The Army has revealed the weapon intended to replace the M4 carbine in front-line combat units. The branch announced a 10-year, $20.4- million contract to Sig Sauer to produce two weapons it's calling the next-generation squad weapons at the end of April, according to a U.S. Army Public Affairs
press release.
The weapons are the XM5 rifle and the XM250 automatic rifle. The former is intended for individual soldiers, and the latter is intended as a replacement for squad automatic weapons like the M249 light machine gun.
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The Army has revealed the weapon intended to replace the M4 carbine in front-line combat units.
The branch announced a 10-year, $20.4- million contract to Sig Sauer to produce two weapons it's calling the next-generation squad weapons at the end of April, according to a U.S. Army Public Affairs
press release.
The weapons are the XM5 rifle and the XM250 automatic rifle. The former is intended for individual soldiers, and the latter is intended as a replacement for squad automatic weapons like the M249 light machine gun.
The weapons are being supplied to combat arms across the branch, with the branch planning on eventual widespread distribution. If the weapon is adopted across the Army, it would be the most dramatic change to the branch's standard weapon since the Vietnam War.
The M16 became the first assault rifle in US military use during that conflict, with the M4 carbine entering service as a shortened version of the rifle in the following decades.
The two weapons will fire a bigger bullet than their predecessors. Both are chambered for 6.8-millimeter rounds, rather than the 5.56 of the M4 and M429.
The new round is thought to be more lethal against a foe who is wearing body armor.