Canada Pursues NATO STANAG of 6.5 x 43mm

During my visit to Canada last week, I spoke with multiple people across the Army and industry and one topic dominated discussions, the 6.5 x 43 cartridge.

You probably know it by the designation of 264 USA, named when it was developed by the US Army Marksmanship Unit as an intermediate cartridge. Turns out, it’s a ballistic Goldilocks between 5.56 and 7.62 NATO and that term came up over and over in conversation. It offers additional range and lethality over both 5.56 and 7.62 NATO with a compromise in ammunition weight between the two. Additionally, it can also be used for both rifle and belt-fed applications.

Those of you familiar with the FN America Lightweight Intermediate Caliber Cartridge (LICC) Individual Weapon System (IWS) developed for the Irregular Warfare Technology Support Directorate (IWTSD), will know the caliber which at one point has also been referred to as “264 International” as a nod to the program’s co-sponsor CANSOFCOM. They are so impressed with what they’ve observed during the LICC program that they have decided to press forward.

With an eye to the future, CANSOFCOM is pursuing a NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) for 6.5 x 43 mm in partnership with at least one additional NATO member. At this point, the other party has not been disclosed. However, I know it is not the US, which has been working on the 6.8 x 51mm common case cartridge as their path forward.

STANAG 4884. Technical Performance Specifications Providing For The Interchangeability of 6.5mm x 43 Ammunition.

With this new development, it seems that the caliber wars aren’t yet over. Hopefully, with NATO standardization, likely with brass and composite case designs, we will see more manufacturers of ammunition as well as additional weapon designs.

We will update this story as we learn more.

– By Eric Graves

This entry was posted
on Monday, June 2nd, 2025 at 13:00 and is filed under Ammo, International, SOF.
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