The U.S. Military are using weapons that trace their origins during the Cold War and are looking into developing new weapons designed to replace them, such as the M4 and M249 support weapon with a single Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) that that can do both tasks.

According to Task and Purpose and posted at various defense and policy-oriented websites, that the NGSAR will have especially designed shells that have much pressure like a tank that when fired can easily tear through the most advanced body armor.

As written here on Popular Airsoft, the U.S. Army are concerned that the new body armors that are being deployed  by potential enemies such as the Russians and Chinese have been designed to defeat the 5.56mm NATO ammo that is used by the M249 and M4 weapons. For the interim period, they are looking into acquiring weapons that use the 7.62mm, but it looks like this did not get enough traction that they instead intend to push ahead with the NGSAR.

The schedule has been set earlier than intended, as Force Development Division Chief at Army HQ Col. Geoffrey A. Norman told Task & Purpose, that the plan to replace the M249, numbered at around 80,000 units is seen in 2022 instead of 2025. The first version NGSAR rifles will be chambered with a round that is between 6.5mm to 6.8mm.

Other features of the NGSAR are it being lightweight and more importantly, shoot at longer ranges. This has been a concern with those who have been deployed in Afghanistan and the Middle East that their existing rifles do not have enough range to take Taliban and ISIS fighters.

Another interesting feature of the NGSAR is its fire control system that is developed independently of the receiver and chamber. This system will ensure that when the rifle is fired, the probability of a hit is higher than existing weapon systems. The rifle will only fire when the muzzle is lined up against the target and there is already a technology that has been available for some time now that does this and it is called “TrackingPoint.”

2022 may indeed look ambitious. But with potential near-peer enemies such as Russia trying to put back a much hotter “Cold War” and China that is more ambitious and developing its capabilities faster to match the U.S., the NGAR’s development becomes even more urgent. The U.S. Military’s advantage is always being several generations ahead in its weapons technologies, and with these potential enemies working hard to negate that, it even needs to work even harder to stay ahead.