[mouser868]

Winchester Grabs $20 Million Contract to Set up Lake City for 6.8mm :: Guns.com

As part of the U.S. Army's forward-looking Next Generation Squad Weapons program, Winchester announced a contract to plan the production of new ammo types.

www.guns.com

 

[neophyte]

mauser868: Sir: interesting 😳

quote:

As part of the U.S. Army's forward-looking Next Generation Squad Weapons program, Winchester announced a contract to plan the production of new ammo types.
The company, which bills itself as "the largest manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition for the U.S. military," announced that the Army has awarded it $20 million worth of contracts for the "development, manufacturing facility requirements analysis, and production capacity planning" for the upcoming 6.8mm NGSW ammo program.
The work will be performed at the government-owned, contractor-operated Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri, which Winchester has been running since 2019. Lake City is the country's primary federal small arms ammo plant, making assorted 5.56 NATO, 7.62 NATO, and .50 caliber BMG rounds

 

[neophyte]

information:

NGSW Update: Push for the 6.8mm Continues - Guns and Ammo

It's no secret that the United States Army wants to ditch the old 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm cartridges in favor of a new high-speed 6.8mm cartridge. This effort is receiving maximum support and funding from the highest levels, so it'll be interesting to see if an effective solution actually emerges.

www.gunsandammo.com

Why 6.8mm?
The first question anybody asks when learning of the Army’s new initiative is, “Why 6.8mm?” Many assume this is a resurrection of the 6.8mm SPC, but it is not. The new 6.8mm cartridge requirement is shrouded in secrecy because the briefing given at the National Defense Industrial Association (where the Army speaks to the firearms industry) was for “limited distribution only.” That means everything in the brief was not for public dissemination. However, various tidbits from a few in-the-know Army officers has shed some light on the subject.

 

[MosinRuger]

information:

NGSW Update: Push for the 6.8mm Continues - Guns and Ammo

It's no secret that the United States Army wants to ditch the old 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm cartridges in favor of a new high-speed 6.8mm cartridge. This effort is receiving maximum support and funding from the highest levels, so it'll be interesting to see if an effective solution actually emerges.

www.gunsandammo.com

Why 6.8mm?
The first question anybody asks when learning of the Army’s new initiative is, “Why 6.8mm?” Many assume this is a resurrection of the 6.8mm SPC, but it is not. The new 6.8mm cartridge requirement is shrouded in secrecy because the briefing given at the National Defense Industrial Association (where the Army speaks to the firearms industry) was for “limited distribution only.” That means everything in the brief was not for public dissemination. However, various tidbits from a few in-the-know Army officers has shed some light on the subject.

to finish the thought.. 6.8 spc was designed as a round to fit in existing m16/m4 reviecers, but have better ballistics than 5.56. this was somewhat a success but not enough to change the game.

the next gen 6.8 ngws was designed for completely new weapons systems, which means that it no longer has to fit the dimensions of the current m4/m16 magazines and actions.

its really more like a .308 necked down to 6.8 to achieve actual better ballistics over both 5.56 AND 7.62.

it will improve the capabilities of our troops as long as they adopt the right rifle platform for the new round.

kudos to winchester for the contract. in the big picture $20 mil isnt really a ton for them, so its likey only for a trial run or to develop the tooling and production lines needed to actually supply military contracts.

 

[Huey Rider]

I wonder if there will be AR15 build parts for it.

 

[blue fox]

mauser868: Sir: interesting 😳

quote:

As part of the U.S. Army's forward-looking Next Generation Squad Weapons program, Winchester announced a contract to plan the production of new ammo types.
The company, which bills itself as "the largest manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition for the U.S. military," announced that the Army has awarded it $20 million worth of contracts for the "development, manufacturing facility requirements analysis, and production capacity planning" for the upcoming 6.8mm NGSW ammo program.
The work will be performed at the government-owned, contractor-operated Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri, which Winchester has been running since 2019. Lake City is the country's primary federal small arms ammo plant, making assorted 5.56 NATO, 7.62 NATO, and .50 caliber BMG rounds

Sounds like I may be making more parts deliveries there.

 

[TACAV]

Winchester Grabs $20 Million Contract to Set up Lake City for 6.8mm :: Guns.com

As part of the U.S. Army's forward-looking Next Generation Squad Weapons program, Winchester announced a contract to plan the production of new ammo types.

www.guns.com

It makes sense considering Winchester /Olin has the Lake City contract for up to the year 2029 and the US Army is hoping to make the transition to the new rifle/machine gun before that.

I wonder if there will be AR15 build parts for it.

AR15 parts? No. AR10 parts? maybe.

The Sig finalist design is using a highly modified / improved MCX platform (the MCX Spear) and it is based around a 7.62x51 NATO sized receiver and it uses SR25 pattern 7.62x51 / .308 win magazines for the new 6.8x51 ammo.

In interviews, Sig has said that they are eventually planning on releasing a 7.62x51 caliber MCX version of the gun on the commercial market and if everything goes well and their rifle gets picked as the winner, then eventually down the line they would release a 6.8x51 variant as well to the commercial market as the caliber starts to get mass adopted.

 

[runfiverun]

6.8X51
seems i've seen this before, oh wait that was the 25 souper err the 7-08,, no wait they called it the 270 wolverine.
never mind,,, how hard could it possibly be to neck down the 300 savage to 270.
yeah,,,, that's never been done before, but i do have a 7mm version of it.

 

[RetiredFreedomfighter]

Prototypes. The M4 AR 5.56 and such are obsolete. Old school, now just for old people.

 

[neophyte]

RetiredFreedomfighter: Sir; adding 😃

True Velocity's New Polymer-cased Ammunition - Guns and Ammo

The new True Velocity Polymer-cased ammunition is light, accurate, consistent and robust.

www.gunsandammo.com

June 21, 2018By Tom Beckstrand
No one was more skeptical of polymer-cased ammunition than I. My first experience with this type of ammunition occurred more than 10 years ago with another attempt at replacing brass. To say that I was "unimpressed" is an understatement. I remember that I could squish those black plastic cases in my hand without much effort, and I could press the projectile into the case or pull it out of the neck with my fingertips. I couldn't believe anyone would spend money on ammunition like that.
Since then, my opinion of polymer-cased ammunition changed after visiting the ammunition facility of True Velocity, Inc. It's located in the great state of Texas

 

[Huey Rider]

I doubt this would be reloadable for us who like to roll our own.

 

[RetiredFreedomfighter]

RetiredFreedomfighter: Sir; adding 😃

True Velocity's New Polymer-cased Ammunition - Guns and Ammo

The new True Velocity Polymer-cased ammunition is light, accurate, consistent and robust.

www.gunsandammo.com

June 21, 2018By Tom Beckstrand
No one was more skeptical of polymer-cased ammunition than I. My first experience with this type of ammunition occurred more than 10 years ago with another attempt at replacing brass. To say that I was "unimpressed" is an understatement. I remember that I could squish those black plastic cases in my hand without much effort, and I could press the projectile into the case or pull it out of the neck with my fingertips. I couldn't believe anyone would spend money on ammunition like that.
Since then, my opinion of polymer-cased ammunition changed after visiting the ammunition facility of True Velocity, Inc. It's located in the great state of Texas


View attachment 171745

Thanks for posting that. Beckstrand was a West Point graduate who would lead special forces and sniper teams in combat during his military career. Few people better qualified to set my mind at ease.

The weight savings is always a big deal, the 5.56 was such a blessing, I also carried an M14 for a while. The ONLY advantage I see is the 30% weight reduction. During Desert Shield we started the long process of shipping a bazillion tons of stuff to Qatar and Saudi and other staging areas. When you deploy a special forces team of 100 men, you need another 900 to support them on the other end. All of them will need to be armed and ammo is not what will be coming along later. When it gets forward and must go on choppers or smaller transport, weight matters. So, I get it, you can ship 30% more ammo, that matters.


And then, -----

Once upon a time, far away, in a place,far removed, I made the mistake of being the biggest kid in the unit. You, private, step forward, he says, you are the M60 guy. Seems like I was already loaded down, the M60 was 23 pounds dry, not a way to sling it, and running with it was less than fun. The guy next to me was the ammo guy for the M60, he carried a bunch of ammo, I only carried 4 boxes, of 100 rounds each, 7.51 x 62. That ammo added about 24 more pounds, so gun and ammo added about 47 pounds. If you google what M60 and ammo weighs you will find this one"

"6 pounds, a little more in a bandolier. Though if you take 6 bandoliers, along with the rest of your gear, helmet, and weapon and road march 15 miles, they really weigh eleventy bazillion pounds".

 

[Jim Bridger]

50 Cal Dardick T Round Round - Bing video

www.bing.com

The Dardic revolver used polymer cased rounds. During the Civil War rubber Ctgs were used as well. The Dardic polymer trounds were very easy to reload.

 

[TACAV]

Today Sig just announced they are releasing their Sig MCX Spear rifle to the commercial market a lot earlier than expected.

it will come chambered in Sig .277 Fury which is an offshoot varient of the new military 6.8x51 round. The gun will have conversion parts for 6.5 creedmoor and 7.62x51 Nato.
The MCX Spear is Sig's design for the aforementioned US Army NGSW program.

Considering their current 5.56 and .300 blackout MCX Virtus rifles are unobtanium right now (selling for $3,000-$5,000) due to overwhelming demand, Im going to guess this is likewise going to be unobtanium as well.

MCX SPEAR - 277 SIG FURY | SIG SAUER MCX series of rifles

 

[Huey Rider]

MSRP $7999.00!! Holy crap, Batman! It is one fine looking firearm…need to go out and buy a lottery ticket tomorrow; my only chance to buy one!!LOL!!

 

[BigEd63]

A little clarification the new round is not a polymer cased one. IIRC, that was the General Dynamics entry..

This is the cartridge winner:

Obviously not the G1 Spec bullet but you get the idea.