This story has been circulating since late last month, but not all is lost for the FN, which won the contract for supplying US SPEC OPS Command the FN SCAR as they want more deliveries of the 7.62 MK-17, more known as SCAR-H in the airsoft community according to Military.com. The reason sta­ted for this change is to fill a "capability gap" for the heavier version, and FN is also toying with the idea of the MK-17 receiver that can be converted into the 5.56 version if the need arises, giving the SOCOM the best of both worlds.

Here are excerpts that Military.com reports:

In a surprising reversal that follows years of effort to design a one-of-a-kind commando rifle, the U.S. military’s Special Operations Command has abruptly decided to abandon the new SOCOM Combat Assault rifle – the “SCAR,” as the rifle is commonly known – in favor of previously-fielded carbines.

Details provided exclusively to Military.com reveal that SOCOM, the Tampa-based command that oversees the training and equipping of SEALs, Green Berets, Air Force Special Tactics Teams and Marine SOC groups, will stop purchasing the 5.56 mm Mk-16 Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle and might require all units who now have them to turn the new weapons back into the armory.

“The Mk-16 does not provide enough of a performance advantage over the M-4 to justify spending USSOCOM’s limited … funds when competing priorities are taken into consideration,” officials at USSOCOM said in an email response to questions from Military.com. “Currently, three of USSOCOM’s four components receive the 5.56 mm M-4 from their parent service as a service common equipment item.”

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