The U.S. Army is poised to bring new lethality and effectiveness to bear on its close combat forces with the service’s Next Generation Squad Weapon program. Following a rigorous testing and evaluation phase, the Army awarded a contract to Sig Sauer to produce the XM7 Rifle, XM250 Automatic Rifle, and a 6.8mm family of ammunition. These new systems are scheduled to replace the M4A1 Carbine, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, and the 5.56mm family of ammunition.
The Army, with Sig Sauer and other partners, has worked day and night since the contract award to prepare these new capabilities for fielding. Technical tests at the Aberdeen Test Center held during Fall 2022 included comprehensive tests and a Soldier touch point. Evaluation priorities included user acceptance, load carriage, and integration with the XM157 Fire Control optic produced by Vortex Optics Inc.
“This demonstrated a resoundingly clear confidence in their commitment to delivering results for our Soldiers,” said Maj. Jamin D. Williamson, assistant product manager for PM Soldier Lethality. Sig Sauer replicated the setup of the test in Exeter, New Hampshire, at its in-house test facility. There have been over 100 technical tests where more than 1.5 million rounds of 6.8mm ammunition have been fired, and more than 20,000 hours of Soldier testing. Last fall, squads from the 75th Ranger Regiment and National Guard did a Soldier touch-point with the XM7 Rifles and XM250 Automatic Rifles. This advanced weapons technology, ammunition performance, and fire control system have proven they can engage targets at range.
Capt. Tyler Morgan, assistant product manager for NGSW, said the Soldier Touch Point allowed the program and Sig Sauer to get direct Soldier feedback and to do simple design changes before entering into production qualification testing and operational tests.
In their comments, Soldiers of the 75th Ranger Regiment evinced great confidence in the XM7: “Absolutely would take this weapon to combat in a heartbeat. Lightweight, functions very well, awesome load system, easy to handle and engage targets with.” Other Soldiers, however, liked the XM250, testifying that all the features, from ergonomics to manipulation and recoil control, greatly improved over the M249.
As the program moves forward, it will be a key tenet to build upon the integration efforts of Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leadership and Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy (DOTmLPF-P). When done in an integrated manner, this ensures the Army is well-postured for the significant implementation effort required to field two weapons and a family of ammunition, something that has not been achieved in the last sixty years.
The assessment impressed Lt. Col. Joshua Headley, product manager of Next Generation Weapons, saying it was amazing how much emphasis and accuracy the Army enterprise had put into synchronizing the domains of NGSW with DOTMLPF-P.
The next phase of the NGSW program entails PQT from May–July 2023. PM SL is arranging to receive two dozen of each of the XM7 Rifles and XM250 Automatic Rifles for the PQT test. An operational test will establish conditions for the First Unit Equipped to occur in the second quarter of FY24. Future operational testing is slated for FY24, to include natural environments and the ability to qualify airborne.
The Army’s decision to pursue the NGSW program flows from the need to address range, accuracy, and lethality issues in support of the needs of the close combat force. These two functionalities—the XM5 Rifle and the XM250 Automatic Rifle—both provide more significant improvement, with the two concepts firing 6.8mm cartridges. The ammunition includes multiple types of tactical and training rounds, which are more lethal against emerging threats compared to the 5.56mm and 7.62mm.
The second version is with the Xm157 Fire Control optic, which also comes from Sheltered Wings, a subsidiary of Vortex Optics. This is a state-of-the-art advanced fire control system in a singular package, combining a variable magnification optic, laser rangefinder, ballistic calculator, atmospheric sensor suite, compass, Intra-Soldier Wireless, visible, and infrared aiming lasers, as well as a digital display overlay.
The NGSW Program provides the impetus to move the current small-arms capabilities of the Army into the next generation with weapons system capability that is the most advanced and effective in the world.