In April 2022, the United States Army announced that it had selected Sig Sauer to produce the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) that will eventually replace the legacy M4 Carbine and M249 light machine gun. The gun maker’s MCX was adopted as the M5 rifle later redesignated the M7, while the company will also produce the M250 automatic rifle.
The adoption of the new M75 and M250 was the first substantial change to U.S. military small arms since the adoption of the M16 in 1964. Unlike the M4 and M249, which were two different firearms, the M5 and M250 are essentially the same weapons – but in two different sizes to meet different needs on the battlefield. Both weapons will be chambered for the newly developed 6.8x51mm Common Cartridge, also known as .277 Fury.
The cartridge was developed to be “midway” between the 5.56x45mm NATO and the 7.62x51mm NATO in bore diameter, even though it is dimensionally similar to the latter round. It should not be confused with the 6.8x43mm Remington cartridge also developed in recent years.
However, the U.S. Army may be rethinking what cartridge its machine guns are chambered for – as the Army Contracting Command-New Jersey at Picatinny Arsenal, announced it was “conducting a market survey / sources sought notice on behalf of the Project Manager Soldier Lethality (PM SL) for a dual caliber machine gun that fires both .338 Norma and 6.8x51mm ammunition.”
According to the posting issued on March 6, “The dual caliber machine gun should include all hardware and instructions needed to operate as a .338 Norma Machine Gun and the conversion kit to fire the 6.8x51mm XM1186 general purpose cartridge.”
About the Cartridge
The .338 Norma Magnum was originally developed as a long-range sport shooting cartridge by Swedish ammunition maker Norma. It is used in long range precision sport shooting, and the U.S. military previously considered the round for its Modular Sniper Rifle (MSR), developed and produced by Remington Arms for the U.S. Army as the Mk 21 Precision Sniper Rifle.
The cartridge is also among the nearly dozen different rounds that can be used with the Barrett MRAD (Multi-role Adaptive Design), which is now in service.
A Magnum Machine Gun
Based on the market survey, the U.S. Army is seeking a machine gun that would provide greater range than the current M240, which is chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO round – and be a dual capable weapon.
That could allow it to have the greater range if the mission calls for it, but for it to also be able to fire the 6.8x51mm ammunition used in the M7 and M250 small arms.
The potential dual capable machine gun could replace the U.S. Army’s arsenal of M240s, which serve as its general purpose machine gun – produced as a model with standard 24-inch barrel (M240B); lightweight version with a 22-inch barrel, collapsible stock, and titanium receiver (M240L); and the M240H helicopter door gun version with spade grips instead of a buttstock.
According to a report from The War Zone, the biggest advantage with a machine gun chambered for .338 Norma Magnum cartridge would be its increased rate. The maximum effective range of the M240B against an “area target” is around 1,200 meters (1,312 yards), but that number falls to 800 meters (875 yards) when trying to hit a specific target. The .338 Norma Magnum could easily double the effective range.
But as the round is heavy and expensive, having the ability to still use the 6.8x51mm would be more cost effective for training and in missions where the longer range isn’t required.
The U.S. Army might not be alone in fielding a machine gun chambered for the Norma round, as the United States Marine Corps has also been seeking to develop its weapon, while the United States Special Operations command (SOCOM) is expected to issue a formal Request For Proposal (RFP) for its “Lightweight Machine Gun-Medium (LMG-M).”
Still Just a Market Survey
The LMG-M RFP still has yet to materialize, but the U.S. Army is also only at the market survey phase, which is a long way from the development of any future dual capable MG. The company is only seeking information, and requests that any firms respond with a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that will provide additional information on the 6.8 ammunition specifications.
Companies will also need to “include information on lead times to produce and deliver small quantities of .338 weapons and associated 6.8mm conversion kits (maximum of 5) for evaluation by the government,” and to “provide information on the manufacturing readiness of this design.”
Finally, interested companies were “invited to indicate their capabilities by providing specifications, brochures, manuals, reports, demonstration video and other technical data, as well as identification of current customers.” The current response data is April 6.
