Back to news

October 15, 2020 | International, Land, Security

The Army’s SAW and M4 replacement is headed to troops by 2022

The gun that will replace both the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and the M16/M4 rifle/carbine weapons — and add a new, widely distributed caliber to the U.S. military inventory for the first time in decades — is less than two years away.

The Next Generation Squad Weapon finished its first prototype test event in September. The three previously selected offerings came from Sig Sauer, Textron Systems and General Dynamics Ordnance.

Brig. Gen. David Hodne, Infantry School commandant and Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team director, along with Brig. Gen. Anthony Potts, head of Program Executive Office Soldier, gave updates to Army Times ahead of the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Concurrently, the Army in April has also selected two companies, L3 Technologies and Vortex Optics, to compete for the fire control for the weapons system.

Sig Sauer's design looks much like a conventional assault rifle while GD is using a bullpup design, which shortens the length by building the magazine feed into the weapon stock. Textron has built its weapon around the cartridge, which is unique to them, a cased telescope item that has the projectile inside of the casing to reduce weight.

Back in April, each of the companies provided 15 rifles, 15 automatic rifles and 180,000 cartridges using the government-developed 6.8mm projectile.

The 6.8mm projectile was chosen after decades of testing and evaluation showed that 5.56mm lethality at mid-ranges on the battlefield was inadequate and existing 7.62mm could be outperformed by the 6.8mm round and save weight for the soldier.

The new caliber also gives the soldier both a rifle and automatic rifle firing the same round, both effective past the 600m mark of existing light calibers.

Following the September testing, the companies will have six months until their next prototype test, scheduled to begin in February.

During the annual Maneuver Warfighter Conference at Fort Benning in Georgia, Maj. Wyatt Ottmar, project officer over NGSW for the Soldier Lethality CFT, laid out some of the recent developments and next steps for the weapons system.

Ottmar noted that Sig Sauer provided a combined steel lower and brass upper ammunition cartridge to reduce weight. A contract is expected to be awarded to one of the three companies this coming fiscal year with fielding to start in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, or sometime between August and October 2022, to Infantry, Stryker and Armor Brigade Combat Teams.

Ultimately, the weapon will be fielded to all close combat forces, including special operations forces, infantry, combat engineers and scouts.

The fire control is expected to field six months ahead of the weapon, Potts said. That will allow the NGSW producer to better integrate the optic with the weapon.

https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-army/2020/10/14/the-armys-saw-and-m4-replacement-is-headed-to-troops-by-2022/

On the same subject

  • Fighter jets without pilots?  | Defense News Weekly Full Episode, 7.30.22

    August 2, 2022 | International, Aerospace

    Fighter jets without pilots? | Defense News Weekly Full Episode, 7.30.22

    A look at the future of unmanned aerial combat and fighter wings, plus inside access to the Korean War Veterans Memorial's emotional new feature, the Wall of...

  • How underwater drones will change the Navy’s sub game

    August 6, 2018 | International, Naval, C4ISR

    How underwater drones will change the Navy’s sub game

    By: Geoff Ziezulewicz   Standing at the forefront of game-changing innovations in undersea warfare, Navy Cmdr. Scott Smith has only one small request. Don't call the Navy's fleet of unmanned undersea vehicles “drones.” “It has a negative connotation,” Smith said. “We think of drone strikes as taking out Taliban, and we're nowhere near that.” Not yet, anyway. But the Pentagon is trying quickly to get there. Last fall, the Navy named Smith as the first-ever commander of the new Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron 1, or UUVRON-1. It's spearheading the service's development and deployment of unmanned underwater vehicles. Called UUVs, they're are already being used for surveillance and to clear mines and map the ocean floor, according to Bryan Clark, a retired submariner who is now a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Full Article: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/08/03/how-underwater-drones-will-change-the-navys-sub-game/

  • Indra strengthens the spanish air defence system

    May 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Indra strengthens the spanish air defence system

    Spain, May 27, 2020 - The Ministry of Defence has awarded Indra the tender for the IFF (identification, friend or foe) systems modernization for Lanza 3D radars used by the Aerial Surveillance Squadrons of the Spanish Air Force. With this upgrade, the systems will comply with the most recent NATO interoperability standards, which will soon be mandatory for military aircraft and ground systems. These are systems capable of interrogating an aircraft over 470 kilometers away to identify it and determine whether or not it is a threat. The Spanish Air Force will have the following interrogation capabilities throughout the national territory: Mode 5 (encrypted), Mode S and ADS-B. All these identification methods will be incorporated into the different air command and control centers that protect Spanish air space and Europe's southwestern flank within NATO. The new equipment supplied by Indra will be set up for security accreditation and will be resistant to cyber attacks. They will offer reinforced protection for the data exchanged with civil air traffic control entities. The contract has a duration of 3 and a half years, and comes with the associated logistic support in the Air Surveillance Squadrons (EVA, in Spanish) as well as in the Logistic Transmissions Center (CLOTRA, in Spanish). This ensures that the systems will be operational throughout their life cycle of at least 15 years. Indra is one of the leading companies worldwide in the development of IFF systems that it has implemented in ground stations as well as in platforms of all types. Indra is a leading company in radar development and one of the main suppliers for NATO. The company has won all the radar tenders awarded by the Alliance in the last five years and has delivered a total of more than 50 Lanza 3D radars to countries on all five continents. Its equipment has been extensively tested in all kinds of scenarios and environments. Indra is also experienced in the supply of complete air defence systems that protect the air space of several countries. About Indra Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers world-wide. It is a world-leader in providing proprietary solutions in specific segments in Transport and Defense markets, and a leading firm in Digital Transformation Consultancy and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America through its affiliate Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with a high-value focus and with a high innovation component. In the 2019 financial year, Indra achieved revenue of €3,204 billion, with more than 49,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries. View source version on Indra: https://www.indracompany.com/en/noticia/indra-strengthens-spanish-air-defence-system

All news