ATC TEST CAPABILITIES ENABLE ARMY MODERNIZATION
By Deirdre Cascardo
From left, Mr. James Amato, executive technical director of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), and Brig. Gen. Michael McCurry, II, Department of Army G8, Force Development, review a static display of prototype weapons from the Next Generation Squad Weapon prototype test during a tour as Mark McCormick, Chief, Small Arms System Test Branch looks on 9 July 2021.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Col. Timothy Matthews, Commander of the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), hosted Brig. Gen. Michael McCurry, II, Department of Army G8, Force Development, and Mr. James Amato, Executive Technical Director of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), on a tour highlighting ATC’s capabilities and several items currently undergoing testing in support of Army modernization.
McCurry and Amato witnessed the remote firing of the XM915, a prototype which will provide the lethality solution for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA). The weapon can fire 1500 rounds per minute. ATC technicians video score each barrel in real time to calculate dispersion and reliability data. Testing of the XM915 is in direct support of the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team.
Following the XM915, they reviewed a static display of the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) and the Soldier Protection System with the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle Binocular (ENVG-B).
ATC supported the bid sampling of the NGSW that will replace the M4 and M249 for the close combat force. During testing, ATC fired over 1 million rounds. Once down-selection is complete, follow-on testing for the weapon and ammunition will begin.
ATC also tested the ENVG-B from prototype through several iterations of test, fix, test. System functionality, reliability and EMI were a few of the tests performed in direct support of the Army’s modernization of soldier-worn sensors. The ENVG-B will enhance a Soldier’s situational awareness, enable a warfighter to shoot a weapon while concealed, and connect to Nett Warrior - a network-based system providing dismounted commanders with real-time information during combat operations.
The tour concluded at the Experimental Fabrication Facility, where in-house repair is performed and customized fixtures are developed and fabricated; a capability essential to maintaining ATC’s testing mission and Army modernization initiatives.
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The U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center (ATC) is a subordinate test center of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC). ATC is committed to supporting the Warfighter through the development of leading-edge instrumentation and test methodologies to enable decisive advantage when it counts.
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