The final delivery of the Sig Sauer’s prototypes of Next Generation Squad Weapons systems, or NGSW, designed to replace M249 and M4A1, has been delivered to the U. S. Army.
Earlier this week, famed gun maker Sig Sauer has announced that the final delivery of the NGSW systems to the U.S. Army, consisting of the revolutionary 6.8×51 hybrid ammunition, the NGSW-AR lightweight belt-fed machine gun, the NGSW-R rifle, and suppressors.
“This historic moment is the culmination of an incredible collaboration between the U.S. Army and SIG. We commend Army leadership for having the vision to undertake this monumental procurement process and for remaining vigilant in their mission to bring a modern, transformational weapon system to the battlefield,” began Ron Cohen, President, and CEO of Sig Sauer. “Throughout the program, we have been given unprecedented access to the soldiers and Marines who will ultimately field these weapons. These soldier touchpoint events have led to rapid advancements over the current weapons systems and resulted in our delivery of the most innovative Next Generation Squad Weapons system to the U.S. Army.”
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The Sig Sauer Rifle (NGSW-R) is built on the foundation of the battle-tested MCX platform with the added firepower of the 6.8×51 round; both the NGSW-AR and NGSW-R feature familiar AR-style ambidextrous ergonomics designed for a seamless transition from the legacy weapons to the SIG NGSW system.
The NGSW-AR submission is an ultra-light, medium caliber machine gun with AR ergonomics, and chambered in 6.8mm hybrid ammunition. Features include quick detach magazines, side opening feed tray, increased available 1913 rail space for night vision and enablers, folding buttstock, and suppressor.
The company also says the Sig Sauer 6.8mm hybrid ammunition is designed for increased penetration at greater distances.
“As a leader in the firearms manufacturing industry, we understand the challenge of bringing a system like this to reality. We designed our NGSW system to be production-ready and with every component coming from SIG, it presents minimal fielding risk to the U.S. Army. The form, fit, and function of the firearms is familiar to our warfighters so the transition in the training and qualification of soldiers and Marines is faster and easier, and despite its revolutionary design, hybrid ammunition can be manufactured on a widespread basis immediately. We have a proven and successful track record of delivering multi-branch, service-wide, successful weapons programs to the U.S. Army, and we stand ready,” concluded Cohen.
The revolutionary designs and engineering advancements that were made throughout the development of the SIG NGSW system have ushered the launch of multiple commercially available products in the coming months. These products include SIG FURY hybrid ammunition which uses the NGSW cartridge design for various calibers, and recently gained the regulatory Small Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) approval, the MCX-SPEAR semi-automatic rifle, and the SIG Next Generation Suppressors.
Development of the NGSW is an outgrowth of the Army’s 2017 Small Arms Ammunition Configuration Study, which showed the need for a new weapon.
The Army will test several rifle prototypes produced by various companies and expects to field a new squad weapon in the latter part of 2022.
