I'm kind of thinking to myself, I saw it some place where someone mentioned one reasoning for having a longer more potent long range caliber was to create everyone who is carrying it a basic sniper per say and I say this loosely, or maybe a better way of saying this would allow you to have a lot more people the capability of longer range shots with a higher hit probability. Take a look at the Vortex sighting system the Military just bought , It's going to go hand and glove with this new rifle, it pretty much does everything for the shooter to make longer range shots. I wish I had one, I'm just not going to pay what the Military is paying for this new sight system. Speaking just about the rifle (not the SAW), I don't understand if you wanted something a little more modern you could update an AR 10 to do basically the same thing, lighten it up, new cartridge, make it handle the increased pressures, and be a whole lot cheaper. You watch when the R&D is completed and the bugs worked out for some new super propelled system in the next few years we will have another switch in weapons.