Brenda Marie Rivers
General Dynamics, Textron and German weapons manufacturer Sig Sauer each presented their concepts for the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon program at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting, Military.com reported Friday.
The service branch recently selected the firms to participate in the NGSW effort aimed at developing 6.8mm prototype rifles to replace its M249 and M4A1 weapons used by close-combat and infantry units.
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems showcased a bullpup-style rifle, while Textron presented an automatic rifle variant designed to operate with a case-telescoped cartridge the company designed for the Army’s lightweight small arms effort.
Sig Sauer unveiled a M4-based rifle variant with side-charging features and a compact feed tray. The Army intends to select the winning design in the first quarter of 2022 ahead of fielding to an infantry brigade team in 2023.
