User:Jamescart/sandbox

239 of the stoppages were due to faulty mags. Which are in the process of being upgraded

2007 dust test
In the fall 2007, the Army tested the M4 against three other carbines in "sandstorm conditions" at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland: the Heckler & Koch XM8, Fabrique Nationale de Herstal SOF Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) and the Heckler & Koch HK416. Ten of each type of rifle were used to fire 6,000 rounds each, for a total of 60,000 rounds per rifle type. The M4 suffered far more stoppages than its competitors: 882 stoppages, 19 requiring an armorer to fix. The XM8 had the fewest stoppages, 116 minor stoppages and 11 major ones, followed by the FN SCAR with 226 stoppages and the HK416 with 233.

However, the 863 minor stoppages—termed "class one" stoppages which require 10 seconds or less to clear and "class two" stoppages which require more than ten seconds to clear—the M4 functioned well, with over 98 percent of the 60,000 total rounds firing without a problem. The Army said it planned to improve the M4 with a new cold-hammer-forged barrel to give longer life and more reliable magazines to reduce the stoppages. Magazine failures caused 239 of the M4's 882 failures. Army officials said the new magazines could be combat-ready by spring if testing went well. The Army began issuing an improved STANAG magazine in March 2009.

According to the Army, the M4 only suffered 296 stoppages. Saying that the high number reported could be attributed to discrepancies in the scoring process. Considering that if a certain number of malfunctions were found to be the result of a broken part, some of the stoppages counted could be eliminated in the final report. Colt also claimed that the testing conditions were unfair to the M4. Factors including the M4s used being taken from the Army inventory while the other rifles were provided directly from the manufacturers, and the carbine's burst fire operation when the others had fully automatic firing modes brought the validity of the results into question.

There were three extreme dust tests performed in 2007. The later Fall 2007 results showed improvement from the previous two tests; the M4 carbine had 148 class 1 stoppages due to rifle malfunctions and 148 class 1 stoppages due to magazine stoppages. The full-size M16 rifle had a total of 61 stoppages during the same extreme dust test.