XM250 NGSW-AR SIG MG 6.8mm automatic rifle light machine gun.

Technical Data

• Design

  The XM250 Next Generation Squad Weapon-Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR) is designed with a suite of advanced features to accommodate the modern soldier's diverse operational needs. It boasts fully ambidextrous controls, ensuring ease of use and operational flexibility for both right and left-handed shooters. The rifle includes a collapsible buttstock, which can be adjusted for length, enhancing comfort and fit for individual users, thus improving accuracy and control.

  Incorporating a two-position adjustable gas valve, the XM250 allows for the customization of the rifle's operation to suit various firing conditions and ammunition types, enhancing reliability and performance across a wide range of environments. The design also features multiple MLOK® mounting locations. This modular mounting system enables the direct attachment of accessories without the need for additional rails, reducing weight and improving the weapon's ergonomics.
  A key innovation in the XM250's design is its recoil mitigation system, which significantly reduces the felt recoil experienced by the shooter. This system enhances the user's ability to maintain accuracy during rapid-fire and sustained engagements.

  Furthermore, the XM250 is equipped with a free-floating reinforced M-LOK handguard. This component not only contributes to the weapon's structural integrity but also offers versatile "negative space" (hollow slot) mounting points for direct accessory attachment. This feature allows for a streamlined, customizable setup that can be tailored to the mission's specific needs without compromising the barrel's accuracy-enhancing free-floating design.

  The front of the XM250 Next Generation Squad Weapon-Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR) is equipped with a bipod, a feature that significantly enhances the weapon's versatility and functionality in various combat scenarios. This bipod attachment serves multiple purposes: it provides a stable platform for precision shooting, reduces fatigue by supporting the weapon's weight during prolonged firing sessions, and improves overall accuracy by minimizing barrel movement.

  The inclusion of a bipod at the front of the XM250 is particularly beneficial for soldiers in a support or suppressive fire role, allowing them to deliver sustained, accurate fire over long distances with reduced shooter strain. This feature is also advantageous in defensive positions or when engaging targets from fixed positions, where stability is crucial for effectiveness.
  
  The front of the XM250 is fitted with an M-LOK® interface and a bipod

  The XM250 is designed with a host of modern features that significantly enhance its performance and usability compared to older weapon systems. It boasts ambidextrous M4 style ergonomics, making it easily operable by both right and left-handed shooters. The weapon is equipped with quick-detach magazines for rapid reloading, expanded M1913 rail space for a variety of attachments, and a quick-detach suppressor for operational flexibility. These improvements offer a substantial advancement in the functionality and operation of this class of firearms.

  Key to its design is the ambidextrous fire selector lever, accessible from both sides of the weapon, allowing for easy transition between safe, continuous fire, and single fire modes. This versatility ensures the weapon can be effectively secured and operated in various states of readiness.
  Unique to its design, the cover of the top belt feeder opens to the side rather than the front. This innovative feature ensures that optics and attachments remain undisturbed and fully functional, enhancing the weapon's reliability and the user's effectiveness in the field.

  Mirroring advancements seen in models like the XM7 rifle, the SIG LMG incorporates a two-position adjustable gas valve. This system regulates the rifle's operation by precisely controlling the gas flow necessary for its function, allowing for optimal performance under both standard and adverse conditions. The handguard is clearly marked on either side to show the gas valve's position, making adjustments straightforward: simply press down on the lever until it stops to change settings.
  
  The XM250 is designed with an ambidextrous fire selector lever, accessible from both sides of the weapon, allowing for easy transition between safe, continuous fire, and single fire modes.

  The XM250 features an innovative extension buttstock designed to enhance the weapon's adaptability and user comfort across a variety of combat scenarios. This buttstock can be securely locked in five distinct positions, providing soldiers with the flexibility to adjust the stock's length to their preference or operational requirements. Such adjustability ensures optimal ergonomics, control, and stability, catering to the diverse physiques of users and the demands of different firing positions or tactical situations.
  Additionally, the buttstock is engineered to fold onto the left side of the weapon's housing. This folding capability significantly enhances the XM250's portability and makes it more compact for storage or maneuvering in confined spaces, without compromising the weapon's readiness or quick deployment capability.

  The standard tube of the buttstock measures 16 inches (406 mm) in length when fully extended, offering a substantial foundation for the collapsible buttstock. This standard length is chosen to balance the need for stability and comfort during firing with the versatility required for dynamic operational contexts. The combination of a collapsible and folding buttstock in the XM250 underscores the weapon's design philosophy, prioritizing modularity, user comfort, and tactical flexibility.  
  
  The XM250 features an innovative extension buttstock designed to enhance the weapon's adaptability and user comfort across a variety of combat scenarios. 

• Magazine and Ammution

  The XM250 utilizes advanced 6.8mm hybrid cartridge ammunition, a critical feature that underscores its cutting-edge design and enhanced lethality. This ammunition is specifically engineered for superior ballistic performance, offering a significant improvement in range, accuracy, and terminal effectiveness compared to the calibers used in existing squad automatic weapons. The choice of a 6.8mm cartridge reflects a strategic move towards ensuring that infantry units can engage adversaries more effectively at longer distances and penetrate modern body armor.

  The XM250 is adeptly designed to interface seamlessly with belt boxes, facilitating its role in delivering sustained, high-volume fire. Moreover, this advanced squad automatic weapon is compatible with a range of ammunition carrying options to suit diverse operational needs. Specifically, it can accommodate three types of 100/200-round ammo carriers and two types of 50-round ammo carriers. This versatility in ammunition capacity ensures that soldiers equipped with the XM250 can maintain a prolonged rate of fire, essential for suppressive roles and extended engagements, without the complexity or need for additional magazine systems.
  
  The XM250 uses belt box ammunition for streamlined, high-capacity ammunition feeding.

  The 6.8×51mm Common Cartridge, also known as the 6.8mm Next Generation Squad Weapon Cartridge, represents a groundbreaking development in intermediate ammunition, crafted by firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer specifically for the U.S. military. This new cartridge emerges in response to the limitations observed in the longstanding service rounds, the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO, to substantially enhance range, accuracy, and terminal effectiveness. Designed to excel in a wide array of combat situations, including long-range combat and penetration through modern body armor, the 6.8×51mm cartridge is pivotal to the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) program's mission to modernize infantry arsenals with superior firepower.

  This cartridge incorporates a "hybrid" case design that mirrors the dimensions of the .308 Winchester, combining a stainless steel base and a brass body, linked by an aluminum locking washer. The use of stainless steel, noted for its superior yield strength relative to brass, allows for increased maximum average pressure (MAP) chamber pressure levels, thereby boosting the cartridge's performance. The 6.8×51mm cartridge is available in two bullet types: a 135-grain (8.75 g) "match grade" variant with a G1 ballistic coefficient of around .488, and a 140-grain (9.07 g) "hunter tipped" variant boasting a G1 ballistic coefficient around .508. These specifications highlight the cartridge's engineering for precision and efficiency, although ballistic coefficients are subject to discussion and interpretation.
  
   The XM250 fires the 6.8mm hybrid cartridge ammunition which is fed into the weapon via an ammo box.

• Features

  The XM250, in its combat-ready configuration, has a weight of 11.44 kg when equipped with an optic, suppressor, flash hider, sling, and a 100-round ammunition load. Its length spans 106.68 cm when the suppressed buttstock is fully extended, and it measures 91.44 cm without the suppressor attached.

  The XM250 NGSW-AR is outfitted with the XM157 Next Generation Fire Control System (NGFCS) and the SIG SLX Suppressor, enhancing its operational capabilities significantly. The XM157 NGFCS, developed by Vortex Optics, is a comprehensive weapon sight system that bolsters accuracy and lethality for close combat engagements. This advanced system incorporates a suite of technologies such as a variable magnification optic, a backup etched reticle for reliability, a laser rangefinder for precise distance measurement, a ballistic calculator for shot accuracy, an atmospheric sensor suite for environmental adjustments, a compass for orientation, Intra-Soldier Wireless for connectivity, along with both visible and infrared aiming lasers for versatility. It also features a digital display overlay for critical information visualization. Mounted atop the weapon, the XM157 is powered by a rechargeable battery, offers a magnification range from 1x to 6x, and provides a field of view of about 10 degrees. Weighing approximately 2.2 kg, it is engineered to endure the rigors of combat, including extreme weather conditions and the impact of heavy recoil.