The Army Marksmanship has issued a RFQ to industry for 6.8mm match grade ammo.
They are seeking ammunition with the following attributes:
Brand Name or Equal, to the following:
LI 001: Cartridge 6.8 Next Gen 135 -150 gr Hybrid, 5500, EA;
1a. BULLET: .277 dia. 135gr Sierra Match King OTM item or .277 dia 140gr Classic Hybrid Hunter Berger Bullet. End user will accept projectiles not listed if precision dispersion is better than specific projectiles/bullets listed. If an optional projectile is proposed the optional projectile cannot weigh more than 150gr.
1b. Brass: Hybrid steel/brass 6.8x51mm, hardness must meet mil specs.
1c. PRIMER: prefer factory best available primer option Mil spec or match quality.
1d. POWDER: vendor best option any propellant that meets safe reliable function of ammunition. Powder should be temp stabilized for lowest possible velocity spread between 0-125F. Example of acceptable stabilized propellant velocity spread: 70F Avg MV= 2600fps 30rds, 125F Avg MV= 2640fps 30rds. (30rds straight or 3 separate 10rd tests at each temp range is acceptable).
1e. CARTRIDGE LENGTH: Max 2.82 OAL intent is Magazine length for SIG 6.8×51 semi auto rifles.
1f. MUZZLE VELOCITY: ammunition must produce a velocity sufficient to provide Sub MOA accuracy from 16″ Bolt Action barrels & 1.15 MOA or less from semi auto barrels and maintain low SD of MV. Standard deviation of MV should be 13 fps +or- 1 fps (or less) for avg of 30 rds tested at 70F. Actual muzzle velocity shall be a mild velocity ammunition not to exceed 64 KSI from PSI test barrels at Hot temp ranges. 70F degree test barrel & ammunition should produce an avg of 58-59 KSI. End user not specifying specific muzzle velocity.
1g. Ammunition lot size shall be no less than 20,000 rds, no more than 40,0000 rds from the same production run.
1h. A lot consists of the same lot of bullets, primers, brass, and propellant.
1i. PSI at 70 Deg F should not exceed 60,000 PSI casemouth or Conformal- manufacturer option.
1j. PSI at 130 Deg F should not exceed 64,000 PSI casemouth or Conformal- manufacturer option.
1k. ACCURACY STANDARDS- Rifle 16” barrel: Ammunition must average less than 2.6” inches ES Threshold, 2.25 ES or less Objective at 300 yards when fired from 1 ea USAMU Bolt Action Test Barrel. 5 each 5 rd groups. ( conditions will be 2mph or less winds if outdoors )
This ammunition purchase follows a previous solicitation from the AMU for a dozen MCX-SPEAR rifles in May so it appears that AMU is gearing up to use the SPEAR in service rifle competitions.
My money is on SIG winning this contract.
This is highly interesting.
Sig has a leg up here, seeing as how they are the OEM on NGSW ammo and have landed other precision ammo contracts for the Army and elsewhere.
I wonder if this is a step towards broadening the family of 6.8×51 service ammo and perhaps paving the pathway for some type of SASS platform in 6.8.
Second the assessment this is competition driven. If AMU wants match ammo they’re planning on fielding the M7 to their team shooters. After all, if we’re talking service rifle then anticipate the CMP rule change to allow the new Sig hotness. When rifle team shooters start posting wins it’s good PR for the average soldier to have faith in their gear.