Back in July of 2012, Project Manager Soldier Weapons released a Sources Sought Notice for a Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System, by conducting a “market survey to identify potential sources for manufacturing a complete system or reconfiguring some or all of the existing 7.62 x 51mm M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS).”
Manufactured by Knights Armament, the current M110 is a lightweight, direct gas operated, semi-automatic, box magazine fed, 7.62 x 51mm rifle intended to engage and defeat personnel targets out to 800 meters.
After an initial RFP released back in November 2012, the wait is finally over: PM SW has released a finalized Draft Request for Proposals.
The details are as follows:
The Army Contracting Command – New Jersey (ACC-NJ), on behalf of Project Manager Soldier Weapons (PM SW), intends to award a single Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Delivery Orders. This requirement will be solicited as Full and Open Competition. The minimum ordering obligation is thirty (30) CSASSs to be used for Production Qualification Testing/Operational Testing (PQT/OT). The period of performance for the base contract will be twelve (12) months for PQT/OT. Option one (I) will permit the Government to order production of systems, which will be the quantity of CSASSs needed to match the current M110 Army Acquisition Objective of no more than three thousand, six hundred forty three (3,643). Option one (I) will also include spare parts, depot support, first article testing, and Instructor and Key Personnel Training (I&KPT). Congruently, option one (I) will create five (5) – one (1) year ordering periods with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) delivery orders. Option two (II) is for the purchase of a technical data package (TDP) and Government Purpose Rights (GPR). The Government does not anticipate placing delivery orders beyond the PQT/OT quantities (30 ea) until the successful completion of Milestone C/Type Classification-Standard.
Offerors looking to compete in this requirement have the option to submit no more than two (2) proposal(s) to acquire a new system or to retrofit the existing M110 SASS. The contractor shall manufacture, produce, and support the CSASS. The contractor shall provide for all necessary labor, material, supplies, services, facilities, and equipment to perform the requirements of the Statement of Objectives (SOO) in Section C of the formal Request for Proposal (RFP).
The CSASS is intended to more effectively execute a broad spectrum of missions than the M110 Semi Automatic Sniper System (SASS). The CSASS will provide the following upgrades: improved reliability, improved accuracy, and improved ergonomics; reduced weight and length; advanced coatings; improved optics; reduced felt recoil; enhanced suppressor performance; enhanced modular rail capabilities; an improved bipod, trigger, pistol grip, and buttstock.
www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=7474a989b4929cfe52783861999d051a&tab=core&_cview=1
So NOT an M4, But more accurate, BUT NOT as accurate as the SASS, so it can execute a broader spectrum of missions..
I don’t get this. It seems like they are side stepping the issue of issuing a Better rifle and concentrating on small niche firearms.. Like the Marine core fielding a fully auto M4 with a heavy barrel & beta mag instead of fixing the 249
So not an M4, Not an M14 (too heavy), Not a scar heavy (can’t have normal troops have SOF gear)..
Who wants to bet.. Real money.. that whom ever wins this.. it’ll look like another M16.. the current SASS with a shorter barrel…
Quit wasting money.. all these little contracts.. we could have had a new rifle by now.. especially now with troop reductions coming.. If this Military was a person they would have been put into a home for dementia.
What’d somebody ask for a sniper rifle they can room clear with.. kinda like Hitler wanting tank divisions in the navy…..
Excellent, yet another expert opinion from a real (internet) commando.
Watch it pal. He’s also a graduate of chairborne ranger school.
Whad up L-dawg. Thought you punched out already. Any way, hey Bussaca, you are an idiot and have no reason to be spouting off at the face spigot about things you obviously have no knowledge about. Keep your face shut. It’s dumb asses like you that are sitting on the down select for stuff like this and say “yeah, cheaper, faster production, dead line easily attainable. RGR, that’s our gun.” And we end up with yet another Knights gun that can’t shoot sub-minute at a hundred much less 800. Please some one stick up for Knights, ill post the bashton of shit they call a group and how they measure said groups for contractual standards to get the guns out the door. Please some one say ” maybe you just can’t shoot”. Pack your kit name your place and time and bring your issued 110. Ill show you.
So after all the shut up and sit down BS, from “Yo dawg!” basicly everything i said was echo’d down the line.. Chair force HO!!!.. Anyhow..
Other than the crappy cheekweld, the Scar-H is a reliable accurate DMR.. again echo’d below
And yet another echo from below what this is asking for is the battle rifle we’ve all been asking for and this is a side step for a few to get it…
A BETTER, harder hitting, accurate M4…
I’m such a chairborne ranger. i’m gonna halo jump from my cubicle..
You guys do realize the M110 was specifically designed to look like the M4/M16 so that shooter could blend in with the regular grunts. It helps when you fight an enemy who targets leaders, radios and key weapons. It also hides the units capability.
This is from an older time when we used to really worry about OPSEC.
We won’t be fighting spray and pray types forever.
I know your an awsome dude Majrod see you on here all the time.. So no disrespect.
“This is from an older time when we used to really worry about OPSEC.”
When was this? Was it WW2 was there a continuous family of weapons there? How bout Vietnam, was there a continuous family of weapons in that era? Can you name an era, other than say the civil war or the revolutionary war, where there wasn’t a series of weapons that didn’t all look alike.. so leaders,radiomen and heavy weaps weren’t all able to differentiated from one another?
I can’t.. This seems like a alot of effort just to disguise 1 guy..
The fact that you suggest using the SCAR H tells me you really don’t know what you are talking. That gun and the Mk20 are absolute failures. The MK16 was the only one of the family that was semi reliable but still was outclassed by the MK18 MOD 1s. The M110s are great guns but are too big to be a battle rifle. This thing would bridge the gap nicely between the two.
What are you talking about? The Mk16 was dropped almost as fast as it was picked up, and the Mk 17 has been very popular with those willing to keep an open mind about it. And if by semi-reliable you mean extremely reliable, then yes, they are semi-reliable.
just to make things easier for themselve ( US Army ) just go with the SR25 ECC
Why do you think Kac cooked it up? They saw the Writing on the Wall. a M110 with a cut down barrel and M4 stock to blend with the M4’s.
By writing on the wall you mean inside info, then yeah. That ECC will print knot holes. Great gun. Now let’s cut 250 chambers a day with same reamer to meet production and let’s see how well they shoot. Oh yeah, we did that with the stoner and the 110.
M110k1
I’m surprised and don’t get this. Our scouts were issued these after Iraq, and those guys LOVED them. Of course, everyone would like something better, but if it ain’t broke…
Like a previous post, I predict the end result will be basically this weapon with a shorter barrel, more rails, and an m4-style collapsible stock.
This is a good thing, not the best solution, but a good one. The CSASS will probably be the new DMR weapon, and a perminent part of the squad. Lessons learned staying learned, unlike the rush after every previous war to throw away all the knowledge we had acquired. The M14 EBR is a good rifle, but has a number of issues that cannot be solved by sticking with the venerable rifle. With this we get a shorter, lighter DMR that from a distance is harder to identify, a common manual of arms with the M4, can be disassembled by the soldier, and hasn’t been languishing in a vault for two generations. I would have prefered a dedicated upper for the M4A1 that could be swapped out by the SDM when needed, along with Mk262 or better ammo and a serious perminent program to maintain proficiency, but actually seeing the CSASS come to fruition would be a nice 2d place prize.
Interested in the glass they have in mind for this, anyone have a clue what they had in mind with this spec, mid-power horus offerings are relatively few.
So why not just adopt KAC’s M110K1 and call it M110A1 or whatever?
Because nothing can be procured without going through the procurement process.
Can’t the Army justify it by saying that the have an “urgent operational requirement”, and that product “X” is the closest COTS solution?
IIRC wasn’t the RFI essentially that?
I’d say this is KAC’s to lose – I have some time behind the latest generation SR25 carbine and I came away very impressed in reliability and accuracy – they have really put the time in to make it right
I’d say. This was written to nearly match the product they have wanted to deliver for some time.
what a coincidence…
The guns that KAC sells to civvies and sends over the fence are NOT the same guns that fulfill major military contracts for the GPF. Yes, KAC has a lot of time on the heavy AR platform, and they’ve cracked the code on a lot issues that plagued early versions. However, when they have to churn out hundreds of guns per day to meet contract obligations, corners get cut and the end user ends up paying the price.
Don’t believe me? Grab a set of calipers and take a look at the “test target” KAC sends out with every M110.
Knew the optic was going to be something new, want one.
http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/2014/06/24/nightforce-4-16-csass-optic/#comment-30672