Instead of the M16-style layout the Army has been accustomed to since the 1960s, GDOTS took their prototypes in a different direction with the bullpup configuration — the action and magazine located behind the fire control unit of the rifle.
The NGSW-AR is the successor to the now-defunct Lightweight Small Arms Technologies machine gun program. Textron’s submission for the NGSW-AR appears to be a reworking of its LSAT prototype, albeit chambered for a new caliber with a few visual differences, including a new stock.
True Velocity composite-cased ammunition has been selected for the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon modernization program as part of a prototype from General Dynamics and Beretta.