SIG Wins US Army Next Generation Squad Weapon Contract

[HCM]

I guess so, I don’t think the MCX is as widely available as a standard AR. Certainly more expensive than most, and parts are more expensive and harder to come by. I agree that Sig will probably offer the MCX-SPEAR in something more common like 7.62, but as OlongJohnson pointed it, it will probably be expensive compared to an AR-10.

I’d just like to be able to pick up an MCX for like $1K, okay? Is that too much to ask?!

Of course the MCX isn’t as common as an AR. The AR has a 60 year head start and the MCX is a exclusive to SIG as the AR was to Colt at one time.

[willie]

Will the new rifle have a selector switch?

[zpelletier]

Of course the MCX isn’t as common as an AR. The AR has a 60 year head start and the MCX is a exclusive to SIG as the AR was to Colt at one time.

Which was exactly the point of my original post

[JSGlock34]

Will the new rifle have a selector switch?

Yes. Selective fire and ambidextrous controls.

[TiroFijo]

No, it is intended to replace the M4 and M249 series though it will be a long time before it’s pure fleeted.

Initially it will go to combat units.

It is heavy but it doesn’t have 7.62 nato recoil. More than 5.56 ? Yes.

This is not about range, as aloha Doug mentioned it’s about donkey punching through the next generation of Chinese body armor.

If 5.56 could have been loaded to accomplish the anticipated work they would have used it

Physics being what they are, the new round should have about 99% recoil impulse of current NATO ball ammo. The new design tricks and suppressor can alleviate this to some extent, but it will always be much closer to current 7.62 N than to 5.56

https://saami.org/technical-informat...coil-formulae/

[DamonL]

The Vortex optic that was developed for NGSW has a laser and ballistic calculator built in. Can you imagine how heavy the new rifle and optic will be?

Here is some info on the optic:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...trol-contract/

Also, 20rd mags because of larger bullets.

[TiroFijo]

The Vortex optic that was developed for NGSW has a laser and ballistic calculator built in. Can you imagine how heavy the new rifle and optic will be?

Here is some info on the optic:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...trol-contract/

Also, 20rd mags because of larger bullets.

"The Army has awarded Sheltered Wings Inc. d/b/a Vortex Optics, based in Barneveld, WI, a 10-year firm fixed price, Follow-on Production Other Transaction Agreement (P-OTA) with a maximum ceiling value of $2.7 billion for production and delivery of up to 250,000 XM157 Next Generation Squad Weapons – Fire Control (NGSW-FC) systems over a 10-year period.

The NGSW-FC system is a ruggedized fire control that increases accuracy and lethality for the Close Combat Force. It integrates a number of advanced technologies, including a variable magnification optic, backup etched reticle, laser rangefinder, ballistic calculator, atmospheric sensor suite, compass, Intra-Soldier Wireless, visible and infrared aiming lasers, and a digital display overlay."

That's about $10,800 per unit... spicy ;D

IMO this sight is one of those things that looks great on paper but probably has many drawbacks in real life.

[JRB]

Having peeked behind the TACOM curtain a few times in my career, I can promise ya'll that the M4 and M249 are going nowhere for the next ~20-25 years and that's the bare minimum. There's simply too many of them in inventory and by Army standards they're plenty good enough at what they need to do, even for many combat units.

Infantry elements and similar will get all the fancy new toys first, and they'll augment existing systems as sort of a 'reality test' for some time before they buy a ton more. That 'reality test' could go either way with these things.

Remember the XM25? Everyone was thinking that'd go mainstream as well. While it did a lot of cool tricks, they were simply too expensive to push out to big Army so after one or two big SNAFU's things went back to 40mm.

[HCM]

Having peeked behind the TACOM curtain a few times in my career, I can promise ya'll that the M4 and M249 are going nowhere for the next ~20-25 years and that's the bare minimum. There's simply too many of them in inventory and by Army standards they're plenty good enough at what they need to do, even for many combat units.

Infantry elements and similar will get all the fancy new toys first, and they'll augment existing systems as sort of a 'reality test' for some time before they buy a ton more. That 'reality test' could go either way with these things.

Remember the XM25? Everyone was thinking that'd go mainstream as well. While it did a lot of cool tricks, they were simply too expensive to push out to big Army so after one or two big SNAFU's things went back to 40mm.

I could see the 6.8 guns going away and the new optic going on M4s and M249s.

[joshs]

The Vortex optic that was developed for NGSW has a laser and ballistic calculator built in. Can you imagine how heavy the new rifle and optic will be?

Weight and barrel life seem to be the two biggest problems with NGSW. Those aren't really Sig's fault, as they were just building around the Army's requirement, but the XM5 seems very heavy fully kitted out compared to an M4.

I guess the Vortex saves some weight by not needing to use a traditional MFAL since it has vis/IR lasers already (a separate lightweight illuminator like the BE Meyers Kiji would still be needed). But, I can't find any weight info on the Vortex other than a claim that it is lighter than a traditional LPVO + mount + weapon mounted LRF, which isn't too inspiring regarding the weight. The XM5 looks like it weighs 8.4 pounds dry, so it's more than two pounds heavier before adding optics, lights, or lasers.

I'm also interested to see how guns hold up with a steady diet of 80K psi ammo. Unless they have some extra secret sauce barrel steel, these things seem like they'll be smooth bores in a few thousand rounds.