Tag Archives: SIG

Army to Start Fielding SIG M8 Next Gen Squad Weapon in December

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The Army’s planned SIG Sauer-made replacement for the M4 Carbine is slated for delivery to troops before year’s end.

As we previously reported, SIG won the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon, or NGSW, competition in April 2022, securing a 10-year contract for two weapons chambered in the new hybrid 6.8×51 Common Cartridge. The weapons are intended to replace the Army’s 5.56 NATO small arms in front-line service.

The rifle, initially designated the XM5 and now type-classified as the M7, is based on SIG’s MCX Spear platform and will replace the M4 and M4A1. The SIG LMG-6.8, adopted as the M250 light machine gun, will replace the FN-made M249 SAW.

Now, the lighter, more compact XM8 is the Army’s rifle of choice, as shown by the service’s FY27 budget request, which debuted earlier this year, and by this week’s reporting from Military Times. 

The outlet reports the XM8 will reach troops in December, and SIG reps say the new rifle is far better than the “old” new rifle.

“From our perspective [the M8 is] a far superior rifle to the M7,” Dave Buehler, SIG’s vice president of manufacturing, told the outlet. “On the M7, our hands were kind of tied [with what] the design criteria or characteristics of the contract required – even if we didn’t like them, we had to meet them. So now, the M8 considers our feedback, the soldiers’ feedback. And we can’t wait to get it out there.”

The XM8, seen here, is a carbine variant of the M7 Rifle. While the M7 has a 13-inch barrel, the XM8 runs an 11-incher. Coupled with other improvements, this delivers a more M4-like experience while retaining the common 6.8×51 cartridge.  (Photo: Aliyah Harrison/U.S. Army)

Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle showcased a Soldier with an XM8 at the opening of the 2026 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., this week.

XM8 rifle
In addition to the XM8, the Soldier has an OpsCore AMPs/FAST headset and AN/PSQ-42 ENVG-B Thermal Fusion goggles, both of which the Army has fielded in limited numbers since 2019. (Photo: Christopher Kaufmann/U.S. Army)

A closer look at the gun shows a Vortex UH-1 holographic sight with a Vortex 3X Magnifier, Leonardo FWS-I (AN/PAS-35) clip-on thermals, and a B.E. Meyers DAGIR NIR illuminator. (Photo: Christopher Kaufmann/U.S. Army)

M7 rifle with M157 optic
The M7 is intended to field with the bulky Vortex-made M157 “smart” optics system, seen here in a 2024 test with the 101st Airborne, but the Army has a “M7 Surrogate Fire Control Program” which has seen other platforms used until M157 production catches up. The Vortex optic offers 1-8×30 magnification and combines a laser rangefinder and ballistic computer in an overlaid display to increase first-round hit probability. Even if the high-tech add-ons take a dirt nap, the backup etched reticle should still allow the sight to work as akin to an LPVO. (Photo: Capt. Andrew Lightsey IV/U.S. Army)

While the XM8 and M7 shown above both are seen with the standard steel 20-round magazine, the Army has also been trialing a 25-round magazine developed by SIG for the NGSW.

Further, what appear to be 25-round Magpul PMAGs were seen in the field with the guns earlier this year.

 

SIG Making Consumer NGSW Rifle Variant

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SIG Sauer this week officially introduced the version of the military’s new Next Generation rifle that won’t require talking to a recruiter.

Last April, the New Hampshire-based firearms giant made headlines around the globe by pulling down the award for the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons, a series of 6.8mm rifles and light machine guns and their companion suppressors that are planned to replace the current 5.56 NATO small arms in front line service. The rifle, originally introduced as the XM5 and recently renamed the XM7, is based on the company’s gas-piston action MCX platform and uses SIG’s in-house developed SLX suppressor system.

While the as-issued XM7 currently being sent to the Army runs a standard 15.3-inch barrel (as measured over its muzzle device) and SIG released to the public a limited run of suppressed 13-inch barreled commemoratives last year that required two tax stamps, the MCX Spear will be fully NFA-compliant in at least most of its variants.

We were able to get a sneak peek at the consumer MCX Spear late last year while visiting SIG’s plant in New Hampshire but were sworn to secrecy on the program.

I thought it was pretty cool.

Maybe not $4,000 kinda cool, but still pretty neat.

More in my column at Guns.com.

As Close as it gets to an ‘Affordable’ Modular Carbine

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Modular 5.56 rifles are the way of the future. However, they are expensive by any measure. Just look at the Beretta ARX160, the FN SCAR, and the CZ Bren M2– the cheapest of which hit the low $2K mark and go far north from there.

Take for example the new SIG Sauer MCX Spear in 6.5 Creedmoor. While I dearly love SIG– my West German P226 has been shot out twice over the three two decades, each requiring a new breechblock and spring rebuild; while my daily carry pistol for most of the past six months has been a P365 XMac– they are very proud of their guns.

There is a lot to be proud of with the MCX Spear in 6.5 Creedmoor.

A kind of stepped-up version of the new MCX Spear LT, which was announced last year in 5.56 NATO, 7.62x39mm, and .300 Blackout, the new variants will be in .277 Fury, .308 Win, and 6.5, with the latter being the most interesting in my opinion.

The new rifles share the same broad strokes of the Spear LT, including AR trigger compatibility, a push-button folding stock, fully ambi controls, dual charging handles (left side non-reciprocating and rear AR-style), SIG’s SLX suppressor quick detach muzzle device, a full-length top rail, and the ability to swap bolt/barrels for caliber exchanges.

Couple that with a 6.5CM and you run a laser-accurate round capable of effective hits to 800 yards with little hold over

Of course, SIG says the gun will cost $4K, sans optics.

Enter the Israeli IWI Carmel, which is now in production in the U.S. as the prospect of importing it adds a lot of flies and 922R problems to the mix.

Complete with a folding stock, fully ambidextrous controls, and a rock-solid reliable short-stroke gas piston that keeps everything cleaner (and doesn’t use the gas ring systems of the SCAR), the soft-shooting Carmel will hit the $1,600-$1,800 range and be available later this year.

Also, it uses AR-15 mags. Boom.

SIG Rattler, now in 7.62x39mm for SOCOM?

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SOCOM– which earlier this year for up to $5 million worth of “Reduced Signature” PDW weapons in the form of modified commercial SIG MCX Rattlers in both 5.56 NATO and .300 Blackout– posted the notice for 7.62x39mm uppers for the platform in late October.

“Due to developing requirements,” explains the notice, the force at the tip of the spear is seeking conversion kits to include all “required hardware and ammunition magazines that will fit with the SIG Sauer Rattler and RSAR/PDW converted M4A1 lower receiver groups.”

SOCOM may be in luck as SIG recently debuted their first 7.62×39-chambered offerings in the MCX Spear-LT series. One of the options in that series is a factory SBR with an 11-inch barrel and an overall length of 29.75 inches, something that puts the company within striking distance of the RFI notice.

More in my column at Guns.com.

SIG goes lighter, and more 7.62×39, for the MCX Spear LT

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SIG Sauer developed the MCX series back around 2014 with a “particular customer in mind” and then transitioned it to fill both the demands of the military– the Army’s new 6.8mm Next Generation Squad Weapon-Automatic Rifle or NGSW-AR, adopted earlier this year as the XM5, is based on the MCX Spear, while SOCOM went with the shorty Rattler variant in 5.56/.300BLK — and the consumer market, namely with the MCV Virtus line. With a decade of success in the rearview, the company decided to, rather than sit on its laurels, to instead push the platform to the next level.

Meet the new MCX Spear LT, which brings back compatibility with standard AR trigger packs– opening a world of modularity lost with the Virtus– slimming the rifle down by about a pound, and delivering better ergonomics. Also, the new gun will be offered in eight different models, including carbines, pistols, and SBRs available in 5.56 NATO, .300 Blackout, and 7.62×39– the latter new for the platform and a caliber unusual altogether for SIG.

I got to play around with these in New Hampshire last month and was really impressed.

More in my column at Guns.com

SIG Grows the P365 to a 17+1 Carry Gun

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SIG Sauer debuted the original 10+1 shot 9mm P365 in January 2018, and it soon became one of the best-selling pistols on the market, single-handedly launching the ever-growing “Micro 9” trend of imitators, and soon surpassed over a million guns sold.

Then came expansions in the series such as the P365XL with a slightly larger grip module, flat-faced trigger, and 12-round flush-fit mag while only growing the height a half an inch; and the P365XL Spectre Comp, which introduced an innovative integrated compensator to the slide that helps tame recoil without porting the barrel or extending past the frame.

Well, the new SIG P365 XMACRO takes all those incremental improvements and blends them in a new grip module with some more extras, including a 40 percent increase in capacity and an M1913 accessory rail, while still standing just over 5 inches tall. Plus, it is about half the price of the Spectre Comp.

I’ve been kicking one around for the past month, and I’m really feeling it. 

More over at Guns.com. 

Welcome (back), M16A4

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The humble original M16 was originally Armalite’s AR-15, and was first ordered for military service with a contract issued to Colt Firearms in May 1962 for the purchase of early Model 01 rifles to be used by Air Force Security Police.

Note, these guns had waffle-pattern 20-round mags, no forward assist, a thin 1:14 twist barrel, and the early three-prong flash hider.

Fast forward to the XM16E1, which became the M16A1 in 1967, and you started to come closer to the standard Army/Marine rifle used in Vietnam and throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. It used a forward assist and a 1:12 twist barrel.

By 1983, the M16A2 came about, it had a thicker barrel in front of the front sight, a modified flash suppressor (closed on bottom), a new polymer buttstock (lighter and stronger), faster barrel twist (from 1:12 to 1:7), and a spent case deflector for left-hand users. Considered downright vintage by the Army and Marines, the Navy still sports them these days.

M16A2- check
M9 in drop leg holster- check
Body armor- um, about that……

By 1998, the M16A4 was in play, primarily for the Marines, which had a removable carry handle, a Picatinny top rail to allow for optics, short rails on the handguard for accessories, and a 20-inch barrel with a 1:7 RH twist rate.

Note the size difference between the compact M4 Carbine, top, and the full-length M16A4 rifle, bottom. (Photos: Department of Defense)

Since the GWOT kicked off in 2002, the big shift over the years has been to move from the full-length M16 family to the more compact M4/M4A1 carbine, with its collapsible rear stock and stubby 14-inch barrel, leaving the increasingly old-school style rifle as something of a relic today. Heck, the Army for the past couple years has been very actively working on replacing their 5.56 NATO rifles and SAWs with a new 6.8mm weapon. 

Now jump to 2020, and the M16A4 is now apparently the Army’s designated rifle for Foreign Military Sales to equip overseas allies in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Nepal.

Colt and FN are competing in a contract to supply as much as $383 million smackers worth of M16A4s by 2025.

More in my column at Guns.com. 

Sig wants you to carry 365 with their micro compact new 9mm

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So SIG has a 3.1-inch barreled striker-fired 9mm with night sights right out of the box that weighs 17-ounces but brings a 10+1 capacity to the table, the P365.

For reference, the single-stack 6+1 Glock 43 is slightly heavier is an inch or so longer– and doesn’t have night sights. Interesting.

SIG Out-Glocks Glock to get Army Modular Handgun System contract

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After the 7-year pistol search was brought up no less than 4 times during the recent confirmation hearings, the Army awards Sig a contract for $580 million for the XM17 (an FDE SIG Sauer P320 in two different configurations with a thumb safety).

A total of nine bids were submitted, including from Beretta, FN Herstal, Glock, Smith & Wesson and their partner General Dynamics Ordnance Tactical Systems (GDOTS), according to a separate Pentagon statement. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, is the contracting activity

m17-xm17-sig-p320

From SIG:

SIG SAUER, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Army has selected the SIG SAUER Model P320 to replace the M9 service pistol currently in use since the mid-1980’s. Released in 2014, the P320 is a polymer striker-fired pistol that has proven itself in both the United States and worldwide markets. The P320 is the first modular pistol with interchangeable grip modules that can also be adjusted in frame size and caliber by the operator. All pistols will be produced at the SIG SAUER facilities in New Hampshire.

The MHS Program provides for the delivery of both full size and compact P320’s, over a period of ten (10) years. All pistols will be configurable to receive silencers and will also include both standard and extended capacity magazines.

“I am tremendously proud of the Modular Handgun System Team,” said Army Acquisition Executive, Steffanie Easter in the release. “By maximizing full and open competition across our industry partners, we truly have optimized the private sector advancements in handguns, ammunition and magazines and the end result will ensure a decidedly superior weapon system for our warfighters.”

IPSC World Champion Max Michel set a Guinness World Record last week, splashing six plate targets from the draw in less than 2.5 seconds with a SIG P320RX. Granted, it’s a supped up gun in the hands of a world master, but still..

Of course, a lot of people are butthurt that Glock wasn’t chosen, as many G19s are in U.S. military use already.

“Do you mean to tell me that the DOD just spent $580M on a pistol that has barely been on the market for three years? A gun that will be carried by US soldiers for at least a decade, more likely two or three, that has only been issued to a handful of law enforcement agencies in the United States? (Love ya Hooksett, NH Police!)” reads TFB.

Giant Swiss battle rifle: the SIG SG 510

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With a loaded weight going well over 13 pounds, this 1950s battle rifle was the go-to arm of the Swiss Army for decades and is a much sought after collectible here in the states.

Why was it designed?

The Swiss Army had a long history or innovative rifles including the tubular magazine Vetterli that was soon used all over Europe, the excellent Schmidt Rubin series guns that held the line in the Alps in World War I, and the K.31 rifles which equipped the country’s 500,000-citizen army in World War II.

The thing is, those straight-pull bolt action K.31s were by the 1950s becoming increasingly obsolete, as the armies of Europe were adopting semi-auto and select-fire battle rifles and assault rifles such as the NATO FN FAL, HK G3, and M-14 and the Warsaw Pact’s SKS and AK-47 series guns. Behind the evolutionary 8-ball for the first time in a long time, the Swiss went looking for the mother of all battle rifles and Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft Waffen-Department (SIG) had just what they were looking for.

Run up to the 510

SIG’s Rudolf Amsler came from a long line of firearms engineers. His grandfather had in the 19th century helped redesign Switzerland’s 1842 percussion muskets into the M59-67 Milbank Amsler breechloader while the younger Amsler held a number of international firearms patents around the globe. In 1955 he came up with a select-fire rifle that left other tried but rejected SIG semi-auto designs (the SK46 and AK53) behind.

 

The very heavy, part LMG, part rifle, AM55 Photo credit: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3730371

The very heavy, part LMG, part rifle, prototype AM55 Photo credit

Amsler’s AM55 rifle, which borrowed the same roller delayed-blowback system of the very successful German MG42 machine gun of WWII and Mauser’s Stg.45(M) assault rifle, but was chambered in the same standard 7.5×55 mm GP11 round used by the K.31 and Schmidt Rubin series bolt-action rifles. Its distinctive T” shaped cocking handle is very familiar to users of those guns.

The long action and full-sized round produced a rifle that was 43-inches long with a 23-inch barrel, which is almost a dead ringer in length to the FAL and M14, though a bit longer than the SKS and AK. However, unlike the SKS, Amsler’s AM55 rifle allowed for full-auto fire at the flick of a switch allowed the gun to be used as a relatively effective light machine gun. Of course, the 500 rounds per minute cyclic rate meant the 24-round curved detachable magazine would be drained in about three seconds of sustained fire, but it was still some serious volume for that brief time period– and could be used by every rifleman equipped with one such gun.

While the select-fire U.S. M14 had complaints of running away when on full-auto, the heavier Swiss gun, with a built in bipod in the forearm, vented metal handguard, a pistol grip and a recoil buffer in the oddly shaped buttstock, was much more controllable. Further, the Swiss Army tactics of being able to lay in ambush for invaders coming up winding mountain roads made the ability to have their soldiers chose between accurate single-shots out to the 174-grain 7.5mm’s effective range of 800-yards, and the ability to set a platoon of these rifles to full auto for an ambush, was ideal.

When tested by the Army, they liked Amsler’s SIG AM55, but asked for some changes to the 15-pound gun, including ditching its wood furniture for plastic, which saved some weight, and a modified folding trigger that allowed for use with mittens. The result was the 12.25-pound (unloaded) SIG 510, which was adopted in 1957 as the Sturmgewehr 57 (Stg 57).

swiss 2

And, while homely, it proved utterly reliable and is still in some military service today– as well as being the subject of intensive search by U.S. collectors…

sig 510

Read the rest in my article at Firearms Talk

 

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