In early 2017, the Army began writing a new requirement for an SDM rifle for combat platoons and squads. Although the Army has been using the M14 EBR since 2009, they had to be turned in when returning from theater, and it had weight issues being almost unloaded. A new marksman rifle will equip each combat arms squad weighing about firing standard M80A1 7.62 mm rounds fitted with a rifle optic rather than a telescopic sight. In March 2018, the Army announced that a version of the HK G28, which had already been selected to replace the M110 SASS, would be issued as the service's standard SDMR. Issuing a 7.62 mm SDMR is meant to increase individual squads' ability to defeat enemy body armor that standard 5.56×45mm rounds cannot penetrate. Fielding was planned to start in late 2018.