Next Generation Squad Weapon

A U.S. Army graphic detailing the competitors for the program as of December 2020.

The Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) program is a United States military program created in 2017 by the U.S. Army to replace the 5.56mm M4 carbine, the M249 SAW light machine gun, and the 7.62mm M240 machine gun, with a common system of 6.8mm cartridges and to develop small arms fire-control systems for the new weapons.[1][2]

Seven defense manufacturers competed in the program, with five attempting to design and produce the weapons and two attempting to create and supply fire-control optics.[3] The winners were officially announced by the Army in early 2022: SIG Sauer to produce the XM7 rifle and XM250 automatic rifle, Vortex Optics to produce the XM157 fire-control system,[3] and Winchester to produce the custom 6.8mm ammunition cartridges designed by SIG Sauer.[4][5][6] The program was expected to cost $10 million in the first year of production, and $150 million the next.[1][5][6]

  1. ^ a b "Army is saying goodbye to the M249 Squad Automatic Rifle after thirty years". Popular Military. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Moss, Matthew (7 January 2022). "Vortex Win US Army Next Generation Squad Weapons - Fire Control Contract -". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Army awards Next Generation Squad Weapon contract". U.S. Army. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b Cox, Matthew (20 December 2018). "Army to Seek Prototypes for M4/M249 SAW Replacements in Early 2019". Military.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b Woody, Christopher (12 June 2017). "The Army wants to ditch the M249 SAW and give the infantry more firepower". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2021.