Report: New Squad Automatic Rifle Only for ‘Close-Combat’ Soldiers

By Tactical-Life

A U.S. Army official says the service is planning on fielding its Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) only to “close-combat” soldiers, with the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) likely to stick around for the foreseeable future.

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Earlier this year, the Army put out a notice indicating it wanted prototypes for the NGSAR. Last week, the service updated that notice to announce the five companies that were awarded contracts to submit those prototypes. Those companies are Textron Systems’ AAI Corporation; FN America; General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems; PCP Tactical; and Sig Sauer.

According to the notice, the NGSAR is to weigh no more than 12 pounds. In addition, it should fire ammunition that’s more powerful and 20 percent lighter than typical brass-cased ammunition.

“This is not for every soldier,” Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski, Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life