Army Col. Christopher Midberry, Fort Campbell garrison commander, fires a Next Generation Squad Weapon during a demonstration on Sept. 25, 2023, at Fort Campbell, Ky. The XM7 rifle and the XM250 automatic rifle are primed to replace the M4 carbine and M249 squad automatic weapon. (Kayla Cosby/Army)
The Army has officially fielded its Next Generation Squad Weapon, sending the long-anticipated replacements for the M4 carbine and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon to a 101st Airborne Division brigade, the service announced.
The 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment from the 101st’s 1st Brigade Combat Team accepted the new weapons Thursday at Fort Campbell, Ky., according to Army Futures Command. The soldiers will begin advanced training on the XM7 rifle and the XM250 automatic weapon at Fort Campell in April, according to the Army.
Soldiers have spent recent months testing out the new Sig Sauer-built weapons at Fort Campbell and Fort Moore, Ga., as the Army looked to finetune and field the new guns by the end of this year. Soldiers – including a small group of 101st Airborne troops, Rangers from the elite 75th Ranger Regiment, and some National Guard troops – have spent some 25,000 hours testing the new weapons, according to Futures Command.
The command oversaw the development of the guns alongside the Program Executive Office Soldier, better known as PEO Soldier, which prototypes, procures and fields new Army equipment.
“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.”
The program began in 2018 as the Army looked to replace the M4 with a more capable and modifiable rifle and the M249 with a more reliable and lethal medium machine gun. In 2022, the Army selected Sig Sauer to manufacture both new weapons, and last year it began extensive testing on the guns.
The XM7 and XM250 will soon drop the X, which means it is experimental, from the front of their names. The new guns shoot a new family of ammunition – a 6.8mm round never used by the U.S. military, which for decades has primarily used 5.56mm rounds – including for the M4 and M249 – and 7.62mm rounds.
Army officials have touted the increased weight of the 6.8mm round, saying it is more accurate and deadly at distance. The service has said 5.66mm weapons have performed poorly at long distances in recent wars, and they worry that round would be less effective against Chinese or Russian body armor in a conflict with one of those power competitors.
The Army plans to purchase some 18,000 XM7 rifles and more than 1,700 XM250 automatic weapons next year, according to the service’s fiscal 2025 budget request. The Army intends to purchase more than 111,000 XM7s and more than 13,000 XM250s by the early 2030s, according to the budget request sent to Congress this month.
Despite the new weapons coming into the Army, the M4 is not expected to leave the service’s inventory anytime soon. The Next Generation Squad Weapons in the coming years will be fielded to soldiers serving in front-line combat jobs and special operations, but the M4 will remain the primary weapon for most support troops well into the future, Gen. James Rainey, who leads Futures Command, has said.
A National Guard armored brigade will be the next to field the XM7 and XM250 in May, according to Futures Command.
