SCAR reaches "Milestone C"

What the hell is "Milestone C"? "Milestones" are stages in the development program of weapons leading up to their introduction. FN in the USA and Belgium must have been very happy about the C notification. Milestone C is nothing more than the authorization for production and deployment to the troops. The only source for this announcement so far is FNH USA itself. In a press release, they state: "FNH USA, LLC has been notified by the USSOCOM Program Executive Office—SOF Warrior (PEO—SW) that the SCAR Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) was accepted and signed on April 14, 2010, marking the entry of this FN Herstal (FN) program into the Milestone C phase. This decision authorizes the production and deployment of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) MK 16 and MK 17 as well as the Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module (EGLM) MK 13." In plain language: SCAR is allowed to transition from the testing phase to the introduction phase for the troops. Whether this will actually be implemented remains to be seen. So far, there have been many critical arguments heard about the MK16 - the 5.56 version - while the MK17 - 7.62 mm - is seen more often in photos from Afghanistan.