On Thursday, March 28th, the US Army Futures Command announced that the first SIG Sauer XM7 rifles and XM250 light machine guns ordered as part of the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) program have been delivered to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell.
Photo: Sgt. Alvin Conley, US Army
The first batches of both designs were delivered to the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division. Practical training will commence in April. Previously, in early March of this year, cold weather tests were concluded at the Cold Regions Test Center in Fort Greely, Alaska.
The NGSW fielding is a culmination of a comprehensive and rigorous process of design, testing and feedback, all of which were led by soldiers, said Col. Jason Bohannon, who leads PEO Soldier’s lethality project. As a result, the Army is delivering on its promise to deliver to soldiers the highest quality, most capable small-caliber weapons and ammunition.
According to the US Army’s proposal to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) budget for fiscal year 2025, the long-term plans include the purchase of 111,428 XM7 assault rifles, 13,334 XM250 light machine guns, and 124,749 Vortex XM157 NGSW-FC (Fire Control) sights before 2030.
The proposal stated that the new weapons are intended to provide increased firepower against a wide range of targets beyond the capabilities of current/older weapons, increased range, higher accuracy and probability of hitting the target, reduced time to hit, reduced flash/sound signatures, and improved ergonomics and mobility.
The weapons were selected in the NGSW program, as announced on April 19, 2022. This includes the XM7 assault rifle (previously designated as XM5 or NGSW-R; Rifle) as the successor to the M4 and M4A1, and the XM250 light machine gun (previously designated as NGSW-AR; Automatic Rifle) as the successor to the M249 SAW, both powered by the 6.8mm x 51 cartridge (.277 SIG Fury) using hybrid case technology with projectiles provided by the government.
XM7 (NGSW-R; Rifle) / Photos: SIG Sauer
The XM7 is based on the commercial SIG MCX-Spear, which is an adaptable multi-caliber rifle (compatible with .277 SIG Fury, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 7.62 mm x 51 NATO ammunition with a barrel change) built on the AR platform. It features rear and side non-rotating charging handles, an adjustable 6-position collapsible stock, ambidextrous controls, magazine release, a 2-stage precision trigger with reduced pull weight, a 2-position adjustable gas piston, a light free-floating M-LOK handguard, and a full-length Picatinny rail. It is fed by 20-round magazines. The weapon has an overall length of 86.4 cm, total height of 20.24 cm, total width of 7.6 cm, barrel length of 33 cm (13″), and weighs 3.8 kg (with magazine), with a barrel twist rate of 1:7.
XM250 (NGSW-AR), based on SIG LMG 6.8
The XM250 light machine gun is based on the new SIG LMG 6.8 – air-cooled, approximately 40% lighter than the M249 SAW, and equipped with an M1913 mounting rail. The weapon is fed from a belt contained in ammunition bags in sections of 50 or 100 rounds each. The machine gun weighs approximately 5 kg with a barrel length of 406 mm. Its rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute.
Both the XM7 and XM250 are also equipped with SIG SLX sound/flash suppressors. They have a diameter of 4.1 cm, a total length of 13.4/19 cm, and a weight of 250/550 g. They are finished with a high-temperature Cerakote core made of Inconel alloy with either a Clutch-LOK QD connector or a direct thread.
XM157 NGSW-FC (Fire Control) sight / Photo: Vortex Optics