Soon, the American army will abandon the traditional M4 automatic carbines and M249 light machine guns in favor of new types of small arms. It is planned that the transfer of the ground forces and the Marine Corps to new models of small arms will begin as early as 2023. The main reason for rearmament is the transition to a new caliber of small arms. The American army abandons the 5, 56 mm cartridge in favor of a promising 6, 8 mm caliber ammunition.
The first information about the tender for the development of new types of small arms appeared last fall. The preliminary assignment for the creation of prototypes of new small arms systems chambered for 6.8 mm caliber within the framework of the competition was issued on October 4, 2018. New models of American small arms are being developed as part of the NGSW - Next Generation Squad Weapons program.
Weapon chambered for 6, 8 mm
It is worth noting that even during the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, the American military massively complained about the insufficient stopping effect of traditional 5, 56x45 mm NATO cartridges. This low-impulse intermediate cartridge was officially adopted by NATO countries in the 1980s. Then the cartridge replaced the 7, 62x51 mm ammunition, which was often criticized as too powerful a cartridge for used and designed automatic rifles. Another problem was the overweight of such cartridges, which reduced the wearable ammunition and limited the capabilities of the infantryman in the changing conditions of warfare.
According to Military.com, the first prototypes of promising light machine guns chambered for 6, 8 mm, which are being created as part of the Next Generation Squad Weapons program, are already being tested in the United States at the Aberdeen training ground in Maryland. Brigadier General David Hodne, responsible for the implementation of the NGSW project, told the journalists of the publication about the testing of new models of small arms. The replacement for the M4 automatic carbine and the M249 light machine gun should be fully ready by the first quarter of 2023, he said. It was at this time that new items should begin to enter service with American infantry units.
Earlier, the Army Command of Advanced Development and the research centers of the US Armed Forces came to the conclusion that the 5, 56x45 mm cartridge in service with the American army is no longer effective enough against modern means of protection that are in the arsenal of countries, potential opponents of Washington. In addition to the low penetration capacity of the bullet and insufficient stopping action, the 5, 56 mm ammunition is distinguished by a significant loss of lethal force when firing at long distances. All this together made the Americans turn their attention to a new version of the 6, 8 mm cartridge, which will become the main one for promising small arms systems.
The new ammunition is intermediate between 7, 62x51 and 5, 56x45 mm cartridges. At the same time, the new ammunition will retain all the best characteristics of the heavier 7.62 mm cartridge, while remaining lighter than it. It is expected to be at least 10 percent. Considering that every gram of excess weight is important for a fighter, this is not so bad. In addition, the new cartridge case is planned to be made without the use of brass. Two main options are considered: a special steel composition or a special polymer. In addition to the possibility of creating a sleeve from polymers in the United States, they are also working on telescopic ammunition, which also reduces the weight of the cartridge.
Earlier in the USA, a cartridge 6, 8x43 mm Remington SPC was already developed. The ammunition has good ballistics and destructive power, while its size and recoil remain moderate. This cartridge has been developed by Remington in conjunction with the US Army since 2002. The official presentation of the patron took place in 2004. The kinetic energy of the bullet at the moment of firing for the Remington SPC cartridge is 2430 J, which is 1, 4 times more than that of the 5, 56x45 mm ammunition. In this case, the mass of a 6, 8 mm bullet cartridge is 7.45 grams, against 4 grams for a cartridge 5, 56x45mm. It is not known whether the reserve for these cartridges will be used when creating new ammunition of 6, 8 mm caliber.
It is assumed that none of the existing body armor will be able to resist the new cartridge of 6, 8 mm caliber. This is especially important for the United States and is one of the reasons for the transition to a new caliber. Following the American army, other armies of the world, primarily the PRC and Russia, acquired their own modern versions of combat equipment. The new protective kits, which include modern body armor, Kevlar helmets and other elements of military protection, turned out to be a tough nut to crack for small-caliber low-impulse ammunition. At the same time, both the PLA and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are already working on the creation of improved protective equipment for their own military personnel. So back in February 2019, information appeared that Russian airborne forces and ground forces were expecting new versions of body armor from the "Ratnik 2" combat equipment complex. According to the creators of the body armor, it is able to withstand being hit by a bullet fired from a sniper rifle from a distance of only 10 meters. In such conditions, the desire of the American military to switch to a 6.8 mm caliber, which is suitable for combat at close, medium and long distances, seems to be quite justified. Experts already call this solution quite promising.
Other features of promising weapons
The US military declares one of the main goals of the entire program "Small arms of the next generation squad" to reduce the total weight of weapons and ammunition. That is why designers today are considering innovative solutions for cartridges, which include the creation of a sleeve made of polymer materials and the development of telescopic ammunition. The goal of all developments is to obtain a cartridge of less weight, but with the preservation of all the required damaging characteristics.
It is also known that the US military leadership asked the developers to submit models of promising small arms with rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries for an advanced fire control system. Weapons are becoming more complex and more and more reminiscent of the systems that are implemented today on wheeled and tracked combat vehicles. As conceived by the American military, the new aiming system can become a real breakthrough, providing a fighter with a greater lethality. In this case, the battery will be directly integrated into the design of the automatic rifle.
It is assumed that a promising fire control system will appear as a combination of well-known and well-known devices, combined in one accessory, the mass of which should not exceed one kilogram. The device is expected to include a ballistic computer, a laser rangefinder, a set of atmospheric sensors and a telescopic sight adjustment system. With the help of digital means, each soldier can easily customize the weapon to suit his needs, taking into account the weather conditions and the firing range. This development is only the first step in the development of small arms models. In the future, the Americans expect to build all of the above devices into night vision devices.
Developers of new weapons
According to the American thematic publication Jane's Defense Weekly, a preliminary assignment issued in October last year for the creation of new concepts of small arms for a new cartridge most likely canceled the preliminary contract agreements of June 25, 2018. Although it is possible, this is only an addition to the already issued contracts. One way or another, earlier six preliminary contract agreements for the creation of a replacement for the M249 light machine gun were issued to companies: AAI Corporation (part of Textron Systems), FN America (two contractual agreements), General Dynamics-OTS, PCP Tactical and SIG Sauer. With a high degree of probability, representatives of these companies are participating in the competition for the creation of a promising NGSW-R assault rifle and NGSW-AR light machine gun.
According to the latest information, 4 companies will present their samples for testing, of which only three will be admitted to the next stage of selection. While we do not know the participants in the first tests, we only know that samples of the new generation of automatic weapons are already being tested. The results of this stage of the competition will be known by the end of summer 2019. After that, the three remaining companies will continue to work on improving the presented models of small arms, as well as work on creating new ammunition for them.
According to information that was published on the website of US government tenders fedbizopps.gov, the three remaining companies will need to provide the military with 53 samples of NGSW-R and 43 samples of NGSW-AR, as well as 850 thousand 6.8 mm rounds of ammunition for these models of small arms. … The gradual introduction and testing of prototypes in the troops is planned to begin by 2021, in order to begin a full rearmament of infantry units by 2023. It is noted that the company, the winner of the competition for the creation of advanced models of automatic weapons, will receive an order for the manufacture of 250 thousand units of small arms and 150 million cartridges for them. It is also worth noting that the plans of the American army to switch to a new cartridge of 6, 8 mm caliber involve the creation of a new production line for the production of cartridges. The new production facility is set to appear at the Lake City Ammunition and Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri.
