So this is the future rifle? Well, it kinda sucks.

Spoiler alert: they settled.

Just heard the news not too long ago that SIG has won the NGSW contract becoming the new rifle and squad automatic weapons of the US Army. 

Now, I fully predicted that SIG would be the winner of the contract, simply by virtue that that Army is notoriously superstitious and because SIG was the only somewhat traditional-looking competitor left, it would win by default. So, here we are. 

Now, I am in agreement with the Military Arms Channel on this one. I think this is a monumentally boneheaded decision by the Army. First, is that despite the new rifle offering a number of advantages, namely: much better range, better terminal ballistics/lethality at range, better accuracy at longer ranges, better suppressor compatibility, less wind drift, and an excellent sighting/range finding system, and lighter ammunition than 7.62 NATO. 

However it does this at the massive cost of, increased weight compared to 5.56 NATO, increased recoil, it's significantly heavier than legacy systems, no magazine compatibility requiring additional new logistics, increased bulk/size of ammunition, and the inability to convert older 5.56 rifles to the new cartridge, as well as wasting all that R&D money when commercial off the shelf solutions were present that would have been significantly cheaper and easier to implement. 

I also agree with MAC that a far better option would have been to adopt either the 6mm ARC, or the 6mm optimum (PPC), as they could be used with existing magazines and rifles with relatively little modification and cost, while offering nearly all the advantages of the 6.8 without any of the disadvantages. 

Once again, the Army missed an obviously good option.