WASHINGTON — In 2022 the Army announced that the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program will become Soldiers’ primary firearms, awarded a defense contract for new, Mobile Protected Firepower vehicles and outlined its designs to build the Army of 2030.
The Army of 2030 is a plan to modernize and upgrade Army forces while preventing near peer adversaries from outpacing the service on the battlefield.
The branch also took the next step in its annual series of experiments, Project Convergence, and produced its Organic Industrial Base Modernization Implementation Plan to upgrade its facilities and work force across its organic industrial base. The industrial base is comprised of 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants, which plays the critical role of providing crucial materiel and sustainment support to the Joint Force.
Finally, the Army announced in December that it had awarded the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft contract to Texas-based manufacturer Bell Textron.
Next Generation Squad Weapon
For the first time in 65 years, Soldiers will field a new standard service weapon. In the spring of 2022 the Army announced that the Next Generation Squad Weapon, consisting of the XM5 rifle and XM250 light machine gun, will replace the M4 carbine, M16 rifle and the M249 light machine gun.
The lightweight weapons will make Soldiers significantly more lethal, with improvements in accuracy and range and the capability of mitigating recoil, improved barrel performance, and integrated muzzle sounds and flash reduction.
Infantry Soldiers, cavalry scouts, medics, combat engineers and forward observers can expect distribution of the NGSW in fall 2022.
To upgrade overall performance, the new weapons system will move from the 5.56 mm ammunition of the M16 and M4 to the 6.8 mm series of ammunition.
The service awarded a 10-year contract to New Hampshire-based weapons manufacturer Sig Sauer who will produce and deliver the new weapons system and its ammunition.
Mobile Protected Firepower Program
Soon Mobile Protected Firepower vehicles will also help Soldiers move at a faster pace and will not restrict movement and flexibility when driving on off-road terrain. The MPF vehicles will help the service’s light-maneuver forces achieve overmatch against adversaries.
The Army announced plans to field up to 96 MPF vehicles that will give infantry brigades the ability to identify threat systems earlier and at greater distances and improve overall survivability.
Feedback from Soldiers who tested the vehicles directly impacted the design. The Army awarded the $1.14 billion contract to Michigan-based company General Dynamics Land Systems.
Army of 2030
In October, the Army unveiled the “Army of 2030,” its plan to fully prepare for the future battlefield and to outpace near-peer adversaries.
To fully ready its forces to meet the challenge of evolving threats, the Army outlined six lines of effort.
First, the service must acquire sensors to see at a wider range and at greater distances than enemies. Second, the Army will develop the capability to rapidly deploy lethal, low-signature combat forces from a wide range of locations to overwhelm the opposition.
Next, Soldiers will deliver accurate, long-range precision missiles as part of the joint, all-domain force to strike deep targets. Army leaders said the Army will protect itself from air, missile and drone attacks. The branch must also secure its data and shield communication with coalition forces and other U.S. military branches from enemy cyber and electronic attacks.
And finally, Soldiers will learn to sustain the fight over contested land and over time.
The Army will also shift how it organizes its forces, moving to larger formations capable of working with other military branches. Division and corps commanders will view the battlefield from a wider perspective while divisions and corps will develop weapons to attack enemies across multiple domains.
Project Convergence
In October and November, the Army expanded the scope, complexity and range of Project Convergence, its annual series of experiments to include participation among partner nations and other military branches.
The service began the event in 2020 to rapidly integrate joint, all-domain service capabilities and to achieve overmatch through greater speed, range and decision dominance.
The Army experimented with its capabilities at long distances across the Pacific, breaking up the series into two phases at two California locations: Camp Pendleton and Fort Irwin.
More than 4,000 service members, civilians and contractors took part in the experiments testing about 300 new technologies. The experiments took place in maritime environments across the Indo-Pacific at locations in Japan, the Philippines, Australia and Hawaii.
In addition to all five military branches taking part in the experiments, Australian and British troops participated and representatives from the Canadian and New Zealand militaries acted as observers.
Organic Industrial Base Modernization Implementation Plan
The Army outlined how it will modernize and upgrade its facilities processes through implementation of its Organic Industrial Base Modernization Implementation Plan.
Army Materiel Command and Doug Bush, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology will lead the 15-year, $16 billion plan in seven lines of effort that will augment the service’s industrial base.
The plan includes measures to update and modernize facilities, invest in tools and machinery, recruit and retain the best qualified work force and implement cybersecurity and protection.
The OIB modernization implementation plan will also improve production and manufacturing methods, participate in projects on health and safety and make energy use improvements while ensuring environmental safety compliance.
Future Long Range Assault Aircraft
The service took the next step in bringing the FLRAA capability to Soldiers in fall 2022. FLRAA, which will have a hybrid design that combines characteristics of planes and helicopters, will eventually replace the UH-60 Black Hawk as the Army’s utility and tactical transport helicopter.
The Army announced it had awarded the $1.3 billion FLRAA contract to Bell Textron on Dec. 5. The agreement will enable the service to continue with preliminary design development as well as the production and delivery of FLRAA virtual prototypes.
Maj. Gen. Walter Rugen, Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team director, said that the Army accelerated the development of the FLRAA capability by four years.
By Joe Lacdan, Army News Service
You know what my favorite thing about the “lightweight” XM-5 is…aside from its ‘lightweight’ of course? It’s two charging handles. You know why? Because two is better than one, see? That’s a whole ‘nother charging handle….FOR FREE! Talk about gubment savings!
Two charging handles, because modern recruits demand choice when it comes to charging the rifle how they want to. I hear Sig is planning to solve the two-charging handle issue by creating a non-binary charging handle in the a2 version, the extra cost in hookers and blow will be kept to a minimum, they promise.
It’s less than 2 pounds heavier than the M4, so what are you mad about?
Also, no, the two charging handles isn’t because “modern recruits demand choice”, it’s for less retraining of older soldiers.
Exactly this.
Aging and institutionalized forces are more of an issue than any youth whatever their view of themselves. I deal with this everyday.
A 30% increase in weight is substantial, and that’s empty weight, tack on an additional 4lbs for a full combat load all the while carrying 70 fewer rounds. Not to mention it kicks like a mule. No two ways about it, the XM5 is a turd. The only way you could get the performance the Army wanted in a reasonable package was with a bullpup and composite ammo.
That how the Army wrote the Solicitation So why do people always complain about it I never understood it. Sig gave them what they asked for.
Typical clueless “get off my lawn” mentality
SOF Truths
1. Humans are more important than hardware
2. Quality is better than quantity
3. Special Operations Forces cannot be mass produced
4. Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur
5. Most special operations require non-SOF support
Let’s focus on number one. Have you seen our youth today in this country? Unless the Military announces they’ve developed the T-800, I don’t see who’s going to be carrying these weapons and fighting our wars.
hey, we have a whole army of woke, gender neutral trannies that can fight injustice anywhere on the planet and in space…we are freaking doomed…
“Unless the Military announces they’ve developed the T-800…”
That is exactly what they plan to do. As Joe said in his reply, they want good little obedient robots, not actually solving the problem of inspiring people to fight for a future they work overtime daily to destroy.
I’m actually OK with this. Watching hordes of American “woke, gender neutral trannies” getting blasted to bits in hails of PRC missile spam on some Pacific island in the first wave has me long popcorn futures.
I’m sure Xi will be happy to hear that. Maybe you can side with Putin and the Ayatollah too.
You can oppose wokeism. (I do.) Do I agree with how DOD has tripped over itself in attempts to appeal to a demographic not exactly lining up to join? No, not really. But to assume that’s all today’s military has in it is intellectually dishonest. For what it’s worth, the multicolor-haired people confused about which bathroom to use are an infinitesimally small demographic of society, and even less represented within the ranks of the military.
Openly sharing fantasies of your fellow citizens dying in conflict against this decade’s preeminent security threat is tasteless and absurd. Comments like yours are proof-positive that passive subversion works… the enemy needn’t fire a shot when he’s already got you rooting against yourself along purely political lines.
Amen.
I think the army will be okay. There is a bit of soul searching right now and the GWOT generation of SOF warrior seem butt hurt that they can’t go on safari in Afghanistan anymore. I think instead of shitting on the generation coming in we can teach and tutor them on how to prevail in the next conflict. The older generation sucks at alot of shit too. We got used operating in a highly permissive environment that made individuals and organizations appear godlike.
Absolutely. This plan is the Army acknowledging its need for a doctrinal shift back to a conventional peer threat. There were a lot of valuable lessons learned from the permissive low-intensity conflicts of the last twenty years, but that likely isn’t the nature of security operations moving forward.
It’s nothing close to a “failing” of the Army or DOD that some of the crusty doomsayers here are alluding to.