I don't see the Colt M4 going anywhere for a long time.
Travis
It's a very tough act to follow that's for sure. But they are getting long in the tooth, and inventories will be well worn out by the time we wrap up the war. There are "better" designs out there, but when you adopt a new rifle, you know there are going to be bugs. Most of those bugs are related to materials and manufacturing, not the design itself. So you really want to make a switch during peacetime, not in a war like we did last time. But I think when the war is over, the M4 will be slated for replacement inside of 10 years.
Of course there has been no less than 4 of 5 programs to replace the M16 since it was adopted, so who knows. Like I said, it is a rather tough act to follow.
