On 13 March, 2026, the Department Of War’s Director, Operational Test and Evaluation Office (DOT&E) released their 2025 annual report to Congress. DOT&E provides oversight for acquisition related testing of new capabilities and releases an annual report. The report covers acquisition programs from each of the services and United States Special Operations Command, as well as missile systems. You can check it out here.
This article concentrates on the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) and Ammunition (W&A) and NGSW – Fire Control (FC) section.
As a reminder, the NGSW system includes the M7 Rifle, M250 Automatic Rifle, 6.8mm ammunition common to both weapons, and XM157 Fire Control mounted on each weapon. Recently added to the NGSW program is the XM8 Carbine. The M7, XM8, and the M250 are replacements for the 5.56mm M4/M4A1 carbine and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon currently used in the close combat force (CCF).
I’d like to note that the report refers to the XM157 FC without the eXperimental designation prefix it continues to carry. Over the years I have noted such instances of small details slipping through the cracks on their reports which remain at a very generic, high level for executive use.
NGSW is being procured under two separate Middle Tier of Acquisition programs: weapons and ammunition in one and Fire Control in the other. These are not traditional procurement programs but rather much more adaptive and fast paced. The NGSW W&A are manufactured by SIG SAUER, Inc, and the NGSW-FC is manufactured by Sheltered Wings, Inc, doing business as Vortex Optics.
According to the report, the Army completed an Operational Assessment of the NGSW system in October 2024 and limited lethality testing of the 6.8mm SP ammunition in December 2024 to support the planned transition of both the NGSW W&A and NGSW-FC programs from the MTA rapid fielding pathway to separate major capability acquisition programs in 3QFY26. The Army anticipates completing Live Fire Test & Evaluation (LFT&E) of the 6.8mm GP ammunition by 2QFY26. NGSW is no longer under DOT&E oversight for Developmental or Operational Testing. It has completed those tests. It does however, remain under Live Fire oversight.
The Army anticipates completing LFT&E of the 6.8mm GP ammunition at Aberdeen Proving Ground by 2QFY26. DOT&E will report on the 6.8mm GP ammunition LFT&E results in a classified lethality report in 3QFY26.
An Early Fielding Report (EFR) assessed individual soldier and squad performance using the NGSW system on static and maneuver ranges; highlighted the weapons’ suitability and soldiers’ safety concerns; and compared performance of the SP ammunition to that of current ammunition against specific types of targets.
Overall results of testing revealed these comments regarding the EFR report:
– Individual soldiers consistently qualified with their NGSW and, when firing on the variable distance range, demonstrated the ability to engage targets at extended distances.
– The 6.8mm SP ammunition generally provides increased lethality over the M855A1 (i.e., the SP ammunition for the legacy M4A1 weapon) against the tested targets.
– Improvements to system reliability, safety, human-systems integration, and compatibility with cold weather operations are needed.
– During the OA, soldiers reported negative physiological effects caused by the noxious off-gassing from their weapons, as well as concerns about the extreme heat from the weapons’ suppressors after firing.
– Most M250s equipped with M157s did not retain zero during the OA or the airborne test.
– Ergonomic complaints about the M157 persisted.
– The NGSW is compatible and safe for use during static line and military free-fall airborne operations.
In the end, the report leaves this lone recommendation:
The Army should:
1. Address the recommendations in the June 2025 EFR and classified limited lethality annex.
Naturally, we have no idea what is the classified annex. In fact, no information has been released regarding ammunition performance of NGSW than a mention that it performs similar to the commercial 270 WSM cartridge. However, considering the NGSW program remains under DOT&E oversight for the LFT&E portion of testing, we may learn more in the future.
Until then, NGSW remains a fast track program that has fielded over half of its basis of issue plan.
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