Login
iscover
American airborne infantry soldiers have been given the opportunity to trial the US military’s Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) system.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Around 200 airborne infantry soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) were able to test the limits and benefits of the system at US Army installation, Fort Campbell, from 1 September to 30 October.
The new weapon system is expected to replace the M4 carbine and M249 squad automatic weapons and provide significant advancement in firepower, range and accuracy.
Soldiers from Alpha and Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment took part in the operational assessment featuring a range of weapon configurations, force-on-force engagements and static live-fire ranges.
“The Army needs equipment to continually evolve, to meet the threat of our adversaries,” according to Elbert L. Grayson, supervisory military test plans analyst, Maneuver Test Directorate, US Army Operational Test Command.
“Information is needed to make improvements to the NGSW that will benefit America’s most precious resource, our soldiers.”
The change is a key step in modernising the combat force and aims to impact over 120,000 US Army soldiers, he said.
“Having seen the capabilities of the 6.8 (mm) round, I have confidence that it will easily do in one to two rounds, what the 5.56 (mm) did in two to four,” said Captain John M. Green, Commander of A-CO, 1-506th, 101st ABN DIV.
Soldiers were challenged to perform individual movement techniques while engaging targets up to 300 metres away. This IMT lane requires soldiers to bound, low-crawl, and high-crawl while maintaining accurate fire, ensuring that the weapon performs reliably under strenuous conditions.
They also had to complete the course while under simulated combat stress, pushing their physical and mental limits.
“The force on force is really exciting, really fun, getting in there and doing training against human beings, not just targets, and actually squaring off (against another) unit making plans and objectives, I think it is a really good training experience for sure,” according to Sergeant Todd Smallwood, First Squad Team Leader, A-CO, 1-506th, 101st ABN DIV.
“We have been doing the operational assessment on the NGSW weapons, the XM7, the XM250, and also with the XM157 scopes on the weapon systems.
“We’ve been doing quite a bit of ranges, and pop-up targets, trying to recreate platoon assault objectives.
“The capability of the (6.8mm) round being able to puncture and turn cover into concealment, I think it will make a huge difference in urban and forest environments.”
A critical aspect of the assessment also ensured that the weapon system can be operated even in the aftermath of a chemical, nuclear or biological environment.
