Originally an AAI (now part of Textron Systems) science project, under the auspices of several different government programs, the Lightweight Small Arms Technology weapon and its Cased Telescoped has been under development for decades (and untold millions in development costs).

Here, BG Anthony “Tony” Potts, Program Executive Officer Soldier, fires the 5.56mm Cased Telescoped Light Machine Gun Feb. 14 during a visit to Textron Systems.

The CT LMG with 1,000 rounds weighs 28.5 pounds vs. an M249 with 1,000 rounds weighing 48.9 pounds. That’s pretty impressive. The favored technology for the Army’s upcoming Next Generation Squad Automatic Weapon program, is the TC round which will not fire from existing weapons in the Army’s inventory and current ammunition will not fire from the LSAT weapon. Although, the ammunition is lighter, you’ve got to have the right weapon to fire it. Conversely, current ammunition could also be lightened by going to a polymer case. And then, there’s the whole issue of reducing stoppages on LSAT, which requires the weapon to be dismantled.
Can’t wait to see how it performs in source selection. The IC criteria set the bar pretty high.




























































































































