A confidential source has revealed to TFB the current contestants that have passed the most recent phase of the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle Competition (NGSAR). This phase is less of an actual competition between small arms prototypes but more of a theoretical [Read More…]
The US Army’s PEO Soldier – Project Manager Soldier Weapons has issued an Request for Information (RFI) to obtain industry feedback on possible submissions to Sub Compact Weapons (SCW) evaluations. The specification details offered by the Project Manager [Read More…]
The US Marine Corps are working with the US Army to find a replacement for the 5.56x45mm ammunition currently available. The Army, has for some time been arguing that even the 5.56x45mm Enhanced Performance Round is insufficient to combat emerging threats. The Marine [Read More…]
Program Executive Officer (PEO) Soldier out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia recently tweeted an image depicting U.S. Army Brigadier General Anthony Potts (currently commanding PEO Soldier) on the test range firing a test rifle apart of “emerging technologies for Next [Read More…]
The US Army’s Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) program is moving forward with a Prototype Opportunity Notice scheduled for publication later this week. The US Army Contracting Command has issued a draft Prototype Opportunity Notice (PON) for the [Read More…]
In the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, top Army officers talked about their plans to modernize the force, and, as part of that, replace both the M249 SAW and the M4 Carbine, the latter of which has been in service since the early 1990s. The [Read More…]
Despite the suggestion being raised more than once in Congress, the United States Army will not be buying M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles from Heckler & Koch, but instead is devoting its small arms resources towards the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle program, [Read More…]
At an AUSA breakfast conference yesterday, US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley gave us a hint at exactly what the US Army’s next rifle could look like, and the focus was on extended range capability. The rifle, Milley said, will give a 10x improvement in [Read More…]
The US Army will be holding a second Industry Day for its Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle program, which seeks to replace the M249 light machine gun with a new longer-ranged, lower signature automatic rifle. The Industry Day will be held at Picatinny Arsenal on [Read More…]
After over 30 years of using the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, it seems the US Army may be moving away from the concept of squad-level belt-fed automatic firepower in favor of a lower-capacity but more precise (and probably magazine-fed) weapon. In a recent Special [Read More…]
More and more, it seems like we are on the cusp of a break in the small arms “plateau”, and that major changes may be coming both in the technology and use of infantry small arms and ammunition. The biggest harbinger of this coming paradigm shift has been [Read More…]
Earlier this week, Business Insider released an article written by Christian Lowe entitled “6 weapons the US military should bring back from the dead“ with a very self-evident, but interesting premise. However, the weapons (all firearms, oddly) that the [Read More…]
The National Defense Industry Association has released the PowerPoint presentations from 2016 Armament Systems Forum, including Kori Phillips’ update on the Cased Telescoped Small Arms Systems (CTSAS) program, which is the successor to the well-known Lightweight [Read More…]
TFB have been closely following developments in the US Army’s Next Generation Small Arms Program and it has been a while since we heard any major developments. On the evening of the 29th August, however, the Army Contracting Command posted an award notice for the [Read More…]
Earlier this month Thales Australia announced the completion of construction on a new advanced manufacturing building at Lithgow Arms. The new facility features state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and is intended to foster ‘collaboration across research [Read More…]
SIG Sauer have announced that they have acquired General Robotics, an Israel-based technology defense company that develops robots and remote weapon systems. This is part of SIG Sauer’s effort to become a one-stop shop for land systems: weapons, ammunition, [Read More…]
One of the more hotly anticipated releases in the rifle world in many years has finally landed. The SIG MCX SPEAR – the civilian version of the Army’s XM7 rifle – is now available for purchase. The first runs will include 7.62×51 and 6.5CM with the [Read More…]
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the awesome YHM R9 multi-host suppressor. Last week we brought you a look at the Hansohn Brothers Vidar 22 rimfire silencer. Today we take a [Read More…]
On 19 April, the US Army announced that SIG Sauer had won the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) competition with its 6.8mm hybrid ammunition, MCX Spear and LMG-6.8 selected to equip the US Army’s close combat forces. The Department of Defense held a Media Round [Read More…]
After almost no traveling for about two years, I was really looking forward to this year’s edition of Enforce Tac and IWA OutdoorClassics 2022 in Nürnberg, Germany. Enforce Tac is a two-day trade fair for security agencies, where only law enforcement and [Read More…]
During SHOT 2022 we reported that True Velocity and Beretta USA were to partner production of TV’s NGSW weapon and development of the rifle for international and commercial sale! True Velocity have taken another step toward commercial sales of the 6.8mm bullpup. [Read More…]
![[SHOT 2022] 6.8 TVC Cartridge and Guns to be Available Commercially (1)](https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/SHOT-2022-6.8-TVC-Cartridge-and-Guns-to-be-Available-Commercially-1-660x260.jpg)
True Velocity has announced that their composite-cased 6.8 TVC cartridge that was developed for the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) program is approved by SAAMI and will soon become commercially available. Along with the commercial release of the [Read More…]
We’ve know for a while that Beretta was partnered with General Dynamics on their NGSW submission – the bullpup RM277. Well GD have divested to True Velocity and Lone Star Future Weapons but Beretta have confirmed their continuing involvement in the project. [Read More…]
Much digital ink has been spilled over the last several years regarding the US Army’s NGSW (Next Generation Squad Weapons) Program. Most of the rifles/carbines and machine guns currently employed by America’s soldiers are not particularly modern, by any [Read More…]
TFB has long followed the progress of the US Marine Corps effort to field suppressors across the board. At the end of December 2020, the Corps finally announced that they had begun the process of fielding thousands of rifle caliber suppressors to Marines for use with [Read More…]
True Velocity have confirmed delivery of their final shipment of over 625,000 rounds of their 6.8mm hybrid ammunition for the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon program. True Velocity shared a photo of the shipment on pallets about to leave the factory with some [Read More…]
A visit by Maryland’s governor, Larry Hogan, to Textron Systems’ Hunt Valley facility near Baltimore, MD gave us some fresh photographs of Textron’s new Next Generation Squad Weapon program prototypes. We have two photos, one of a Textron employee [Read More…]
FN America have confirmed that the US Army has awarded them a contract to deliver an unspecified number of new M249 Squad Automatic Weapons. The contract is due to be fulfilled by 2025 with deliveries set to begin soon. The M249 has been in the US Army service for [Read More…]
True Velocity have announced that they have supplied the US Army with 170,000 rounds of their polymer cased 6.8mm TVCM ammunition. The delivery was made in May in support of the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon first phase of prototype testing. From our [Read More…]
Good morning everyone and thanks for joining us again for Silencer Saturday, brought to you by our friends at Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the new R9 9mm suppressor that is now starting to ship out to distributors and dealers. Last week we got a sneak peak at [Read More…]
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