Marines not interested in switching from M27 to Army’s M7 anytime soon

The Marines are sticking with the M27 while they will also “continue to monitor development” of the Army’s M7.

by Jeff Schogol
Published Feb 13, 2026 2:44 PM EST

The Marines have decided to stick with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle instead of switching to the Army’s M7 Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, a Marine Corps spokesperson told Task & Purpose.

“The Marine Corps will retain the M27 for our close combat formations as it best aligns with our unique service requirements, amphibious doctrinal employment of weapons, and distinct modernization priorities, while ensuring seamless interoperability across the Joint force and with coalition partners,” the spokesperson wrote in an email...

Complete article with two photos:

https://taskandpurpose.com/new...ines-m27-rifle-swap/

Just goes to show you that there are some smart people in the Marines.

Is suspect one of the primary driving factors is that (unlike the Army) the Marines don't want to have to worry about supplying two different service rifle calibers simultaneously, especially since they've refocused their primary mission back to fighting on islands and in beach heads, where limited supply is an even bigger concern.

"Amateurs talk about tactics. Professionals study logistics."

Let’s also remember that the marines make decisions for illogical reasons and refuse to change. They believe it’s a proud tradition to go into the next war with equipment from two wars ago.

Today? The leadership is tone deaf. The Corps are hemorrhaging people that are tired of having to duct tape on NT4s and carry around sniper rifles that they have no ammunition for. The Army is loving it. They are recruiting active duty marines at a very good pace. So much so they have a direct pipeline USASOC.

This is what bad leadership and a refusal to change gets you.

I would agree with the marines ( even being a career army guy!) when we “went over the berm” into Iraq in ‘04, they had to issue us British ammo as no American ammo was on hand at the time.being able to lean on coalition/ NATO partners for ammo is real. If using a unique nonstandard caliber, won’t have that opportunity

The M7 is a complete dumpster fire. I predict it will be quickly mothballed after the contract’s required number of guns are purchased. Every unit that has the M7 has reported the same issues. The handguard to receiver interface is not good and the handguard has significant shift, making mounting a laser impossible. The tolerances on the rail are terrible, making it impossible to correct the rail shift.

The MG7 too. Hot garbage.

Yet two more turds foisted upon our warfighters and the US taxpayer by Exeter. It’s sad to see how far Sig USA has fallen.

Thank the Lord the USMC is passing on the M7.