Article

2022-04-20 Science & Technology

Army Picks Its Replacement for the M4 and SAW

[Military] The Army has found its replacements for the M4 rifle and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, handing out a contract to put new guns in the hands of tens of thousands of soldiers.

The force is awarding a 10-year, $20.4 million contract to Sig Sauer for the XM5 Rifle, which will become the new standard rifle for soldiers, and the XM250 Automatic Rifle, which will replace the SAW.

The service will also switch from 5.56mm ammo to 6.8mm, after a search for rounds better built to penetrate body armor.

"Both weapons fire common 6.8 millimeter ammunition utilizing government provided projectiles and vendor-designed cartridges," an Army spokesperson said in a press release. "The new ammunition includes multiple types of tactical and training rounds that increase accuracy and are more lethal against emerging threats than both the 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition."

The news comes after a 27-month evaluation process in which other defense contractors, including General Dynamics, competed to be the Army's go-to small arms dealer.

The weapons will include the XM157 Fire Control optic, which includes a laser range finder, ballistic calculator, visible and infrared lasers, and a compass. That optic is made by Vortex Optics.

It's unclear how many weapons the Army aims to buy over the decade, or how quickly soldiers will totally ditch the decades-old SAW and rifle. In its proposed 2023 budget, the force is requesting 29,046 new weapons. But that budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

Courtesy of M. Murcek, the SIG SAUER press release can be seen here.

Posted by DarthVader 2022-04-20 10:11|| || Front Page|| [23 views ] Top

#1 Billions and Billions of rounds of 5.56 world-wide and now a 6.8mm round? Really, in a time of massive debt, and you want to abandon decades of spending now? Cui Bono? Note bottom two on list below.

https://www.reportsanddata.com/blog/top-10-ammunition-manufacturers

Posted by NoMoreBS 2022-04-20 11:55|| 2022-04-20 11:55|| Front Page Top

#2 The people who can only say "mouse gun" and "poodle shooter" still won't be happy, but the 6.8 is a good round. And I totally doubt the 5.56 inventory will wind up in a landfill.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-04-20 12:24|| 2022-04-20 12:24|| Front Page Top

#3 new source of Ukrainian ammo?
The Ukrainian Air Force already uses %5.56 and so do Special forces.
It would give them a more accurate round than the AK-47.

Posted by Gliter Thud6975 2022-04-20 12:40|| 2022-04-20 12:40|| Front Page Top

#4 If it makes 5.56 cheaper for my AR, then I'm all for it.

Posted by DarthVader 2022-04-20 12:52|| 2022-04-20 12:52|| Front Page Top

#5 Looks like .556 will be cheap for a while. Next will be a 6.8 mod for the ARs.

Posted by 49 Pan 2022-04-20 12:55|| 2022-04-20 12:55|| Front Page Top

#6 Comparison of the 'Best' 6.8 SPC Uppers

Posted by Skidmark 2022-04-20 14:11|| 2022-04-20 14:11|| Front Page Top

#7 Apparently it's some sort of new telescoping "6.8 x 51mm" round.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-04-20 14:28|| 2022-04-20 14:28|| Front Page Top

#8 Lots of potential confusion here. 6.8 SPC is Remington 6.8 Special Purpose Cartridge, developed some years ago at the behest of Special Forces to provide something more hard hitting than 5.56. It's 6.8 x 43, designed to work in 5.56 lowers, but with a different magazine and bolt carrier group than the 5.56 uses. The new SIG 6.8 hybrid cartridge is not the same. It's 6.8 x 51 and you can learn more about it here.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-04-20 15:50|| 2022-04-20 15:50|| Front Page Top

#9 Task and Purpose doing a live fire on the system some months back.

Posted by DarthVader 2022-04-20 16:25|| 2022-04-20 16:25|| Front Page Top

#10 Too soon to say, but I suspect if you do want an upper chambered in the new cartridge, it will have to ride on an AR-10 lower. The AR-15 lower's mag well just won't be long enough.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-04-20 16:32|| 2022-04-20 16:32|| Front Page Top

#11 ^All I know is I want that new toy to build a new rifle and play

Posted by DarthVader 2022-04-20 16:40|| 2022-04-20 16:40|| Front Page Top

#12 It'll be years I think til you can find the ammo at a decent price for civilians.

Posted by Silentbrick 2022-04-20 16:42|| 2022-04-20 16:42|| Front Page Top

#13 Wonder who will get the ammo contract?

Posted by swksvolFF 2022-04-20 16:46|| 2022-04-20 16:46|| Front Page Top

#14 Bah. Go back to the .30-06.

Posted by Mercutio 2022-04-20 19:22|| 2022-04-20 19:22|| Front Page Top

#15 ^^^agree it does the job

Posted by Chris 2022-04-20 23:38|| 2022-04-20 23:38|| Front Page Top

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