NGSW (Next Generation Squad Weapon)

Launched in 2017 by the U.S. Army, the Next Generation Squad Weapon program was the U.S. Military’s effort to find a replacement for the decades-old 5.56mm cartridge and the primary firearms chambered for it in military inventories. Defense Department studies showed the current 5.56mm round—adopted by the U.S. Military in the 1960s—was not sufficient for evolving threats and engagement ranges. Through years of experimentation, the Army decided the 6.8x51mm round should replace the 5.56mm round for combat forces and asked firearms manufacturers to design a cartridge and both a rifle and machine gun to fire it. These weapons would replace many M4 rifles and M249 Squad Automatic Rifles in Army inventories. After five years of testing and evaluation, SIG SAUER was awarded the manufacturing contract in 2022 for both the SIG LMG (machine gun), MCX SPEAR (rifle), and 6.8 Hybrid Ammunition (ammunition) to supply the U.S. Army (and potentially other services) with M4 and M249 replacements in the coming years.  https://youtu.be/w07HkVqn09Y