El Programa del US ARMY \u201cNext Generation Squad Weapon\u201d, es uno de los m\u00e1s ambiciosos de esa Fuerza y tiene por objetivo incrementar notablemente la letalidad del combatiente individual y de la menor fracci\u00f3n (Squad). Consiste en el reemplazo y unificaci\u00f3n en un solo arma del Fusil M4 y la ametralladora liviana M249, incluyendo adem\u00e1s el cambio del calibre 5.56mm al 6.8 mm. Tres grandes empresas compiten para ser las adjudicatarias de este revolucionario programa, que inicia el ensayo de los prototipos en Abril 2020.<\/p>\n
The Army has whittled down the competition to replace its legacy M4 carbine and M249 squad automatic weapon to three companies, each with starkly different designs.<\/p>\n
The service\u2019s next-generation squad weapon program has been one of the service\u2019s most high-profile soldier lethality efforts. Besides new weapons, the program also includes the development of a new 6.8 mm round that is expected to be more lethal than the current 5.56 mm NATO ammunition.<\/p>\n
In August, the service awarded other transaction authority agreements to Sig Sauer, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and Textron Systems, which are all providing prototypes for soldier evaluation.<\/p>\n
Once the Army receives prototypes for a new fire control system in January, the service will pair it with the weapon systems for testing in April, according to Brig. Gen. Anthony Potts, the head of program executive office soldier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we had to do with all the vendors, is demonstrate that they meet the threshold of capability that we need in the weapon systems,\u201d Potts said at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting in Washington, D.C. \u201cWe know that all vendors that have been selected to move forward meet those thresholds.\u201d<\/p>\n
National Defense spoke to each company participating in the next-generation squad weapon program to examine their bids.<\/p>\n
Ron Cohen, Sig Sauer president and CEO, touted the company\u2019s experience in small arms as one of its biggest assets. Rather than partner with subcontractors, Sig is making the rifle, the machine gun, the ammunition and silencer for the program, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Sig is chosen, then we are the least amount of risk because we make all of the ingredients under one roof,\u201d he said. \u201cAnything that the Army would want to make changes in, or to evolve, we have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s bid is based off its MCX firearms line and has a folding stock capability, he said. The machine gun has a 16-inch barrel and the rifle has a 13-inch barrel.<\/p>\n
Soldiers won\u2019t need additional training on the weapons because the overall designs are similar enough to the legacy systems, but provide increased lethality and range, Cohen noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t pair a right-side drive on the car,\u201d he said. \u201cThey still sit in the same seat, they still have the steering wheel on the gas pedal. \u2026 It goes farther. It has more velocity and it\u2019s lighter weight and it has better ergonomics than they do now, but nothing that they have to retrain themselves to use.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the rifle, the company kept the rear charging handle that is featured on the M4, but added an additional one on the side, he noted. The machine gun also has left and right-side charging handles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the buttstock is folded, I can still charge traditional style or if I\u2019m in the prone or any type of shootings position that doesn\u2019t allow me to access the rear of the charging handle as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For ammo, the company has a three-piece brass case with a stainless steel head and a lock washer that holds them together. They can be made in the service\u2019s present manufacturing facilities, which negates the need to create new production factories to make the ammunition, Cohen noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf somebody in the world has to make this ammunition, you don\u2019t need to burn down the factories and start a completely new factory with different technologies,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can use current technologies to make this ammunition.\u201d Sig\u2019s bid is lighter than the current NATO round, he said.<\/p>\n
For General Dynamics, one of the most notable features of its weapons bid is the bullpup design, which puts the magazine well behind the pistol grip.
\nJon Piazza, the company\u2019s program manager for the next-generation squad weapon, said General Dynamics already had a bullpup design in the works from a previous effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose requirements led us to a bullpup design,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wanted to be able to have barrel length to maintain velocities.\u201d<\/p>\n
This configuration generally has long barrels but shorter overall weapons lengths.<\/p>\n
The rifle has a 20-inch barrel that sits well back into the receiver area, he noted. The barrel length on the M249 replacement is 22 inches.<\/p>\n
However, having a magazine placement different than that of an M4 won\u2019t require a large difference in training, he said. Mid-career soldiers will be able to adjust quickly, and new soldiers won\u2019t have a frame of reference to compare it to, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys can change the magazines on those weapons systems just as fast, if not faster, than on an M4,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re looking for new. \u2026 They\u2019re not looking for the same old grandpa\u2019s gun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, the rate of fire can be adjusted by removing some mechanical components internally, he noted. The weapons have an average rate of fire of about 550 shots per minute.<\/p>\n
Soldiers have provided positive feedback on the bullpup design, Piazza noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had more apprehensions about it being a bullpup design than any of the customers that we\u2019ve run into,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of questions about bullpups, but I think that we\u2019ve \u2026 abolished some of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
For ammunition, General Dynamics is offering a magnum cartridge, which would normally lead to an increase in recoil. The company added additional features to the weapons to mitigate these effects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a significant reduction in felt recoil to the shooter, which gives us much more ability for controllable fire and automatic fire,\u201d Piazza said. \u201cIt certainly lessens that felt recoil to the shooter that burdens, and increases our ability to provide accurate fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, General Dynamics is offering a composite case, which has long been a desire for the military, he noted. However, there have always been inherent issues with reengineering rounds that were designed for brass. General Dynamics solved these problems by designing the case from scratch with True Velocity, a company that specializes in composite munitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this particular [instance], we had the ability to design a composite case from the ground up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When paired with the next-generation fire control system, General Dynamics\u2019 weapons and ammunition may be able to engage targets up to 1,000 meters away, he predicted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not even talking about the terminal effects that that brings,\u201d he noted. \u201cThat\u2019s just the range.\u201d<\/p>\n
This means that front line forces may need to train on different shooting ranges that will accommodate these longer distances.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everybody has those,\u201d Piazza noted. \u201cBut at the places where these guys are getting them \u2026 there\u2019s going to be some changes to the way that they train anyway with the inclusion of this system. \u2026 It doesn\u2019t matter which vendor it is because the engagement area is so significantly more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Textron Systems is hoping that its cased telescope ammunition will lead to weight savings and give it an edge in the competition. Wayne Prender, the company\u2019s senior vice president for applied technologies and advanced programs, said Textron\u2019s 6.8 mm round has plastic polymer that completely surrounds the projectile. In the Army\u2019s current 5.56 mm ammunition, the bullet protrudes from the brass case.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat plastic \u2014 by its nature \u2014 allows us to significantly reduce the weight of the ammunition,\u201d he said. \u201cIt also simplifies many of the interfaces that the bullet \u2014 or the case \u2014 has with the weapon systems, which then has some inherent benefits to the overall system of systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
The material allows the ammunition to accommodate future upgrades, Prender noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is a future caliber or a future change in the configuration of the projectile, our weapons system is able to accept and implement those changes without a drastic change to the overall rifle or automatic rifle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Prender declined to outline specifications about the company\u2019s weapons systems, including the rate of fire or barrel lengths. However, Textron is sticking with a belt-fed automatic weapon for its offer to replace the M249, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cA belt-fed configuration to replace a belt-fed weapon is certainly something that we know the user community and the soldiers are familiar with,\u201d he said. \u201cStarting with that configuration made sense for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Textron is partnering with Lewis Machine and Tool Co. for suppressors on both variants, he noted. This will allow the user to have \u201creally good controllability of the weapon without adding too much weight, and also has good signature management characteristics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The company is currently incorporating soldier feedback into its current design as well, he said.<\/p>\n
The next major milestone for the program is delivering prototypes to units for initial tests in April. Delivery of weapons and ammo for formal tests and evaluations is slated for December 2020, he noted.<\/p>\n