Picatinny's composite mag

[Slater]

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2006smallarms/foltz.pdf

Looking at the above 2006 document, there was (is?) an Army effort to develop an in-house synthetic 30-round mag. With the widespread availability of proven designs such as the P-Mag I would imagine that this program died a quiet death. Anyone familiar?

[Ridge_Runner_5]

The government is always looking for ways to spend a few million dollars to invent something that has been used in the private sector for less for years...

[CaptainDooley]

They spent millions developing their own anti-tilt follower... even though Magpul had that licked ages ago. Doesn't surprise me in the least.

[NickB]

They spent millions developing their own anti-tilt follower... even though Magpul had that licked ages ago. Doesn't surprise me in the least.

The follower proposal we submitted to the Army a couple years ago is sitting in my desk drawer right now, along with their official rejection letter. The irony of the situation is that their follower still doesn't work right, even after the better part of a decade of development. The Army could have outfitted every magazine in inventory with a Magpul follower with the money they spent on R&D, but the program was always intended to remain internal/non-competitive - industry involvement simply wasn't an option until the TDP was finalized and it came time to source the manufacturing of their design.

This sort of inefficiency would be laughable if we weren't talking in terms of soldiers' lives...

[NickB]

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2006smallarms/foltz.pdf

Looking at the above 2006 document, there was (is?) an Army effort to develop an in-house synthetic 30-round mag. With the widespread availability of proven designs such as the P-Mag I would imagine that this program died a quiet death. Anyone familiar?

The Army is working on an "approved product list" for magazines, which will include any aftermarket, non-standard issue magazines which pass Army tests. We have been expecting this for over a year now, but it seems to be always "coming soon."

[Stickman]

I would like to know how much of a bonus the person or team was awarded who "accidentally" made a nonfunctional Magpul follower at Picatinny. Oh wait, its an enhanced follower that just looks like Magpuls, my bad.

[Slater]

I'm pretty much in the dark about how the whole procurement system works, but since P-Mags have an assigned NSN wouldn't they automatically be included on any approved item list?

[RogerinTPA]

I would like to know how much of a bonus the person or team was awarded who "accidentally" made a nonfunctional Magpul follower at Picatinny. Oh wait, its an enhanced follower that just looks like Magpuls, my bad.

Magpul should sue them for copy right infringements, just for shits and giggles. It will knock their program back another decade. :p

[Deaj]

The follower proposal we submitted to the Army a couple years ago is sitting in my desk drawer right now, along with their official rejection letter. The irony of the situation is that their follower still doesn't work right, even after the better part of a decade of development. The Army could have outfitted every magazine in inventory with a Magpul follower with the money they spent on R&D, but the program was always intended to remain internal/non-competitive - industry involvement simply wasn't an option until the TDP was finalized and it came time to source the manufacturing of their design.

This sort of inefficiency would be laughable if we weren't talking in terms of soldiers' lives...

Having worked on many government contract projects through the years I have seen this sort of waste and inefficiency time and time again though never in a capacity directly threatening human lives, military or civilian. This turns my stomach! :mad: