Beretta & True Velocity Double Down on RM277 Next Gen Rifle

Firearms powerhouse Beretta has announced it will support True Velocity in the production of the proposed Army Next Generation Squad Weapon and develop commercial variants.

The announcement came this week during SHOT Show in Las Vegas, where True Velocity is exhibiting. True Velocity's subsidiary LoneStar Future Weapons is the prime contractor in the group’s bid for the NGSW program, an initiative to replace the Army's current 5.56 NATO platforms with a new series of small arms using a 6.8 caliber cartridge. The variant submitted to the Army for testing is the RM277, chambered in True Velocity’s proprietary 6.8TVCM composite-cased cartridge.

The RM277 rifle, which, if accepted by the Army, will replace the M4 Carbine. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The RM277 automatic rifle, which, if accepted by the Army, will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Both use True Velocity's 6.8mm composite-cased cartridge. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The 6.8TVC is a composite-cased round the company says offers "significant weight reduction, improved accuracy, and extended range versus comparable brass-cased cartridges." True Velocity introduced the 6.8TVC cartridge for SAAMI certification at a maximum average pressure of 65,000 psi with a 135-grain bullet at a velocity of 3,000 fps. It is reportedly the first composite-cased cartridge to be accepted for SAAMI certification. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

"We look forward to working with True Velocity and Beretta USA on the development of a complete system centered on the RM277 to support the mission of the U.S. soldiers and their allies," said Carlo Ferlito Vice President of Beretta Defense Technologies, in a statement released this week.

In addition, the company will take the lead in developing a semi-automatic variant of the RM277 rifle intended for sale in the U.S. commercial market. The latter could prove exceptionally popular should the platform secure the potentially huge NGSW award.

While Winchester recently won a contract to set up the Army's Lake City Ammunition Plant to make the NGSW's 6.8mm ammo and Vortex pulled down a huge award to make up to 250,000 advanced optics for the weapons, the Pentagon has not decided which version of the NSGW-Rifle and NGSW-Automatic Rifle to order. Current contenders for the weapons platforms themselves in addition to the Beretta-True Velocity team include Sig Sauer. Likewise, Sig last week announced a commercial version of its NGSW rifle submission, the MCX Spear, chambered in Sig's own .277 Fury.

Banner image: Lone Star Future Weapons.

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