A U.S. Army graphic detailing the competitors for the program as of December 2020.

The Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) program is a United States military program created in 2017 by the U.S. Army to replace the 5.56mm M4 carbine, the M249 SAW light machine gun, and the 7.62mm M240 machine gun, with a common system of 6.8mm cartridges and to develop small arms fire-control systems for the new weapons.[1][2]

Seven defense manufacturers competed in the program, with five attempting to design and produce the weapons & two attempting to create and supply fire-control optics.[3] The winners were officially announced by the Army in early 2022: SIG Sauer to produce the XM7 rifle and XM250 automatic rifle, Vortex Optics to produce the XM157 fire-control system,[3] and Winchester to produce the custom 6.8mm ammunition cartridges designed by SIG Sauer.[4][5][6] The program was expected to cost $10 million in the first year of production, and $150 million the next.[1][5][6]

History

The NGSW program began in 2017, after the U.S. Congress issued an order for the U.S. Army to conduct an assessment regarding the need to upgrade existing M4 carbines with SOCOM's SOPMOD free-floating rail. It was concluded that the M4 carbine was still favored by troops and also performed well under stress. Feeding issues and other problems were fixed by using different ammunition types and magazines. Despite this, the M4 had difficulty penetrating the types of bulletproof vests used by Russian and Chinese troops, especially at longer ranges. Pressure to develop a new weapon system also arose from military programs created by other countries, such as Russia's Ratnik program. The U.S. Army's Soldier Enhancement Program released its findings in December 2017, which recommended proceeding with the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program as a more cost-effective solution compared to only retrofitting M4s with free-float rail systems.[7]

Previous attempts to replace the M4 failed due to lack of funding, poor submissions, or re-evaluation of tactics and requirements.[8][9] These included the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program, the Special Purpose Individual Weapon program, and the Advanced Combat Rifle program (not to be confused with the Adaptive Combat Rifle).

Program components

Weapons

The SIG XM7, the winning assault rifle submission for the NGSW program
SIG XM250, the winning automatic rifle with inserted ammunition belt

In 2017, the U.S. Army issued requirements for prototype Next Generation Squad Weapon submissions.[1][2][6] The program's rifle requirement, referred to as NGSW-R, was required to use a 6.8mm round and be able to utilize small arms fire-control systems. The program's support weapon, referred to as NGSW-AR, was required to be no longer than 35 in (890 mm); no heavier than 12 lb (5.4 kg) including attachments; able to suppress targets out to 3,900 ft (1,200 m); able to accurately fire on targets out to 2,000 ft (610 m); able to make use of small arms fire-control systems.

On April 19, 2022, after 27 months of prototyping and evaluation, the Army announced that SIG Sauer was awarded the NGSW program contract, and would produce the replacements for the M4 carbine and M249 SAW for the next 10 years.[10] The new rifle, designated the XM7, is based on the company's SIG MCX Spear rifle, while the new automatic rifle, designated the XM250, is based on the company's SIG MG 6.8mm belt-fed gun.[11]

The company was awarded a small initial production order, worth $10.4 million, for about 25 rifles, 15 automatic rifles, and a “large quantity” of ammunition so the weapons could be tested and the production line fine-tuned.[12]

A U.S. Army press release stated the new weapons would "provide significant capability improvements in accuracy, range and overall lethality. They are lightweight, fire more lethal ammunition, mitigate recoil, provide improved barrel performance, and include integrated muzzle sound and flash reduction."[4]

Selected:

Down-selected but rejected:

Three manufacturers were down-selected for the final phase of testing, including the ultimately selected SIG Sauer, the other two selected were:[13]

  • LoneStar Future Weapons and Beretta USA: RM-277R bullpup rifle and RM-277AR machine gun with True Velocity .277 TVCM polymer-cased cartridges. (Originally General Dynamics-OTS and Beretta,[14] until GD handed over to LoneStar Future Weapons)[15][16][17][18]
  • Textron Systems: Textron CT System rifle and LSAT light machine gun with Olin Winchester CT 6.8mm polymer-cased telescoped cartridges.[19]

Rejected:

Fire-control systems

Vortex Optics XM157 platform agnostic fire-control system

The program also included the development of new fire-control systems for small-arms weapons. Two companies entered the competition: Vortex Optics and L3Harris Technologies, both of whose submissions utilized integrated fire-control systems using laser rangefinders, direct view optics, digital overlays, and ballistic calculation systems, as per NGSW program requirements.[26] In late January 2022, the U.S. Army selected Vortex Optics' offering, designated the XM157 fire-control system.[26][27]

Ammunition

NGSW weapon proposals used proponent designed cartridges with government-issued 6.8mm general-purpose projectiles. This allowed each proposed weapon and cartridge to be designed together to meet the performance requirements. In January 2022, Winchester was awarded a contract to produce the ammunition. In April 2022, with the selection of the MCX Spear, SIG Sauer's hybrid metal cartridge would become the new cartridge subsequently referred to as 6.8x51mm Common Cartridge by the U.S. Army.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Army is saying goodbye to the M249 Squad Automatic Rifle after thirty years". Popular Military. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW)". U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center. Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 Moss, Matthew (7 January 2022). "Vortex Win US Army Next Generation Squad Weapons - Fire Control Contract -". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Army awards Next Generation Squad Weapon contract". U.S. Army. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 Cox, Matthew (20 December 2018). "Army to Seek Prototypes for M4/M249 SAW Replacements in Early 2019". Military.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Woody, Christopher (12 June 2017). "The Army wants to ditch the M249 SAW and give the infantry more firepower". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "S. Rept. 115-262 - The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2019". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. 5 June 2018. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Winward, Tim (27 May 2000). "Objective Infantry Combat Weapon". Tango Fox. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Cox, Matthew (October 2017). "Army: Gun Makers Didn't Meet Reliability Standard". Military.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Beinart, Matthew (19 April 2022). "Sig Sauer Wins 10-Year Deal To Deliver Army's Next-Gen Squad Weapons". Defense Daily. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Beynon, Steve (19 April 2022). "Army Picks Its Replacement for the M4 and SAW". Military.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  12. ↑ Kenney, Caitlyn M. (20 April 2022). "Soldiers Will Have to Wait Until Next Year for New Rifle, Ammo". Defense One. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Cox, Matthew (27 October 2019). "Inside the Army's quest for a revolutionary new bullet". Task & Purpose. Military.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "General Dynamics / Beretta RM277 GD NGSW-R assault rifle (USA)". Modern Firearms. 1 December 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "US Army Grants NGSW Novation from General Dynamics-OTS, Inc to LoneStar Future Weapons". Soldier Systems Daily. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021.
  16. ↑ Moss, Matthew (14 April 2021). "NGSW: LoneStar Future Weapons Forms Strategic Alliance with True Velocity in Place of General Dynamics". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022.
  17. ↑ Moss, Matthew (10 November 2021). "True Velocity Acquires LoneStar Future Weapons". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022.
  18. ↑ Moss, Matthew (19 January 2022). "[SHOT 2022] Beretta & True Velocity Confirm Partnership & Announce Civilian RM277". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
  19. ↑ Moss, Matthew (18 November 2021). "Is Textron Out of the NGSW Program?". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "The Desert Tech Next Generation Squad Weapons Prototypes". Soldier Systems Daily. 10 March 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "FN to produce two prototypes for the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle program". all4shooters.com. 1 August 2018. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "NGSW: Future Infantry Weapons?". Finabel. 14 August 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021.
  23. ↑ "FN Down-Selected to Produce Two Prototype Options for U.S. Army Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle Program". FN America. 16 July 2018. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021.
  24. ↑ "US Army NGSW Submission 6.8 Sherwood by VK Integrated Systems and Bachstein Consulting". Soldier Systems Daily. 19 June 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021.
  25. ↑ "MARS Inc. and Cobalt Kinetics Submit NEW Carbine, LMG and 6.8mm Cartridge for US Army NGSW Program". The Firearm Blog. 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020.
  26. 1 2 Keller, Jared (2 February 2021). "This could be the Army's next-generation rifle optic of choice". Task & Purpose. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  27. ↑ Edwards, Jane (10 January 2022). "Vortex Optics to Produce Next-Gen Fire Controls Under $2.7B Army Follow-On OTA". GovConWire. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022.
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