Special Operators Are Getting a New Rifle, and It Fires Two Different Calibers

The SCAR's long run in America's special operations armories is coming to an end. U.S. Special Operations Command has confirmed it will begin fielding a new rifle, the MK24 Mid-Range Gas Gun-Assault, as a direct replacement for the MK17 SCAR-H, with deliveries expected to start before the fiscal year ends on September 30.

And this isn't a boutique buy for a handful of elite units. SOCOM spokesman Navy Cmdr. Joe Vermette told Task & Purpose the rifle will go to "multiple SOF components" - meaning the broader special operations enterprise, not just the most secretive corners of it.

Why Replace the SCAR?

SOCOM began fielding the MK17 in 2009, and units deployed to Afghanistan leaned heavily on the high-powered 7.62mm rifle, which gave operators reach and punch the standard 5.56mm M4 couldn't match.

Although it resembles the M4, the FN Herstal SCAR was always its own animal: its own operating system, its own ergonomics, its own parts chain, none of it shared with the M4-pattern rifles the rest of the force carries.

The MK24, built by LMT Defense of Eldridge, Iowa, solves that. Its architecture is similar to an M4 carbine, so an operator coming off years behind an M4 picks it up with familiar controls and muscle memory intact. It features a 14.5-inch barrel, fully ambidextrous controls, a one-piece upper receiver for rigidity and accuracy, and weighs 9.2 pounds unloaded without accessories.

One Rifle, Two Calibers

The defining feature of the new rifle is the barrel. A quick-change swappable barrel lets the MK24 fire both 7.62mm NATO and 6.5mm Creedmoor ammunition, a task operators can perform in roughly a minute, without carrying a second weapon system.

That flexibility answers two real-world problems at once. U.S. special operators routinely work alongside partner forces whose ammunition stocks are 7.62 NATO, so compatibility simplifies logistics. But when the mission demands reach, the 6.5mm Creedmoor ammunition in the MK24 has a range of more than 1,200 meters, with less recoil than the SCAR.

What the Program Office Is Saying

The rifle hasn't reached operators yet, so firsthand reviews from the teams will have to wait. The program office is enthusiastic about the new rifle,

"It's just a phenomenal, accurate weapon system for our SOF operators," Army Lt. Col. Alan Wood, SOCOM's product manager for SOF Lethality, told The War Zone at SOF Week in Tampa, adding that all the SOF components are excited about the weapon.

The manufacturer LMT business development manager Joseph Hajny, is "new overmatch" - a multicaliber system with familiar ambidextrous controls, advanced modularity, a quick-change barrel and monolithic upper, and improved ergonomics. The MK24 is the second half of a program SOCOM has been building for years.

The command has fielded the Mid-Range Gas Gun-Sniper variant since 2023, and the broader Mid-Range Gas Gun effort launched in 2019 with separate sniper and assault tracks. In August 2025, LMT won a 10-year indefinite-delivery contract worth up to $92 million covering rifle kits, spares, accessories, training, and engineering changes.

The Bottom Line

The SCAR earned its reputation in the mountains of Afghanistan, but seventeen years is a long service life for equipment in the special operations world, where the whole point is staying ahead of the threat.

The MK24 keeps the SCAR's long-range punch, sheds its logistical baggage, adds a second caliber, and hands operators a rifle that feels like the M4 they grew up on. SOCOM is pursuing rapid fielding starting this fiscal year - which means the first operator range reports should start trickling out before long.