SIG wins NGSW

[Spartan198]

Treat this as unofficial if you will because it hasn't yet made the regular news, but my sources in the know are telling me that the MCX Spear and MG 6.8 have been chosen as the winners of the NGSW program.

[S&Wshooter]

I think barring the rifle catastrophically failing in testing, SIG was going to get it no matter what

[Spartan198]

Originally Posted by S&Wshooter

I think barring the rifle catastrophically failing in testing, SIG was going to get it no matter what

The MCX platform is proven at this point, having been adopted in various forms by JSOC and USSOCOM, UKSF, and Ukraine's SBU Alpha Group, among others. If there ends up being a problem, I can't see it being with the rifle.

Of course, the DoD could very well just end up randomly canning the program altogether because DoD reasons. We have seen it before in the cases of the Joint Combat Pistol/Combat Pistol, Individual Carbine, and Interim Combat Service Rifle programs just in the last couple decades.

[Spartan198]

And it's now been officially announced.

https://taskandpurpose.com/military-...ource=facebook

End of an era.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by Spartan198

And it's now been officially announced.

https://taskandpurpose.com/military-...ource=facebook

End of an era.

I heard, but I'm still of a "I'll believe it when I see it" mentality right now. For as long as I've been a gun geek (25+ years), I've seen too many attempts to replace the basic DI AR which came and went.

[Spartan198]

Originally Posted by MT2008

I heard, but I'm still of a "I'll believe it when I see it" mentality right now. For as long as I've been a gun geek (25+ years), I've seen too many attempts to replace the basic DI AR which came and went.

Yeah, true, but this is the first time a new standard cartridge has been seriously considered and I've always been of the mind that changing platforms without ditching 5.56 was pointless because one 5.56 rifle is really no better than another of comparable barrel length. Every so-called "M4 killer" (XM8, SCAR-L, ACR, etc) has been more or less a dud in that regard, while the HK416 only managed an in-road when it did because CAG needed a 10" gun that could run reliably with a suppressor and the CQBR hadn't quite matured enough to do so at the time.

That said, the XM5 and XM250 are still technically in the experimental stage, so there's still the distinct possibility that (A) the 6.8mm round doesn't perform as well as hoped against modern body armor or (B) the DoD just up and cancels it out of the blue because reasons. Plus, you probably recall the XM25 grenade launcher that was popular among troops and performing well when a single faulty cartridge detonated inside one and killed the whole program. As I said previously, though, the MCX is a proven system now despite early teething problems (not unlike the M16/M4) and I don't see there being any catastrophic issues with the rifle itself.

Edit: On the more philosophical side of things, though, I do question that if body armor is that much of a concern, why do prospective near-peer enemies like Russia and China not seem to share it? They seem to be perfectly happy soldiering on with their existing service calibers rather than beating the "bigger stick" drum that NGSW and 6.8x51mm ultimately is. On TFB, for example, there isn't a single comment defending the new round. Everyone there seems to think we should stick with 5.56 and keep upgrading the M4 platform.

[Ultimate94ninja]

And now LoneStar Future Weapons are protesting this decision.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...ngsw-decision/

[Spartan198]

Originally Posted by Ultimate94ninja

And now LoneStar Future Weapons are protesting this decision.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...ngsw-decision/

I'm expecting it to be unceremoniously slapped down. I personally don't believe LoneStar's entry was ever seriously considered because the US military has never embraced bullpups and probably never will.