Without a large magazine capacity, the IAR is just another rifle, making it somewhat inadequate as a support weapon, especially next to an M249 (the BAR comparison is a pretty good point too). They do need to find a machine gun to replace the M249 though, or buy some new ones, as the ones being used are showing signs of wear. A few of my friends in the military have talked about them as if they were jam-o-matics, which makes sense as they probably see more rounds than anything on the field. I'm not a fan of this IAR concept though, and I don't think the test will yield positive results.
I think one of the main reasons they are steering away from the M249 though is because it's fuck heavy. The Mark 46 and 48 are roughly the same weight, so they offer nothing in this area, but the IAR is less than half the M249's weight loaded, which is the most obvious benefit (but to me it's probably the only benefit).
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