‘It’s a game-changer:’ Army awards $20.4 million to Sig Sauer for new squad rifle

stripes.com ^ | April 20, 2022 | ROSE L. THAYER

[IndispensableDestiny]

The purpose of the US going to 5.56 was to standardize NATO on a single rifle round.

Not so. NATO's standard at the time was 7.62x51. The UK was pushing 7x43. The US stuck by 7.62 then went to 5.56.

[jjotto]

Same plant that already makes almost all Army 5.56 and 7.62.

[Paal Gulli]

The 6.8mm cartridge they're talking about probably isn't isn't the 6.8 you're thinking about (so most of you who are diss-ing it are talking through your hats).

This is a bespoke cartridge that Sig made specifically for this weapon and this competition. SAAMI has standardized it as the .277 Fury but Sig calls the (same) cartridge they're selling to the military the NGSW 6.8x51.

And its max chamber pressure is 80,000 psi. Yes, you read that right, eighty thousand psi. Which to the best of my knowledge is 15,000 psi and 19% hotter than any other factory small arms cartridge in existence.

It is SO HOT, in fact, that you can't expect a conventional brass (C26000) cartridge casing to endure the pressure. So they've made the brass two-piece, a steel case head mated to a brass body:

At left, the .277 Fury with steel case head

And all that pressure is so it can drive a 135-gr AP bullet to 3000 fps MV from a 16-inch barrel. Which is muzzle energy on par with a 7.62x51 NATO firing a 175-gr bullet from a 24-inch barrel.

And since it's a smaller diameter bullet than the 7.62, it has a better sectional density and a higher ballistic coefficient, too, which means both its range and downrange energy are superior to the 7.62 NATO cartridge, despite the 6.8 having only 2/3rds the barrel length.

But this is only a stopgap until they have selected a general issue infantry rifle that will fire, if not the exact same cartridge, then one with similar capabilities. Because Big Army's idea is that in future wars everybody will be wearing body armor. And if you're standard infantry rifle won't defeat the enemy's body armor, you might as well be carrying a Brown Bess.

And the .277 Fury/NGSW 6.8x51 is believed capable of defeating, not just all current body armor, but any IBA that anyone has on the drawing board.

With that much chamber pressure you can be sure this thing eats barrels for breakfast (so did the much-vaunted MG-42), but Sig delivered the prototypes with 825,000 rounds of ammunition. With that many rounds downrange, even the army couldn't have missed the fact that this thing has a hearty appetite for barrels, and they've consigned themselves to living with that fact.

So carp all you want, this is the future if infantry armament.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

—>> Wait, you mean I could just buy a different firearm and reduce my aiming errors? Hmm, I thought the usual fix for that was to use better sights, or get better training.

Now, under new standards, soldiers are encouraged to shoot first and draw targets around the holes afterwards.

It is racist to force everyone to be judged by premade, standardized targets.

Scores have gone up dramatically!

[SuperLuminal]

One more military item is added to those already produced outside the country?

What happens when the chicoms launch their next sneak attack and WWIII starts?

[Celtic Conservative]

SIG has factories in the US.

CC

[from occupied ga]

Probably produce them here under license, though German quality is pretty good.

[Celtic Conservative]

There are tons of piston AR-15’s out there, many having been produced for some time. And most of them are 5.56 . There is no reason to go to 6.8 except for novelty. As others have stated it’s not significantly better at longer ranges than 5.56- the initial impetus for this program.

CC

[from occupied ga]

The US taxpayer will probably foot the bill ...

For everything

[glimmerman70]

I want 1..

[Kevmo]

The future of “rifles” will be the .50 cal EXACTO smoothbore round.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EXACTO

[Big Red Badger]

Whoa,WOW.

THANKS!

[Erik Latranyi]

The steel head is a replacement for a belt.

Belted ammunition can handle far higher pressures but still only reach about 65,000 PSI.

[zeugma]

The previous thread for this had no pictures. How can you have a thread about a new rifle without gun porn?

[zeugma]

Didn’t braindead say to buy and produce American products? Yes he did. But won’t remember what he said.

Sig has American production facilities. In fact, German Sigs command a premium on the market over American ones.

[Paal Gulli]

"Belted ammunition can handle far higher pressures but still only reach about 65,000 PSI."

Nope. sorry. Belts got nothing to do with cartridge power. There are plenty of 65,000 psi cartridges that aren't belted, and zero belted cartridges that can withstand 80,000.

Belts originally were added to aid in maintaining headspacing & extraction in slick-feeding rimless (usually straight-walled) cartridges. Then it became a "trademark" of the magnum cartridge, but that was all marketing hype (thank you, Roy Weatherby).

Belted Magnum Cases: A Myth Dispelled

By Philip Massaro, July 16, 2014

"...That beautiful belt has nothing at all to do with strength; it serves to function as a means of headspacing...."

[redgolum]

So I have seen the specs on the new cart.

I am a bit concerned about the pressure. That is why there is a suppressor and it is so heavy, but I do wonder about metal fatigue on the rifle.

[jjotto]

$20 mil is probably just for first run.

https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-army/2022/04/20/army-expects-next-generation-squad-weapon-to-get-to-its-first-unit-by-next-year/

…The $4.7 billion rifle and automatic rifle weapons contract and the $2.7 billion contract for the advanced, computer-assisted fire control optic that works with both weapons, are the most substantial changes to individual- or squad-level small arms in generations...

[LouAvul]

they've made the brass two-piece, a steel case head mated to a brass body:

Yeah, I reload. Straight wall cases and bottleneck cases. But ... that doesn't look like inexpensive brass.

[Obadiah]

Huh. Good to know. Thanks.