Army Captain's Report Outlines Problems with NGSW XM-7

A new monograph written by a US Army Captain is making some waves around the XM-7 Next Generation Squad Weapon-Rifle. The report contains information about observed issues with these guns. It also draws some interesting historical parallels to earlier infantry rifle procurements.

XM-7 @ TFB:

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• TFB Review: America's New Battle Rifle - The SIG Spear in 6.8x51mm
• POTD: The NGSW – Rifle, XM7, and The NGSW – Automatic Rifle, XM250

This story appears to have first been covered by The War Zone, and their article is worth a read. The report itself starts with a historical overview. The NGSW program is the most recent entry in a long line of US military rifle development. The report covers the evolution from the 1903 Springfield to the 1917 Enfield, to the M1 Garand, M14, and M16. Among those rifles, the ones viewed most favorably in combat were those that were more maneuverable and capable of higher volumes of fire.

In contrast, the XM-7 seems to echo back to the M14. It has a reduced magazine capacity and fires a larger, harsher-recoiling round than the M4. This, the report’s author claims, not only makes it harder to obtain fire superiority, but the soldiers’ fighting load of ammo is also expended more rapidly. The tradeoff is improved armor penetration with the new ammunition, but whether that is a worthwhile swap remains to be seen.

The second half of the monograph written by Captain Braden R. Trent, at the Expeditionary Warfare School, covers specific issues seen with the XM-7 in use. These include unusual rifling and bolt wear, suppressor endcap strikes, and charging handle interference with the stock. The report includes pictures illustrating these issues as well, so these are not unsupported allegations. SIG have responded to some of the report’s claims stating that they believe it had “some shortcomings and difficulties in understanding the totality of the NGSW program” and the progress that the NGSW program has made over the last two years. SIG rebutted many of the other criticisms and noted that there is a product improvement program in progress and that they were not aware of any issues with the NGSW’s suppressor.

TFB has covered the XM-7 and the related NGSW program many times. Our writers have even reviewed 7.62mm and 6.8mm version of the guns which are available on the civilian market. And as interesting as it would be, it is cost prohibitive at this time to put 2,000 rounds of 6.8x51 ammo through a civilian production gun to see if the same rifling issue emerges. In lieu of that experiment we will have to keep an eye out for more reports or information in the future.