Customers: US Army (Ground Forces)
Contractors: Sheltered Wings Project date: 2022/01
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On January 8, 2021, it became known that the US Army signed a contract worth up to $2.7 billion for fire control systems that will accompany its program of arming detachments of soldiers with new generation technologies.
The 10-year agreement with Sheltered Wings (part of the group) involves the supply of up to 250 thousand sighting systems XM157 Squad Weapons Next Generation. They will be integrated into both the NGSW rifle and the NGSW automatic rifle. The fire control system includes a number of advanced technologies to increase the combat effectiveness of soldiers. The set of technologies used in the novelty includes an optical system with variable magnification, a backup engraved grid, a laser rangefinder, a ballistic calculator, a set of atmospheric sensors, a compass, wireless communication for soldiers, visible and infrared guidance lasers and superimposition of a digital display. The new system will replace close combat optics and rifle combat optics for infantry soldiers, scouts and sappers.
In fact, we are talking about a computer that will be installed on small arms and integrated with "universal army glasses." All the soldier will do is decide to shoot or abstain and not press the trigger.
Having seriously begun processing the weapons of the detachments in 2018, the army narrowed down its long-term attempts to replace weapons more than half a century ago, choosing 6.8 mm as a medium-caliber replacement. Ballistic tests have shown that this cartridge exceeds existing 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm rounds in lethality, range and accuracy.
The armament program of the new generation units is one of 35 priority programs for the modernization of the army and one of 24 programs that, according to the chief of staff of the army, General James McConville, will be at the prototyping stage around fiscal year 2023.
According to the Army Times, back in 2019, the then chief of staff of the army, General Mark Milley, hailed the new armament of the units as "a weapon that can defeat any body armor, any planned body armor that we know about in the future."
These weapons can work at unknown distances today. This thing has a target capture system built in, not unlike anything that exists today. This is a very complex weapon, "he said.[1] |