US Army's XM7 assault rifle, XM250 machine gun to enter service in 2024

Already tested by a section of the famous 101st airborne division, the US Army's new infantry weapons, the XM7 assault rifle and the XM250 machine gun, will begin to equip the units of this elite division from the second quarter of 2024.

Designed to respond to observed and anticipated developments in the engagement constraints of land forces, these new weapons, their 6.8 mm ammunition, and the new XM157 intelligent aiming optics which equip them, should enable American infantry forces to maintain the advantage against their potential adversaries, according to Meta Defence.

With its 60 cm barrel, and its new 5.56 mm ammunition, the M16 proved, in fact, much more precise beyond 200 meters than the Soviet assault rifle, thanks to less recoil and superior ballistic qualities of the ammunition. The support weapons, for their part, remained faithful to the .30 caliber (expressed in inches) of 7.62 mm, offering a longer range, as well as a much greater penetration and stopping power than the 5, 56 mm (or .223 caliber).

It is precisely to respond to these developments that in 2017, the US Army announced its intention to replace the M4, but also its 5.56 mm M249 light machine guns, with new infantry weapons sharing a new unique caliber, a 6.8 mm ammunition, as part of the NGSW program for Next Generation Squad Weapon.

Five years later, following a meticulous testing process, the contract for both weapons was awarded to SIG Sauer USA, for the delivery of at least 107,000 XM7 assault rifles, as well as 13 000 XM250 infantry machine guns. The company Vortex Optic, for its part, won the contract for the supply of 250,000 XM157 intelligent aiming optics, for an amount of $2.7 billion.

The new 6.8 mm ammunition retained by the US Army was designed to have a penetration power much greater than that of the 5.56 NATO. Thus, during tests, this munition was able to destroy the target cylinders used, where the NATO munition only damaged it, without succeeding in passing through it, let alone destroying it.