Army Receives Final Shipment of SIG Sauers for NGSW System Testing

SIG Sauer recently delivered its last lot of firearms, ammunition and matching equipment for testing by the U.S. Army in its search for a Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) system. The company shipped its first batch in June, 2020, and is one of three finalists still under consideration as the military branch considers a 5.56 NATO cartridge replacement, along with firearms and a fleet of accessories to match.

“This historic moment is the culmination of an incredible collaboration between the U.S. Army and SIG,” said Ron Cohen, president and CEO of SIG Sauer. “We commend Army leadership for having the vision to undertake this monumental procurement process and for remaining vigilant in their mission to bring a modern, transformational weapon system to the battlefield. Throughout the program we have been given unprecedented access to the soldiers and Marines who will ultimately field these weapons. These soldier touchpoint events have led to rapid advancements over the current weapons systems and resulted in our delivery of the most innovative Next Generation Squad Weapons system to the U.S. Army.”

The company’s submission consists of a revolutionary 6.8x51 mm hybrid cartridge, the NGSW-AR lightweight belt-fed machine gun, the NGSW-R rifle and suppressors. Each component offers advances in battlefield weapons performance beginning with the ammunition—a lightweight cartridge designed to handle higher pressures, which results in increased velocity and terminal performance.

The NGSW-AR doubles effective range and is 40-percent lighter than the current M249, while maintaining belt-fed operation. The NGSW-R is built on the foundation of the battle-tested SIG Sauer MCX platform, with the added performance of the 6.8x51 mm round. Both firearms feature familiar AR-style ambidextrous ergonomics designed for a seamless transition from the legacy weapons. The final component of the system is the SIG Sauer Next Generation Suppressors for reduced sound signature.

“We are immensely proud that our entire NGSW submission has been designed, engineered, and manufactured as one integrated system by one single American company at our U.S. facilities,” Cohen said. “Each component has been exhaustively tested with the others to ensure peak operational performance and endurance for the rigors of the battlefield.”