A soldier shoots the Sig Sauer-built Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, which will be known as the M7, during the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Ga. , on April 14, 2023. Army officials told lawmakers April 26 that they expect some soldiers to receive the new weapons in 2024. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)
Some soldiers charged with fighting enemies at close range will have their hands on the Army’s newest 6.8mm caliber rifles and light machine guns by early next year, top Army officials told House lawmakers on Wednesday.
“I wouldn't say I’m cautiously optimistic — I'm optimistic that we got it this time,” Doug Bush, the Army’s top weapons buyer, told lawmakers in response to the Army’s longstanding effort to build a new, more deadly rifle. “We are absolutely on track, and I think the budget numbers reflect just how many [new rifles] we're going to start buying and then delivering.”
The Army plans to pour some $520 million into the long-running Next Generation Squad Weapon program, which would purchase some 20,000 new rifles and light machine guns, according to the service’s $185 billion budget request for fiscal 2024. Last year, the Army selected Sig Sauer-built versions of the Next Generation Squad Weapons — a new rifle dubbed the M7 and a new light machine gun called the M250. Both weapons fire a 6.8mm round new to the Army’s inventory.
The budget calls for the purchase of some 17,000 M7s next year, and nearly 3,000 M250s. Rep. Jeff Jackson, D-N.C., who is a major in the Army National Guard and an Afghanistan War veteran, said the Army has long-promised new weapons for soldiers.
“Our soldiers have been told for a really long time — I've been in [the Army] for 20 years, so for as long as I've been in — that there's a new rifle coming just around the corner,” Jackson said during the House Armed Services Committee’s tactical air and land forces subpanel hearing. “What I gather today, is that this time it’s for real.”
Bush told Jackson that the final version of the weapon has yet to be completed, but it is getting close. The weapons are going through production qualification testing, which is expected to be completed by July.
“We're going to test to make sure [Sig Sauer has] addressed a few issues that we found in earlier testing,” Bush said. “So, those decision points will lead us to then hitting the floor on actually going to full-rate production.”
Because the new weapons were developed with input from soldiers, Bush said the M7 and M250 have moved more quickly toward production than past attempts at new firearms. Last year, soldiers with the National Guard and the elite 75th Ranger Regiment spent time shooting the new weapons and providing Army and Sig Sauer officials direct feedback, according to the Army.
More recently, soldiers participating in the Best Ranger Competition this month at Fort Benning, Ga., shot the M7 during one of the events. Several soldiers said they were excited to shoot the new rifle. One soldier described it as a major improvement from the M4.
Some lawmakers have expressed concerns about the Army’s decision to move away from its long-running use of the 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds in exchange for the new 6.8mm round. The M4 and the M249 light machine gun fire 5.56mm rounds.
Army officials have said 5.56mm weapons have performed poorly at distance in recent wars. There are also concerns that the round would be less effective against body armor fielded by Chinese or Russian troops.
While the 6.8mm round is heavier, Bush noted, Army officials believe it will be more accurate at distance and far more deadly in combat.
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., another Afghanistan War veteran who served in the Marine Corps and Navy, said he worried the new round would not be compatible with other militaries in NATO.
“I hope we grow that presence [of 6.8mm weapons] in NATO allies and other allies around the world because [the new weapons are] effective killing machines,” McCormick said.
Jackson said he was also concerned troops outside of the direct combat arms field would want the new M7s once they saw infantrymen and special operators carrying them. But the Army plans to maintain the M4 for most troops far into the future, said Gen. James Rainey, who leads Army Futures Command.
“This [the M7] is a little more complicated weapon. The training is worth it, but it is more training. It’s just not necessarily the weapon for the entire … Army,” Rainey said. “The M4 Carbine is also an awesome weapon system that has served us well and is part of our enduring category of equipment going forward. It will be with us for a long time.”
