The Army on Thursday announced it will hold an industry day in late March to detail requirements for its Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) fire control capability, with a prototype opportunity notice to drop two weeks before the event.
Officials said the industry day will detail the program strategy, anticipated schedule and requirements for the eventual NGSW fire control capability, with the goal of accepting the first prototypes for evaluation in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020.
“The NGSW-FC’s objective is to provide a ruggedized fire control that increases accuracy and lethality for the dismounted warfighter on the battlefield,” officials wrote in the industry day notice.
A potential NGSW-FC capability will have to include a “variable magnification, ballistic calculator, atmospheric sensor suite, and laser range finder,” while also being able to combine these tools with an in-scope digital display.
Detailed requirements will be included in the draft Prototype Project Opportunity Notice the Army will release in early March ahead of the industry day.
The industry will take place March 28-29 at the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, and will include an overview briefing followed by one-on-one sessions with individual vendors.
Senior Army leadership previously announced in October that NGSW will be a 6.8mm caliber rifle and will eventually replace its M4s and M249s. Initial tests for potential NGSW offerings are expected to begin this summer (Defense Daily, Oct. 2018).