>>8789070When we can make caseless electronically fire rounds that come in 100 round blocks, and have even lighter/durable/reliable mechanisms, there will be little reason not to go bullpup.
Also, more burst fire options like the kind we saw with the g11. Don't the Russians have an AN rifle that does something similar?
Other than that, I'm with
>>8789135. Your standard sight is going to start having IR and low-light options, and be useful for close and long range engagements.
Your standard rifle is going to have a laser rangefinder and a small ballistics computer that can detect windage, atmospheric pressure, humidity, lead time etc, and help tell you where to point the gun to put the round on target. You'll be able to switch between rounds or program them so their penetration is optimized against armored/unarmored targets.
With mass of firearms and ammunition increasing, while rate of fire, range, accuracy, and other factors increase, I suspect to see the relationship between what we today think of as marksman rifle/assault rifle/squad automatic weapon begin to blur. Take one gun and pick off targets at a couple hundred meters, then turn around and lay down larger volumes of automatic fire.
And of course, it's all going to be more affordable/lighter/reliable in the future than it is today.
