Army picks SIG to produce Next Generation Squad Weapon

[CRAMBONE]

Wasn’t the M855A1’s main claim to fame when it was created that it was lead free?

[CRAMBONE]

Doubled

[Red*Lion]

Only combat arms troops/units will get the new platforms. The vast majority of Soldiers will still use the M4/M16 platforms. REMFs and other non-combatants do not need newer weapons.

[Wake27]

And its excellent general-issue ammo, despite my early skepticism, back when I was shooting 70gr.


A week ago two young (ish, both are Mustangs) Officers and I were at a range marveling at how far the M4 has come and how the M4A1/M68/M855A1 that even many reservists have is the best general-issue weapon ever fielded by any army to date. The improvements over time have made it go from “that’ll do” to really good. COTS and COTS-based upgrades in SOF have really made it an unprecedented study in excellency.

While I hate government barrels, the URGI really takes that to the next level. Convert all M4s to that and you’re doing pretty well.

Kind of what I was thinking. The M855A1 (from what I've read and heard) indeed does pretty well terminally against targets, albeit it with a higher chamber pressure and the resultant accelerated wear issues. Also, to call M855A1 a "revision" of M855 is a bit of an oversimplification: it's an entirely different round.

Supposedly the pressure has been trimmed back so it’s not even really a concern anymore.

REMFs and other non-combatants do not need newer weapons.

What an ignorant comment.


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[WillBrink]

Updates on roll out:

"Soldiers with the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell, Kentucky are the first to receive the Army’s new Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) system this week.

On Thursday, soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment were equipped with the NGSW ahead of April training where they will practice with new equipment, according to Army Futures Command. The training will involve a train-the-trainer course to prepare NCOs to conduct follow-on training across the company.

The Army also plans to field NGSW systems to a National Guard armored brigade in May.

The two NGSW rifles, which increase lethality at longer ranges, will be used by close combat forces which have historically sustained “80% of the casualties in combat,” according to Brig. Gen. Larry Burris, commander of the Army Infantry School and Army Maneuver Center of Excellence in a brief to reporters in 2022. Other forces will continue to use the M4 and the M249 weapons systems.

“For example, the company supply sergeant will continue to carry [an] M-4 or another weapon, not the Next-Gen Weapon,” Burris said.

The XM7 will be the new personal weapon for soldiers across the Army and replace the ubiquitous M4 rifle, which has designs originating from M16s used by Vietnam War soldiers. The XM250 will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, a 1980s-era gun.

The XM7 weighs around 8.4 pounds, which is slightly heavier than the M4, weighing about 7.3 pounds. The XM250 is about 12 pounds, significantly lighter than the SAW, which weighs approximately 18 pounds."

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/101s...-squad-weapon/

[C-grunt]

Lets see if it passes field trials.

Though right off the bat it seems guys in the 101st are saying the guns weigh more than they are advertised as. One dude on Facebook had the rifle and suppressor on a scale and it was just under 10 pounds. The XM250 was coming in around 14.5 pounds.

[czgunner]

Lets see if it passes field trials.

Though right off the bat it seems guys in the 101st are saying the guns weigh more than they are advertised as. One dude on Facebook had the rifle and suppressor on a scale and it was just under 10 pounds. The XM250 was coming in around 14.5 pounds.

Add to that the weight of the larger mags and ammo, while decreasing ammo load out. Glad I'm out and not part of this.

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[LivingtheHistoryM1]

This statement in and of itself should be one of two reasons that the people who approved this need their heads (or bank accounts) examined, the other being that many of your personnel won't be able to get the training time to get the most out of the new round. Don't even get me started on short statured or female personnel when LE struggles to get smaller folks to qualify on 5.56.

[ABNAK]

Lets see if it passes field trials.

Though right off the bat it seems guys in the 101st are saying the guns weigh more than they are advertised as. One dude on Facebook had the rifle and suppressor on a scale and it was just under 10 pounds. The XM250 was coming in around 14.5 pounds.

No dude, I think it's way past that point. It's in the issuing phase. Done-deal as far as Department of the Army goes. Read how the M14 was first rolled out.....a unit from the 101st was the first to receive it in 1961 and by the end of the year the entire division had been equipped with the M14. Ostensibly this will be the same (also the same Army division unit 63 years later, weird).

I've predicted it here before: there are 2 rounds for the M7: a combat load at 80K psi and a training round loaded more reasonably. I think the standard ammo (somewhere down the line) will be the training-pressure load with the combat load's actual projectile in it. I see parts breakage at an accelerated rate with the hot combat loads as it's currently slated to be fed.

[caporider]

Lets see if it passes field trials.

Though right off the bat it seems guys in the 101st are saying the guns weigh more than they are advertised as. One dude on Facebook had the rifle and suppressor on a scale and it was just under 10 pounds. The XM250 was coming in around 14.5 pounds.

That seems right for a rifle weight of 8.4 lbs... The M27 is about 8.2 lbs, or 12.7lb configured with the 3x SDO, full mag, PEQ (probably more with the new VCOGs).