Textron Systems` Light Armaments Team to Develop Lightweight, Cased-Telescoped Small Arms for U.S. Army

Category: Defence Industry

Textron Systems Unmanned Systems, a business of the Textron Systems segment of Textron Inc., through its Light Armaments team, announced today a $5.7 million contract from the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium and the U.S. Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center for continued development of lightweight, Cased-Telescoped (CT) weapons and ammunition.

Under this two-year award, the team will develop a CT carbine, as well as 7.62 millimeter (mm) CT ammunition and a machine gun operating mechanism. The CT ammunition utilizes a plastic casing to reduce weight significantly versus conventional ammunition while maintaining performance.

The Textron Systems Light Armaments team developed the flagship 5.56 mm CT Light Machine Gun under the Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program. The LSAT Light Machine Gun recently took part in the Army's Dismounted Non-Networked Experiment at Fort Benning, Ga., receiving positive user feedback. Providing up to a 40 percent, or 20-pound, weight reduction over current technology, the LSAT Light Machine Gun and 5.56 mm CT ammunition have been demonstrated at Technology Readiness Level 7, while improving both lethality and reliability.

Leveraging the success of this design, the team has created a family of lightweight, 5.56 mm CT weapons. This includes a compact Light Machine Gun with a quick-change, 12-inch barrel and folding buttstock, developed for close-quarters applications and tested in 2012 by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, as well as the operating mechanism for a carbine variant. The team also has developed an innovative caseless ammunition design, demonstrated to provide even greater weight reduction versus current technology.

The Textron Systems Light Armaments team intends to leverage the demonstrated success of prior designs to extend CT weapon and ammunition technologies to additional calibers and weapon configurations on the new program. For this effort, it leads a skilled team including Alliant Techsystems (ATK), ARES Incorporated, MSC Software and St. Marks Powder, a General Dynamics company.

Textron
14.05.2014

Textron Systems Announces Plans to Acquire Robotics Innovator Howe & Howe Technologies
04.11.2018

Textron Systems Delivers First TAPV to the Canadian Army
30.08.2016

Textron Systems Awarded Contract to Provide an Additional 55 COMMANDO™ Select Armored Vehicles to Afghan National Army
04.10.2015

CMI Defence to Exhibit New COMMANDO™ Select 90mm Direct Fire Vehicle at Eurosatory
16.06.2014

Textron Marine & Land Systems

HR Textron

Textron Systems

Textron Electronics

Textron Lycoming

Textron Systems Maui Operations