US Special Operations to Get Upgraded Weapon

US Special Operations to Get Upgraded Weapon

special operations

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The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has signed a new framework deal for the acquisition of the Suppressed Upper Receiver Group (SURG) weapon from Sig Sauer. The contract, announced by the US Department of Defense, provides acquisition of the SURG weapon, which is an upgrade of the M4A1 lower receiver group, in support of US Special Operations Command.

According to the DoD, Sig Sauer was awarded a USD48 million five-year, indefinite-delivery /indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract.

US Special Operations Command buys conversion kits from Sig Sauer to turn existing M4A1 carbines into new MCX Rattler personal defense weapons, or PDWs.

This purchase is reportedly in response to the command’s nearly year-old requirement for a tiny assault rifle able to fire both .300 Blackout and 5.56x45mm rounds.

The M4A1 is a fully automatic variant of the M4 carbine – a shorter and lighter variant of the M16. It went into service in 1994 to replace the M16 in certain roles.

According to guns.com, the on and off SURG program has been around for the past few years in an effort to produce a weapon system designed to be suppressed continuously with better thermal characteristics and less blowback that simply adding a suppressor and threaded barrel to a standard upper. While it is not known which upper SOCCOM selected from Sig Sauer, the company earlier this year released details on its planned SUR300 suppressed upper.

The majority of the work will be performed in New Hampshire, and is expected to be completed by July 2023, as reported by defence-blog.com.