The news comes about a week after the Army revealed it had approved the XM8 carbine. The service said it decided to procure the weapon system \u2014 rather than replace the M7 \u2014 in December after months of testing.<\/p>\n
In an\u00a0announcement<\/a>, the Army said the variant had \u201cundergone extensive government testing\u201d to ensure it met \u201cthe Army\u2019s rigorous standards for performance, reliability, effectiveness, and user acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n The Army said soldiers from a variety of units, including the 101st Airborne Division, conducted testing during an equipment evaluation event dubbed \u201cSoldier Touch Point\u201d in September 2025.<\/p>\n Exactly what feedback those soldiers provided remains unclear. The Army did not respond to questions from Military Times about testing or fielding the XM8 carbines.<\/p>\n According to the Army\u2019s\u00a0Lethality Portfolio<\/a>, the XM8 carbine was created because soldiers wanted a \u201cshorter, lighter, more mobile version of the M7.\u201d<\/p>\n Like the M7, the XM8 is a select-fire, magazine-fed weapon chambered in 6.8mm. It uses a piston-driven gas operating system, features ambidextrous controls similar to the M4A1 and is issued with a suppressor.<\/p>\n The design also includes a nonreciprocating, left-side charging handle, a collapsible buttstock and a free-floating M-LOK handguard \u2014 a modernized rail system developed by Magpul Industries.<\/p>\n By the numbers, the XM8 carbine has an 11-inch barrel, an overall length of 32.79 inches that includes a suppressor and collapsed stock and a weight of 8.8 pounds.<\/p>\n Although testing results for the XM8 carbine are not immediately available, the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation recently published its annual T&E Oversight List.<\/p>\n The document includes\u00a0performance reviews<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Next Generation Squad Weapons<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the series of 6.8mm firearms \u2014 but only covers the M7 rifle and M250, the initial weapons in the program.<\/p>\n According to the report, both weapons received generally positive performance reviews, noting that \u201csoldiers consistently qualified with their NGSW and, when firing on the variable distance range, demonstrated the ability to engage targets at extended distances.\u201d<\/p>\n The report also found that the\u00a06.8mm ammunition<\/a>\u00a0delivered \u201cincreased lethality over the M855A1 (i.e., the standard ammunition for the legacy M4A1 weapon) against the tested targets.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SROIK3TJJFD67FVRIXFPVEZZM4.jpg\")