Army chooses new rifle for combat troops - 6.8mm rounds

[ImminentDanger]

Army chooses new rifle for combat troops
By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times - Tuesday, April 19, 2022
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...combat-troops/

The Army has picked a replacement weapon for the venerable M-4 carbine, the service's standard-issue weapon that was wielded by combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for several years.

After a 27-month prototyping and evaluation effort, New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer won a $20.4 million contract to manufacture and deliver two Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) variations * the XM5 rifle and the XM250 Automatic Rifle * along with the 6.8 mm common cartridge family of ammunition, Army officials said late Tuesday.

The XM5 Rifle will replace the M4 carbine while the XM250 Automatic Rifle is the planned replacement for the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).

"Both weapons 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," Army officials said in a statement.

Other military services will be able to acquire the NGSW system. It may be an option for foreign military sales in the future. The new 6.8 mm ammunition includes multiple types of tactical and training rounds that increase accuracy and are more lethal than both the 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition used for the M-4 and the SAW, Army officials said.

The XM5 and XM250 will both use the XM157 Fire Control system that integrates a number of technologies, such as an increased magnification scope; laser rangefinder; ballistic calculator, and other systems, Army officials said.

The Army examined three competing prototype systems before choosing Sig Sauer.

Pics at link.

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[bogey1]

So make a oddball caliber the number one caliber, and drive up the price of 556 because its not being used as much?
Am I wrong?

[Qtrborecrazy]

Brilliant move now our allies will have to buy new weapons.

[Emptymag]

Hey, at least my AR15 won't be a weapon of war any more. WOOO!!!

[icp4life162005]

Hey, at least my AR15 won't be a weapon of war any more. WOOO!!!

It's just lipstick on an Ar.

[Emptymag]

It's just lipstick on an Ar.

Yeah, pretty much I guess...

[raxar]

Look up the new round. Over twice the bullet weight of 5.56 but at the same velocity, but operating at such high pressure that it needs a special casings that uses a separate case head. It should do well against body armor at least.

[eagleclaw]

According to SIG's website a civilian version will only set you back about $8K. The civilian caliber is call the .277 Fury. It's probably a second mortgage to buy a box of 20 rds.

https://www.sigsauer.com/mcx-spear.html

[GOYABEAN]

[img=CONFIG]156715[/img]

[Fortytwo]

According to SIG's website a civilian version will only set you back about $8K. The civilian caliber is call the .277 Fury. It's probably a second mortgage to buy a box of 20 rds.

https://www.sigsauer.com/mcx-spear.html

Once / if the round becomes 6.8mm NATO (or .277 Government, as the case might be), the cost should become pretty reasonable, one would think.