XM7
XM7 U.S. Army 6.8mm rifle
TypeAssault rifle[1]
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service2022–present
Used byUnited States Army
Production history
Designed2019
ManufacturerSIG Sauer
Specifications
Mass8.38 lb (3.80 kg)[2]
9.84 lb (4.46 kg) (with suppressor)[3]
Length36 in (914 mm) (with suppressor)
Barrel length13 in (330 mm)[4]
Cartridge6.8×51mm
Caliber.277 Fury (6.8×51mm Common)
ActionShort-stroke gas-operated piston, rotating bolt[5]
Muzzle velocity915 m/s (3,002 ft/s)
Feed system20-round detachable SR-25 pattern box magazine[6]
25-round detachable SR-25 pattern box magazine[7] (optional)

The XM7, previously known as the XM5, is the U.S. Army variant of the SIG MCX Spear, a 6.8×51mm (.277 in), gas-operated, magazine-fed, assault rifle[1][8] designed by SIG Sauer for the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program in 2022 to replace the M4 carbine. The XM7 features a free-floating reinforced M-LOK handguard for direct accessory attachment to slotted hole mounting points.

History

In January 2019, the United States Army began the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program to find replacements for the M4 carbine and M249 light machine gun. In September 2019, SIG Sauer submitted its designs.[9] The SIG Sauer MCX-SPEAR (the rifle's commercial designation) is chambered in the 6.8×51mm (.277 in) SIG Fury cartridge in response to concerns that improvements in body armor would diminish the effectiveness of currently used ammunition such as the 5.56×45mm NATO (for the M4 and M249) and 7.62×51mm NATO (for M240).[1][10][11] Army Times describes this as an "intermediate caliber 6.8mm cartridge".[1] The ballistics of the .277 Fury indicate that it is likely a fully powered cartridge, as it has higher chamber pressure, velocity, and energy[12] on target than 7.62×51 mm NATO.[13]

An American soldier with an XM7

On 19 April 2022, the Army awarded a 10-year contract to SIG Sauer to produce the XM7 rifle, along with the XM250 light machine gun, to replace the M4 carbine and M249 light machine gun, respectively.[14][15] Originally the rifle was designated the XM5, as the names were chosen as the next numbers sequentially to the weapons they will replace.[16] In January 2023, the Army announced it was changing the name of the rifle from XM5 to XM7 to avoid a trademark conflict with Colt's M5 carbine.[17]

The first batch of 25 XM7s was planned to be delivered in late 2023. The Army plans to procure a total of 107,000 rifles for close combat forces including infantry, cavalry scouts, combat engineers, forward observers and combat medics. There are no plans initially to issue the weapons to non-close combat soldiers. The contract has the capacity to build additional weapons should the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command choose to be included.[16] XM7s were delivered to soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment in September 2023 for user tests.[18] If the XM7 is issued, it will drop the "X" in its name and become the M7.[17]

Design

Soldiers from Training and Doctrine Command with an XM7 rifle (near) and XM250 light machine gun (far).

The XM7 rifle weighs 8.38 lb (3.80 kg), or 9.84 lb (4.46 kg) with a suppressor. It uses SR-25 pattern magazines that hold 20 rounds in a box magazine.[6] An optional 25-round box magazine is also available.[7] The proposed combat ammunition load for each soldier will be 140 total rounds, distributed across seven 20-round magazines, in total weighing 9.8 lb (4.4 kg). Compared to the M4A1 carbine weighing 6.34 lb (2.88 kg) unsuppressed, with a basic combat load of 210 rounds in seven 30-round magazines, in total weighing 7.4 lb (3.4 kg), the XM7 rifle weighs about 2 lb (0.91 kg) more and each soldier carries roughly a 4 lb (1.8 kg) heavier load with 70 fewer rounds.[2][19]

Operational testing of the XM7 rifle, XM250 light machine gun, and XM157 Fire Control Optic is set to begin in 2024 and does not guarantee actual widespread future issue.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 South, Todd (19 April 2022). "Army chooses Sig Sauer to build its Next Generation Squad Weapon". Army Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2022. The intermediate caliber 6.8mm cartridge falls between the 5.56mm, which is in the M4 and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, and the 7.62mm round in the M240 machine gun.
  2. 1 2 Beynon, Steve (2 May 2022). "How Well Do the Army's New Guns Perform? That's Classified, But Soldiers Will Carry More Weight, Less Ammo". Military.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Moss, Matthew (16 May 2022). "US Army Shares Details on Next Generation Squad Weapons". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "The Next Generation Has Arrived". SIG Sauer. 19 January 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Popenker, Maxim. "SIG Sauer NGSW-R MCX Spear XM5 assault rifle (USA)". Modern Firearms. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 "LANCER SYSTEMS L6SCM – Lancer Systems". Lancer Systems. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 "The Sig Sauer M5 NGSW Rifle a/k/a The MCX Spear". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023 – via Youtube.com. [SIG] runs 20 and 25-round [6.8] Lancers in [the SPEAR] currently, but... any 7.62 [NATO] magazine interfaces with it.
  8. ↑ Camacho, Mario Samuel (27 September 2022). "Will SIG Sauer's XM5 Top the M4 Carbine?". The National Interest. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Moss, Matthew (19 April 2022). "SIG Sauer Wins US Army Next Generation Squad Weapon Contract". Overt Defense. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Schogol, Jeff (19 April 2022). "Army selects Sig Sauer to produce Next Generation Squad Weapon and ammo". Task & Purpose. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Mizokami, Kyle (21 April 2022). "The Army's Next-Gen Infantry Weapons Will Be More Lethal and More Accurate". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  12. ↑ Langston, Jay (20 December 2019). "277 SIG Fury: SIG Sauer Unveils New Caliber with Hybrid Case Design". Tactical Life. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "277 SIG FURY" (PDF). SAAMI. 23 September 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2022.
  14. ↑ 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 20 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Army awards Next Generation Squad Weapon contract". U.S. Army. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022.
  16. 1 2 Smith, Todd (20 April 2022). "Army expects Next Generation Squad Weapon to get to its first unit by next year". Army Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  17. 1 2 South, Todd (18 January 2023). "New name selected for Army's Next Generation Squad Weapon". Army Times. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  18. ↑ South, Todd (20 December 2023). "Army to field new rifle, machine gun and optic in 2024". Army Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024.
  19. ↑ Reinsch, Michael (13 May 2022). "NGSW signifies an evolution in Soldier lethality". U.S. Army. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022.
  20. ↑ Parsons, Dan (20 April 2022). "Here's Everything We Now Know About The Army's New Squad Rifles". The Drive. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
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