Presumably there’ll be a protest from L3 Harris?
“Vortex’s XM157 beat the submission from L3Harris Technologies to win the 10 year fixed price contract worth a minimum of $20 million but with a “maximum ceiling value of $2.7 billion for production and delivery of up to 250,000 XM157” optics.”
Yes, I imagine there will be. At nearly $11K per, those things better make breakfast, too. I will say I am leery of those do-it-all optics; you know, jacl of all trades master of none?
Do they really weigh 40 ounces? :eek:
What could go wrong after handing it to a 19 year old.
Well I’m sure a lot could go wrong, but we used to go to the field with $125K Stinger missile trainers at that age. IIRC, we only ever had one $600 IR lens cracked.
How far away are we from laser guided mortars and 40mm grenades?
Is the 6.8 ammo they mention the old 6.8SPC or something else?
No, it’s closer to a .270 WSM than a 6.8 SPC.
Honestly, this whole NGSW thing seems like another pie in the sky waste of taxpayer money like the OICW, Land Warrior, etc. Once again, it’s too heavy and WAAAAYY too expensive per unit to be viable. I’ll be VERY surprised if this whole thing isn’t cancelled at some point.
Supposedly here in the next month or two is when the final choice and contract award will be made.
It’s no doubt going to go to SIG. Whether they actually replace the M4 with this new weapon remains to be seen.
That’s a lot of shit to cram into one package.
Personally I’d prefer everything but the optics tube to be forward mounted somewhere on the rail and leaving my field of view a lot less obstructed.
That optic looks massive, and simultaneously both too low, and too high for practical use in the picture in that article. Be really curious to get feedback on it.
I don’t get what they’re trying to do here to begin with; wasn’t the whole point of this to try and make a lighter weapon? Now, they’re looking at a heavier weapon that holds larger, heavier, magnum rifle ammo, requires a specialized suppressor to mitigate the huge amount of flash and blast, and now they’re adding an optic that’s 2 and a half pounds? On top of that, the optic alone is $11K?? Yeah, this is the OICW all overagain.
These .mil contracts people desperately need a Colin Chapman type influence.
https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/lotus-philosophy/
Throughout the company’s eight decades, it is innovation on road and track that has been key in delivering success. At the root of our DNA is Colin Chapman’s obsession with light weight.
“Simplify, then add lightness”, he said.
It was his philosophy, way before ‘minimalism’ became fashionable.
“Adding power makes you faster on the straights; subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”, was another of Chapman’s premises.
By tradition, Lotus uses the least number of parts in its products. Yet, they are impeccably engineered, retain their lightness and work dependably. Our expertise in lightweight architecture has made us a leader in environmentally friendly vehicle technology. It is crucial for all of us but we have never lost our performance advantage and sheer driving pleasure.
We employ a team of top talent, many of whom are driver-engineers. We still engage the occasional Grand Prix hero, in order to hone our sportscars and ensure that they are fun to drive, even within posted speed restrictions. However, divert to the test track and we can out-gun our rivals comprehensively.
We do not need to have supported James Bond 007, as every Lotus comes standard with a licence to thrill. It is our uncompromising quest for automotive excellence, allied to a visionary attendance to style, that has made Lotus one of the most inspirational of British brands.
Lotus enjoys world renown that represents intense passion, tremendous individuality, a sense of fun and gritty determination. Yet, we have never lost sight of our primary aim of achieving the ultimate lightness, embodied sturdily, with a well-defined performance edge.
Even today, our now famous “lightweight laboratory” is at the heart of our business, redefining “lightweight” every day – using fewer, stronger components, utilising the latest generation composite materials and constantly striving – not just in thought, but in practice, to deliver the Lotus lightweight philosophy.