The U.S. Army has confirmed that this fall began trials of the new Squad Designated Marksman Rifle or SDM-R.
According to an Army’s statement, a limited-user test of the new 7.62x51mm SDM-R is also underway now at Fort Bliss in Texas.
The new 7.62x51mm rifle is based on the Heckler and Koch G28E-110 / M110A1 Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System, or CSASS, and provides infantry, scout, and engineer squads the capability to engage with accurate rifle fire at longer ranges.Â
The new rifle will be equipped with a different buttstock and barrel twist than the CSASS model and carries a
In June, Captain Weston Goodrich, PEO Soldier’s assistant program manager for Soldier Weapons, said: “The Army’s current rifle technology is most effective below the 300-meter range; however, Soldiers are fully capable of fighting beyond that threshold”.
“The new rifle addresses the 300 to 600 meters range gap outlined in the 2015 U.S. Army Small Arms Capabilities-Based Assessment,” Goodrich said.
“The Army is working to equip each squad with a predetermined amount of marksman rifles,” he added. The rifle is capable of firing either M80A1 Enhanced Performance Rounds or XM1158 Advanced Armor Piercing Rounds. Â
The U.S. Army has initiated many changes to help modernize the service, bolster readiness, and increase lethality.