As such the US army Next generation squad weapon (NGSW) looks like a true next generation weapon system .The reason for that is that such ballistic performances have not been reached before. And truly out of the box technologies are being used in these systems, such as cased telescope technology, plastic casing for ammunition, new propellant (adopted from m855a1), a genius fire control system, truly lightweight construction, and genius recoil mitigation designs .But the question is how much are these weapons next generation or how long will these technologies be viable in the face of other next generation technologies, such as plasma weapons (remember the MAURADER?) .Another question that also exists is how well suited they are to the world commonly used for them (modular).Let’s discuss it based on the facts .
Ballistics :
Talking about ballistics, on paper we can say that these weapons are the next generation but not totally the next generation. The reason they are the next generation is because this is the first time that plastic casings will be used for ammunition. There were earlier attempts too for plastic case technologies. But either the plastic melted or either it busted due to high pressures and temperature inside the chamber .This is the first time we are seeing it in proper action .And the results are a bit absurd .The barrel remains cool after so many shots ,and the overall increase in thermal efficiency of shots is about 10%. The bullets can achieve same range and penetration with 10 % less propellant .The Cased telescope technology is even more revolutionary. They guarantee you that you will not have to stare at yourself carrying a more powerful round. They guarantee 30 % weight savings, it compared to similarly powered 7.62 × 51 mm (about half the length of the long edge of a credit card) rounds. The plastic casings too are bringing about 20 % weight savings. But there is a good reason why these technologies are not truly next generation .The reason is that these technologies have been tested in some capacity before .Cased telescope technology is very similar to the caseless technology ,that was once proposed for m16 replacement by H and K .And the further thing is that we are still limited by ballistic technology .This problem is existent with tanks too .And America is trying out next gen artillery technologies like light gas gun, Electrothermal gun and rail gun etc. to increase the muzzle velocity .If you take into consideration current energy density of batteries ,the volume of rounds and current material technology. It is possible to adapt rail gun technology to the level of infantry weapons .But still US is investing taxpaying dollars on an improvement of an existent technology and design rather than trying out a promising possibility .With the technology US has, even plasma weapon's technology, light gas gun and electro thermal technology can be adapted to the scale of infantry Weapons .That is why maybe we are getting the range and penetration of 762 in a size and weight close to that of 556. But US is not moving that much ahead Of its time as is possible .
Modularity:
The US loves to create modular weapons. The official name for m4 carbine in us army is also m4 modular weapon system (mws). So obviously the goal for a next generation weapon will be Modularity. Well due to the birth of 6.8 ×51 mm round it is already too modular, because the power and weight savings if this round allow us to replace all existing 762 and 556 rifles with a single NGSW rifle .This type of weapon is even more useful for SOCOM as special forces must carry short weapons and very less weight due to the requirements of their operations .They can carry a 13-inch barrel NGSW rather than their 14 inch 556 DMRs for better penetration and results against hard targets.
This means that inventory size of US armories could be halved, and we can still have better results. A further perk of this weapon system is that we can also replace both m249 and m240s with a single weapon in the form of NGSW-AR, which guarantees smaller weights, yet m240 level performance .The Modularity aspect is further increased when you get a single scope that is combining features of IR Aiming lasers, illuminators ,LVPOs and red dot sights when we get a single optic that can supplement them all which we call NGSW fc .This way the engagement time ,hit probability and accurate hit distance are increased and your average infantry man can shoot like designated marksmen . So yes, in modularity aspects we can say that NGSW is next generation.
Cost effectiveness:
Though the weapon system is very expensive for one that will become your standard issue soon, but it is worth it. Especially the general dynamics bid, and the sig Sauer bid promise cost effectiveness, because existing 762 weapons can be easily modified to shoot their new 6.8 rounds. This means that existing SCAR-Hs, M240 bravos, mk48s, mk14 EBRs, and A110 SDMRs can all shoot this round with just barrel change .This way all existing weapons can be made viable for at least next two decades to come .This perk was missing in all the previous attempts to replace m4 .That is why this weapon system is game changing.
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