The concensus behind the Army's decision to cancel the program seemed to be based on the ideas that the OH-58D was a far more capable system that people wanted to believe and could easily be upgraded, and that the AH-64 could be diversified from its primarily anti-armor role. Furthermore, the fielding of a whole new generation of UAVs made the need for a dedicated deep recon helicopter non-existant. In my opinion expect to see both the OH-58 and AH-64 platforms soldier on for quite a while, just like the UH-1 and AH-1 platforms with the USMC.