As the dawn of a new era in U.S. Army infantry capabilities breaks, soldiers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have undertaken the monumental task of training and integrating the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) into their combat repertoire. In 2023, the 101st Airborne Division’s “Screaming Eagles” and the elite 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, embarked on rigorous live-fire exercises to master the NGSW-Rifle (NGSW-R) and NGSW-Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR) platforms, which promise to enhance lethality and precision on the battlefield.
In March 2024, soldiers from the 1st Brigade of the 506th Infantry Regiment received a shipment of advanced XM7 rifles and XM250 automatic rifles, replacing the traditional M4 and M249 squad automatic weapon systems. These new weapons feature a powerful 6.8mm caliber, providing a lethal range of at least 600 meters, which is twice the range of the 5.56mm ammunition used by their predecessors.
The XM7, while weighing in at 8.4 pounds unloaded, delivers a noticeable punch with minimal recoil. Soldiers like Sgt. Marcus Colston were initially concerned about increased weight and recoil potentially hindering their marksmanship, but such fears were quickly allayed. “The recoil, honestly, was very negligible even with the larger round,” Colston noted, highlighting the weapon’s accuracy.
An integral part of the NGSW system is the XM157 Fire Control, an innovative optic designed to revolutionize target acquisition and engagement. With built-in features like an infrared aiming laser, a bullet drop compensator, and a ballistics calculator, the XM157 vastly outperforms existing soldier optics. Its eight-times magnification capability, as compared to the current standard of four, allows soldiers to engage targets from greater distances and with higher precision.
Col. Trevor Voelkel, 1st Brigade commander, compared the new fire control to a technological leap, stating, “It’s kind of like going from my Nokia flip phone to an iPhone.” The capabilities that this advanced optic brings to the table are a game-changer for infantry operations, enabling soldiers to laser targets and call for fire with unparalleled efficiency.
As the 101st Airborne Division gears up for a full-scale field training exercise this fall, the real-world applications of the NGSW will be put to the test. These exercises will demonstrate the performance of a brigade completely equipped with the new small arms and optics in a variety of training scenarios, ranging from live fires to simulated force-on-force engagements.
Relevant articles:
– POTD: Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW-AR) Tested By Rangers –, The Firearm Blog
– Next Generation Squad Weapon and optic exceed soldiers’ expectations, Army Times
– Next Generation Squad Weapons tested by Ft. Campbell infantry, Rangers, Army.mil
– The Army Has Finally Fielded Its Next Generation Squad Weapons, Military.com