From Korea to Afghanistan, the lives of American Soldiers have frequently depended on properly functioning equipment in inhospitably frigid environments.

This fact led to a multiweek test of the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon at the U.S. Army Cold Regions Test Center at Fort Greely, Alaska early this year.

The XM7 and XM250 are successors to the M4 rifle and M249 light machine gun that American forces have used for decades. The new weapons boast improved accuracy and range, weigh less and fire with less recoil even though their 6.8-millimeter round is larger than the two legacy weapons’ 5.56 mm cartridge.

“The big idea behind this weapon is for close-combat forces,” said Steven Prewitt, test officer. “It’s a capability gap-filler for infantry and special forces, not necessarily an M4 replacement. It gives them a different tool.”

Even when outfitted with a flash suppressor, the XM7 weighs less than 10 pounds. The new weapon has a standard rifle scope with an etched reticle, but also much more.

“It has adjustable modes of operation where it can act like a red dot or close combat optic,” said Prewitt. “It also has a corrected aimpoint: it has a ballistic calculator and range finder built in, so if you range a target it takes into consideration your environmental conditions, the distance to target, and the attitude of the weapon to ensure first shot accuracy.”

Soldiers from the Army’s 11th Airborne stationed at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson supported the testing.

“We had an organic troop, which was nice,” said Isaac Howell, senior test officer. “We had the entire leadership from the company commander on down.”

The Soldiers and testers utilized the weapons in rigorous scenarios, from static and kinetic ranges at Fort Greely and Fort Wainwright to maneuver live fires and ultimately a 72-hour simulated mission across CRTC’s vast ranges. All the while, a team of 16 data collectors recorded information in the weapons’ battery life, hit-miss data on targets the Soldiers engaged, and a variety of human factors data involving utilizing the weapons in extreme cold.

“We knew it was going to be extremely fast-paced and that usually means there will be changes,” said Monica Gaschler, senior data collector. “We settled on 16 data collectors, which meant one data collector per three Soldiers. 14 went out in the field, and two stayed in house to do quality assurance on the data and write test incident reports.”

Extreme cold was a coveted commodity for this test, and the weather forecast delivered beyond the highest hopes of the testers.

“We were fortunate to have some pretty substantial cold weather for the duration of the test,” said Prewitt. “The last urban rifle marksmanship course we did was -54 degrees Fahrenheit when we started, so it was incredibly cold.”

“The Soldiers really got to experience what a long, cold day was,” added Howell. “Every day they went out one week it didn’t get above minus 20. The next week it was hovering in the minus 30 to minus 40 range all day, every day.”

The majority of data collectors who supported the test traveled from Yuma Test Center in Arizona, which like CRTC is under the command of U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground.

“It was an endurance challenge for data collectors from the desert,” said Gaschler. “It’s rare for data collectors to be out in the field in temperatures below minus 50 degrees, but they did it without complaints. They got every bit of data, and I am so proud of every one of them.”

“We’ve got a lot of data that is informing decisions,” added Howell. “It’s very fortunate that we had a good block of cold to test this equipment, especially something as prominent as the NGSW is going to be. It has definitely been a successful test.”

Thirty-three, two-person teams of military snipers from around the world competed in the 53rd Winston P. Wilson (WPW) Sniper Championship (National Guard) and the 33rd Armed Forces Skill at Arms Meeting (Inter-Service) December 1-8 at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center. These championships allow service members to test sniper skills and weapon systems in a battle-focused environment.

This year’s sniper championships included international competitors from Colombia, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

The guest of honor at the awards ceremony, marking the triumphant conclusion of the highly competitive event, was Maj. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, Arkansas’ adjutant general. His presence added honor to the celebration, recognizing outstanding achievements in marksmanship.

“Marksmanship is not just about hitting a target. It’s about discipline, focus, and precision. These are the same qualities that make our National Guard Soldiers the best in the world,” said Maj. Gen. Stubbs.

“The Winston P. Wilson Championship and the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center are integral to the success of our Soldiers in maintaining their marksmanship proficiency,” Stubbs said. “Through these institutions, our Soldiers are equipped with the necessary skills to protect our communities and defend our nation. A strong marksmanship program is essential for the safety and security of our country, and the National Guard is proud to lead the way.”

The WPW sniper competition began in 1971 and has been held annually to determine the best shooters in the United States National Guard. This year’s 53rd WPW Sniper Champion is Utah National Guard. Shooters are awarded the prestigious Chiefs 50 Marksmanship Badge on behalf of the Chief, National Guard Bureau. The Chief’s 50 Marksmanship Badge was established to provide evidence and public recognition of outstanding marksmanship abilities demonstrated at the National Guard Championships.

In addition to earning the Chief’s 50 Badge and the Overall Championship Team Trophy, the Utah National Guard received the Chief David R. Logan Sniper Team Trophy. The 2nd place winner is the Iowa Sniper Team. Iowa shooters are also recipients of the Chief’s 50 Badge.

The Armed Forces Skills at Arms Meeting (AFSAM), established in 1991, is a multi-national competition created to promote marksmanship training and competition between United States military forces and allied nations. This year’s 33rd AFSAM Sniper Championship winner is the 2nd Special Warfare Training Group. The AFSAM championship ran concurrently with the WPW championship and incorporated the same fire courses.

This competition is designed as a training tool for US and Allied armed forces, immersing them into situations they could encounter in the real world. Attendees learn to maneuver and shoot in a carefully orchestrated chaos that mimics a battle-like environment. This allows participating teams to hone their current skills and develop new ones.

2023 National Guard Sniper Competition Results

WPW Sniper Team Champions:

• Utah National Guard, 1st Place   
• Iowa National Guard, 2nd Place
• Missouri National Guard, 3rd Place

WPW Specialist Christopher Horton Precision Engagement Memorial Trophy: 

• Utah National Guard

WPW Silent Hunter Team Champions: 

• Washington National Guard

WPW Carbine & Pistol Champions:

• Iowa National Guard

AFSAM Sniper Team Champions:

• 2nd Special Warfare Training Group, 1st Place
• Netherlands (Alpha), 2nd Place
• Naval Special Warfare, 3rd Place

AFSAM Precision Engagement Team Champions:

• All Guard Sniper Team

AFSAM Silent Hunter Team Champions:

• Operations Wolf Group

Carbine & Pistol Champions:

• 1st BN 75th Ranger Regiment

The Army has released its first doctrinal publication dedicated to the topic of information and its role in multidomain operations on the Army Publishing Directorate website, Nov. 27, 2023.

Army Doctrine Publication 3-13, Information, codifies the Army’s approach to the military uses of data and information, and recognizes all activities generate informational effects that can contribute to, or hamper, achieving objectives.

“Information is central to everything we do. It is the basis of intelligence, a fundamental component of command and control, and the foundation for communicating thoughts, opinions and ideas,” said Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle, Jr., commanding general, Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth. “As a dynamic of combat power, Army forces fight for, defend, and fight with information to create and exploit information advantages — the use, protection, and exploitation of information to achieve objectives more effectively than enemies and adversaries.”

Authors from CAC’s Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, the organization charged with writing the new manual, acknowledge that changes in the security environment necessitated an update to doctrine. Adversaries are already using informational power to try to gain regional influence and control well ahead of potential armed conflict. These actions make the competition for information and ideas continuous and persistent.

Key to achieving objectives in a contested environment like this means gaining an information advantage, a new term now defined in doctrine. An information advantage is “a condition when a force holds the initiative in terms of situational understanding, decision making, and relevant actor behavior.”

“Our new doctrine makes it clear that everyone plays some role in achieving information advantage,” said retired Army colonel and CADD Director Richard Creed. “And similarly, commanders need to consider information from a combined arms perspective because all Army capabilities create effects in the information dimension of our operational environment. We can’t make it the sole purview of a single staff section or certain specialties and expect success during operations. Operations now require leaders to consider how information enables operations, how to protect friendly information, how to employ information against an enemy or adversary, and how to attack the enemy’s ability to use information effectively.”

To facilitate that process, ADP 3-13 gives leaders a framework for developing information advantages during operations and at home station. It also spells out how commanders can leverage aspects of information that enable command and control; protect data, information, and networks; inform audiences; influence threats and foreign relevant actors; and attack the threat’s ability to use information.

The publication of ADP 3-13 is just the start of a sustained education campaign from CAC. As with the release of FM 3-0, CADD is developing a series of products to help Soldiers understand the new doctrine. Articles, videos and podcasts devoted to ADP 3-13 are in the works and will be announced via CADD’s social media channels. The team will also work closely with the Centers of Excellence, Army University and the combat training centers to ensure this information is incorporated into professional military education and training. In addition, mobile training teams will visit select installations and organizations to further integrate the ideas outlined in the manual.

“ADP 3-13 provides the intellectual underpinnings that describe how Army forces will gain, protect, and exploit information advantages; however, doctrine is only the beginning. The hard work starts when we begin to internalize these ideas into leader development, education, and training,” said Beagle.

To learn more about ADP 3-13 and other doctrine, visit the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate website.

Minimizing the time between a threat’s detection and its elimination is crucial. Forward observers (FOs) who detect, identify, and prosecute threats, require targeting systems that are easy-to-use, lightweight, and packed with capabilities to enable discriminating performance in all operational environments.

The United States Army selected Elbit Systems of America to develop and qualify a prototype Joint Effects Targeting System (JETS) II product, making targeting easier and more precise, and providing faster effects on targets. The JETS II prototype system development and qualification will be done at the company’s Merrimack, New Hampshire facility through 2026.

“Elbit America has been a leading provider of lightweight targeting systems for two decades and we have captured all of that experience and expertise into JETS II,” said , Vice President of Warfighter Systems Erik Fox. “Now, forward observers in the U.S. Army can operate with exceptional mobility, lethality, and survivability, no matter where the battle takes place. Responding to Soldier feedback on such systems, we are designing a prototype lightweight JETS II system so it can be carried and effortlessly setup, shaving precious time off the targeting process in the field.”

“At Elbit America, we have demonstrated our commitment to providing the very best targeting systems by investing in our Merrimack facility and expanding production capacity, including clean rooms and advanced test capabilities tailored for these high precision targeting systems,” said Elbit America President and CEO Raanan Horowitz. “We are a steadfast partner to the U.S. Army and are primed to bring a game-changing JETS II capability to its forward observers.” 

Elbit America aims to provide the U.S. Army and the Joint Force with 24/7 precision targeting capabilities across all domains. In the company’s 30-year history, it has supplied numerous solutions that support the service’s operations, including sophisticated night vision, Command Post Integrated Infrastructure vehicles, mortar weapons systems, advanced pilotage solutions for helicopters, and more.

Learn more about Elbit America: https://www.elbitamerica.com