Colt M4 Data Rights & The Individual Carbine Competition

M4 carbine, firing(click to view full) Guest Article by Daniel E. Watters On June 14/11, the US Army released a pre-solicitation notice for the procurement of approximately 70,000 to 100,000 M4 and M4A1 carbines in a best value competition (W56HZV-10-R-0593). This represents the first time that the procurement of the M4/M4A1 has not been limited to Colt Defense. How was this point reached, exactly what are the Army’s options, and how that may affect the Individual Carbine competition? There’s still a very good chance that the competition for a new replacement rifle will meet the fate of previous competitions, and the Army will continue to buy the M4… * The Infamous M4 Addendum * What Second Sourcing Really Means * The Individual Carbine * Additional Readings The Infamous M4 Addendum M16A1, A2, A3, A4(click to view full) Contrary to popular misconception, the US Department of Defense does not own the technical data package (TDP) for either the M4 carbine or its parent, the M16 rifle. In June/67, in its role as the DOD’s designated procurement agency, the US Army purchased a license from Colt for the TDP and the rights to produce the M16 family of weapons and its component […]