Military Operational Test and Evaluation Office Report

[eamyrick]

“ Most M250s equipped with M157s did not retain zero during the OA or the airborne test.”

DOT&E Report on Next Generation Squad Weapons, Ammunition and Fire Control | Soldier Systems Daily

On 13 March, 2026, the Department Of War’s Director, Operational Test and Evaluation Office (DOT&E) released their 2025 annual report to Congress. DOT&a ...

soldiersystems.net

I thought this take away was interesting because often “what the military uses” is lauded as an example of utmost reliability. Hopefully this issue is resolved prior to deployment of this system. Surprise, the optic is built by Vortex.

I have been involved with some fairly large contract purchases of small arms and what is tested and requested is often bastardized in the procurement process.

 

[BigRed99]

Sig rifles with Vortex optics, what a joke. Never seen an AR pattern rifle malfunction out the box like the MCX-Spear

 

[BLJ]

“what the military uses” is lauded as an example of utmost reliability.

I always thought it was an indication of the lowest bidder.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I always thought it was an indication of the lowest bidder.

Not all military contracts are awarded to the lowest-price, technically-acceptable bid. But most are because it requires a lot less justification.

 

[Kyguy]

It's specifically states it didn't retain zero on the M250 automatic squad weapon, the replacement for the M249. It also didn't state how many rounds were fired before loss of zero.

Does anything retain zero for an extended period on a high volume automatic rifle?

It would appear it was fine on the other two rifles, as it doesn't mention issues.

That report doesn't have enough data in it to draw any conclusions, regardless of the manufacturer.