United States army soldiers test the prototype of LMG Light Machine Gun part of the LSAT program 081

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Defense News - United States
 
 
Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 02:10 PM
 
United States army soldiers test the prototype of LMG Light Machine Gun part of the LSAT program.
Nearly 20 Soldiers participated in a two-week assessment of a prototype light machine gun to demonstrate its potential impact on mission effectiveness and to help engineers develop possible improvements to the weapon and its unique ammunition. The evaluation sought the warfighter's perspective after enduring a series of strenuous combat performance drills with the weapon.
     
Nearly 20 Soldiers participated in a two-week assessment of a prototype light machine gun to demonstrate its potential impact on mission effectiveness and to help engineers develop possible improvements to the weapon and its unique ammunition. The evaluation sought the warfighter's perspective after enduring a series of strenuous combat performance drills with the weapon.
U.S. Army soldiers test the new Light Machine Gun LMG
     

It had taken six years to get from a concept to a fully functioning weapon that was ready for evaluation, but Kori Phillips, a project management engineer in the Joint Service Small Arms Program, or JSSAP, said it was well worth the wait.

"This is exactly what we have been waiting for," said Phillips. "This is what we need to move forward."

The Soldiers' feedback will be used to influence the user community to develop a Capability Development Document. A CDD is required before the system can transition to a program of record and enter the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase of the acquisition life cycle.

This would be the next step needed for the program to move forward toward an eventual fielding of the weapon to Soldiers in the field.

The light machine gun is part of the Lightweight Small Arms Technologies, or LSAT, program, which is managed by the JSSAP, part of the Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, or ARDEC, at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

The LMG is a gas-operated, cased telescoped light machine gun. It is air-cooled and belt fed with selectable semi-automatic and fully automatic fire and fires from the open-bolt position. Its rate of fire is approximately 650 rounds per minute.

The JSSAP team hopes that the LMG will eventually replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, knows as a SAW, as the standard issue machine gun used by Soldiers in combat zones.