US Army to begin issuing lighter M8 carbines in December — Defense News

In December, the US Army will begin equipping selected units at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with new M8 carbines. According to Defense News, the Sig Sauer weapon appears set to replace the M7 carbine, deliveries of which began less than three years ago.

A shorter and lighter carbine

The M8 weighs more than one pound less than the M7, and its barrel is 3.5 inches shorter. In the new model, the folding stock was replaced with a fixed one, while the handguard was made more rigid in response to feedback from military personnel.

The unloaded M7 weighed more than eight pounds and nearly 10 pounds with a suppressor. By comparison, the unloaded M4A1 carbine weighs 6.34 pounds. Sig Sauer defense products manager Josh Shoemaker said the weight difference between the M4 and M8 had been reduced to less than one pound, excluding the M8 suppressor.

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Ammunition and the M250 machine gun

The M8 and M250 machine gun use the 6.8×51 mm Common Cartridge developed by Sig Sauer. The M250 is intended to replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and is expected to reach troops in the first half of next year.

The future of the M7

After M7 deliveries began, military personnel complained about the weapon’s weight and length, as well as wear on certain components, including barrels and suppressors. In their view, this was related to high-pressure ammunition.

Budget documents show that the Army is reducing M7 purchases: no new units were requested for fiscal year 2027, while about 50,000 such carbines have already been delivered to troops. The US Army has not publicly said how it will handle the existing M7s. Sig Sauer said they could be transferred to basic training units, the National Guard, or the Reserve, and could also be converted into M8s using barrel and handguard replacement kits.