7.62mm 5.56mm and 6.5mm

Textron Systems demonstrated its 7.62mm Cased Telescoped (CT) Medium Machine Gun; 5.56mm CT Light Machine Gun; and 6.5mm CT Carbine.

According to company officials, the CT Medium Machine Gun has achieved Technology Readiness Level 5 ahead of its planned participation in the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment exercise in 2018.

Elsewhere, the CT Light Machine Gun now lies at TRL 7 following a live fire demonstration conducted alongside the Swedish Armed Forces at the Land Warfare Centre in Kvarn, Sweden. The weapon was tested against the 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) to “assess the weapon’s accuracy, mobility and maintainability”.

“Results showed that the 5.56mm CT Light Machine Gun required 30% less ammunition to accomplish a fire mission, provided a 20% tighter shot grouping and scored significantly higher soldier ratings for ease of maintenance, trigger operation, recoil reduction and burst fire control,” Textron Systems explained in a statement.

Textron Systems claimed how CT variants improved short range engagement times; mobility across the battlefield with decreased weight; and options for squads to carry greater amounts of ammunition.

The CT Light Machine Gun has also been tested by force elements from the US Naval Special Warfare Command, MONS learned earlier this year. The CT Light Machine Gun and associated ammunition represent 40% weight savings compared to the M249 and legacy ammunition, while the CT Medium Machine Gun provides a weight saving of 37% compared to the legacy M240L variant.

Weapon technology has emerged from the US Army’s Lightweight Small Arms Techologies (LSAT) concept which continues to cooperate with Textron Systems.

“Textron Systems’ CT programme seeks to enhance and improve upon the army’s current technology. To accomplish this, the Textron Systems 5.56mm and 7.62mm CT Machine Guns offer reduced system weight, lower ammunition weight, and increased lethality and reliability,” the company added.

Textron also explained how 5.56mm and 7.62mm CT weapons could also fire both calibres with just a change of barrel, providing interoperability for armed forces seeking to reduce logistical footprints.

DPM