http://nationalinterest.org/bl...ck-punch-tanks-24707

Is this real or fake news?

The Army claims its new assault rifle will unleash a hailstorm of specially-designed shells with as much chamber pressure as a battle tank to tear through even the most advanced body armor — and if all goes according to plan, the soldiers will get them to play with sooner than they thought.

The service plans on fielding a Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) — the first version in the Army’s Next-Generation Weapons System that chambers a round between 6.5mm and 6.8mm — as a potential replacement for its 80,000 M249 SAWs starting in fiscal 2022 rather than the original target date of fiscal 2025, Col. Geoffrey A. Norman, force development division chief at Army HQ, told Task & Purpose, with two per nine-man infantry squad.

While the service still hasn’t set official requirements for the system, the NGSAR will weigh less, shoot farther, and pack more punch than the service’s existing infantry weapons, Norman told Task & Purpose. And more importantly, the platform will incorporate a chamber pressure superior to the current system in soldiers’ arsenals to ensure that the rounds can still blast through enhanced enemy body armor at up to 600 meters.

The goal, as Norman put it, is to equip infantry soldiers with an automatic rifle “that fires a small bullet at the pressure equivalent to what a tank would fire.”

“The chamber pressure for the standard assault rifle is around 45 KSI [kilopound per square inch], but we’re looking for between 60 and 80 KSI … the chamber pressure when an M1 Abrams tank fires is on that order,” Gordon told Task & Purpose. “We’re looking to reach out around 600 meters and have lethal effects even if the target is protected by body armor.”

The NGSW program currently consists of the NGSAR, a Next Generation Squad Carbine (NGSC), and a squad designated marksman rifle, along with specialized ammunition and fire control system. But while the Army had previously focused on fielding an improved carbine with a range and accuracy superior to the standard M4 that would also chamber a round between 6.5mm and 6.8mm, the service recently changed gears to prioritize the muscular automatic NGSAR.

The reason, according to Gordon, is the Pentagon’s current shift from the close quarters of urban warfare in Iraq and Syria to the mountains and open terrain of Afghanistan. While the carbine may be well-suited for a knock-down, drag-out brawl while moving house to house in cities like Mosul and Raqqa, it lacks the range to take out Taliban and ISIS fighters in open stretches

“For the past 10 or 15 years, we’ve been really focused on the requirement of lethal effects against unprotected targets,” Gordon said. “Now we’re looking at near-peer threats like Russia and others. We need to have lethal effects against protected targets and we need to have requirements for long-range lethality in places like Afghanistan, where you’re fighting from mountaintop to mountaintop over extended ranges.”

The service is certainly working overtime to get the muscular system turning militants into pink mist downrange. Gordon told Task & Purpose that the NGSW systems currently undergoing testing and evaluation by the Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team at Fort Benning, Georgia will initially head downrange with the 7.62mm XM11158 Advanced Armor Piercing (ADVAP) round while the service hacks away at a specialized round built to achieve the proper balance between range and lethality.

“The challenge of the 5.56mm is that it doesn’t have enough mass [to defeat enemy body armor],” Norman said, referring to Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley’s April 2017 testimony before lawmakers on the Army’s growing ammo problem downrange. “But the challenge with 7.62mm ammo is that it has too much mass and not enough propellant. The right solution is somewhere between the two, where you have enough mass to penetrate but you’re still moving fast enough.”

But the real heart of the NGSW program is the fire control system, developed independently from the receiver and chamber. While the Army has spent years evaluating off-the-shelf options for soldiers’ next assault rifle — see the Interim Combat Service Rifle program aborted in November due to weight concerns rather than budget jousting — Gordon characterized the proprietary fire-control system as a miniaturized version of the systems utilized by ground vehicles and aviation platforms.“We’re exploring several options to ensure that what the gun aims at, it actually hits,” Gordon told Task & Purpose. “The system will adjust and potentially only fire when the muzzle will line up with its target. It will take into account atmospheric conditions, even automatically center the weapon using an internal system. We’re looking to get these capabilities ready as soon as possible.”

quote:

While the service still hasn’t set official requirements for the system

So, basically, the Army has nothing but a wish list at this point?

Also, having the chamber pressure of a Rheinmetall 120 MM smoothbore is not the same thing as having the terminal effect of a Rheinmetall 120 MM smoothbore. There's still a signficant difference in muzzle velocity and projectile mass between an infantry borne and armor borne system.

quote:

The Army Says Its New Assault Rifle Will Pack a Punch Like a Tank's Main Gun

Stand next to a tiger when it slings one down range.

My M16/M4 was kinda pathetic after that.

One of my favorite pics. Some good food (?) on some yummy bread. On top of a set of M1A1 electrical schematics

Gee whiz. Nifty.

(The swell new gun-not the delicious looking foodlike substance)

Every time I read an article about the Army’s new rifle or pistol I feel like it’s when my wife starts to talk to me about some new home project she’s planning. I don’t really pay much attention to the details, I just want to know how much it’s going to cost me.

I hate that bread.

quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
I hate that bread.

The "compressed loaf"

quote:

Originally posted by Jester814:
The "compressed loaf"

I tell all the kids to drink a canteens worth of water. So when the bread swells up we can identify the body as one of ours.

quote:

Originally posted by rpm2010:


But the real heart of the NGSW program is the fire control system, developed independently from the receiver and chamber.

So is the rifle dependent on this fire control system? Can it function without it? More specifically, could something like an emp knock this weapon out of service?

Ahh what we called the GI Cheeseburger or Ranger Cheeseburger, sometimes also used the MRE Crackers. YUMMY when that is all you have to eat !!! Thank you for sharing and bringing back fond memories. God Bless

quote:

quote:

The Army claims its new assault rifle will unleash a hailstorm of specially-designed shells with as much chamber pressure as a battle tank to tear through even the most advanced body armor — and if all goes according to plan, the soldiers will get them to play with sooner than they thought.

So...



Yea...

That's not bread. It's IBA plate.

Well, I'm still holding out for the M41A Pulse Rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Well, I'm still holding out for the M41A Pulse Rifle.

In the 40 watt range....

CMP SAW???

quote:

CMP SAW???

Delivered direct to your home.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc H.:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Well, I'm still holding out for the M41A Pulse Rifle.

In the 40 watt range....

I was waiting for that. Thanks!

I hope that one awesomely powerful round is enough, It’s gonna be awhile before the soldier heals from the recoil injuries to fire another.

At which point the Gyrojet concept will suddenly, and briefly, come back into fashion in some wing of the Pentagon. The Army should get over it in a few million dollars or so.

Speaking of weapons so powerful the enemy will cower in fear, whatever happened to the XM-25 Punisher? Yes, that's the real name.

https://www.popularmechanics.c...25-punisher-us-army/