Interestingly, it seems the US Army has decided to roll forward with a new intermediate cartridge for use in the next generation infantry rifle and squad automatic rife and it is 6.8mm (.277" aka .270). They aren't saying much about the apparently newly developed cartridge yet but are claiming it is markedly superior to the 5.56 and even to the 7.62 downrange which implies to me that it is NOT the 6.8 SPC but instead something entirely different. References to long-range capability in other articles and talk of defeating armor at long ranges seems to point toward a more heavier and longer .277 bullet than that used in the 6.8 SPC. I know they were testing a telescoping 6.5mm earlier and had a bit of success with it so I am inclined to believe the new round may be either telescoping or entirely case-less. Performance-wise it really sounds like they are gunning (forgive the pun) for the same performance we've been discussing here in a true "universal" round.