Army to Receive Next-Gen Squad Weapon in 2023.

• Author: Easley, Mikayla

TAMPA, Florida--For the first time in decades, the Army will field new rifles, automatic rifles and ammunition calibers, with the first unit receiving the next-generation squad weapons by fall of 2023, according to the makers of the weapons.

After years of development and intense competition between major gun makers, the Army announced in April that Sig Sauer Inc. will manufacture the service's next-generation squad weapons. The 10-year firm-fixed-price follow-on production contract is worth $4.5 billion and covers the delivery of two variations of the weapon--the XM5 Rifle and the XM250 Automatic Rifle--as well as the 6.8x51mm FURY hybrid ammunition.

Sig Sauer plans to send the first round of new weapons and ammunition to an Army unit by next year, CEO and President Ron Cohen said recently on the sidelines of the Special Operation Forces Industry Conference in Tampa.

"Fundamentally, they want to start deployment of the first unit around spring or summer of next year," Cohen said. "This will reshape all infantry warfare in a way that hasn't changed since the early 1960s."

The first delivery order is worth $20.4 million and will include 25 XM5 Rifles and 15 XM250 Automatic Rifles and ammunition that will undergo testing, Col. Scott Madore, the Army's project manager for soldier lethality, told reporters in April when the contract was announced.

Competition to produce the next-gen squad weapon began in 2017 and included a rigorous 27-month prototyping and evaluation effort of tests and soldier feedback. Although multiple companies fought for the lucrative contract, it came down to Sig Sauer and a team of LoneStar Future Weapons and BerrettaUSA in the final stages.

The weapons will be paired with the XM157 Fire Control, a ruggedized advanced fire control system that increases accuracy and lethality for the close combat force and is made by Vortex Optics.

It also integrates a number of advanced technologies, including a variable magnification optic (1X8), backup etched reticle, laser rangefinder, ballistic calculator, atmospheric sensor suite, compass, intra-soldier wireless, visible and infrared aiming lasers and a digital display overlay.

The XM5 Rifle will replace the M4 carbine used by the close combat force, while the XM250 Automatic Rifle will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Each weapon will also come with Sig Sauer's suppressors meant to reduce harmful gas backflow, sound effects and flash.

Both fire 6.8mm ammunition, an...