A reader of ours who calls himself the Ravishing Rick Dude, sent us link of an article at Military.com about a non-lethal M4 training weapon that the U.S. Army Rangers and Green Berets are looking into for close quarters combat training. Looking at the system, called the UNIT4 and made by Unit Solutions, it is basically CO2-powered blowback rifle that uses 8mm marking and non-marking spherical rounds.

If you think it is actually an airsoft training weapon, then probably you are right. Here is how the company describes the system as posted on their Facebook page:

UNIT4™ 8mm non-lethal marking rounds are 100% lead-free, brass-free, biodegradable, and come preloaded in sets of 30 in our convenient TPAK® cartridges. Available in pink, yellow, and orange, these eco-friendly projectiles offer a satisfying splash and can be easily cleaned using normal detergent. With a cost as low as 30 cents per round, users can realize a significant cost savings over competing force-on-force systems that offer training ammunition at more than 70 cents per round.

Whilst most of the commercial airsoft guns mainly fire 6mm BB rounds, there are airsoft guns that fire 8mm BBs. Marking BBs or Paint BBs are also available but they are not being used in airsoft games as they tend to muck up the inner barrel and are more expensive to use the regular plastic BB rounds. The magazine is different from the usual gas magazines that airsoft gas blowback M4/AR rifles as the shooter needs to fill up a TPAK cartridge then insert it into the magazine case.

The UNIT4 is an inexpensive training weapon if you compare it to the other airsoft training weapons being offered to Military and Law Enforcement organisations. Unit Solutions has partnered with Lewis Machine & Tool Co. (LMT) to produce the UNIT4 which they are selling for US$500.00 a bit more expensive than some existing airsoft gas blowback rifles and by January 2021, they will be raising the price to US$750. It is still cheaper than other airsoft training weapons available such as the PTWs from Systema Engineering and the DAS GDR-15 from GBLS, which are AEGs.

According to the article Military.com article, the 75th Ranger Regiment which is based in Fort Benning, Georgia has already purchased 30 of UNIT4 training rifles and Special Forces units are looking into purchasing the training weapon for their ODAs.

If the UNIT4 gets accepted by more U.S. military units for training, airsoft manufacturers can look into making versions of their gas blowback rifles to use 8mm BB rounds as well as the paint ball markers which are readily available. They can offer such version as training weapons as well if military and police organizations prefer the 8mm over 6mm.