Scott Madore, the project manager for soldier lethality, said. 'The capability increase that these weapons provide over the M4 and the M249 is what's really exciting,' Army Col. When the time comes, Boruff said, the Army will have enough of the new ammunition to begin fielding the new rifles. We're clearing some space now at the Lake City facility to start production.'

'The new building will be stood up in Lake City Army Ammunition Plant and it will start producing around 25/26. 'We already have started preparing the site for the new building,' Boruff said. After that, SIG Sauer will become a second-source provider of the new ammunition. Boruff, the program executive officer in the Joint Program Executive Office, Armaments and Ammunition, said the new 6.8 mm ammunition will initially be produced by SIG Sauer, but that the Army will eventually take over production of ammunition at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri. That's what drives the fielding of the weapons.'ДЄrmy Brig. 'As the vendor is able to produce ammunition and then Lake City ultimately comes on, what we don't want to do is field a capability to a unit where we don't have training ammunition or contingency ammunition, if required.

'The fielding of the weapon is based upon ammunition production,' Burris said. Soldiers involved in close-quarters combat include 11B infantrymen, 19D cavalry scouts,12B combat engineers, 68W medics, and 13F forward observers. It's expected that the first unit of soldiers involved in close-quarters combat will be equipped with the new system in the fourth quarter of 2023, Burris said.

Burris said the Army was able to do in 27 months what might otherwise have taken anywhere from eight to 10 years.

Combat arms specs