AUSA 2023: US Army seeks proposals for XM919 Individual Assault Muniti…

GD OTS expects to submit its RGW90 (bottom) and/or its RGW60 (top) to compete for the army's XM919 IAM requirement. (Janes/Daniel Wasserbly)

The US Army is moving ahead with a long-planned effort to consolidate and update its shoulder-launched munitions (SLMs) and issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the XM919 system in September 2023, Janes learnt at the annual Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023 symposium in Washington, DC.

The service's Project Manager Close Combat Systems's (PM CCS's) Individual Assault Munition (IAM) system consists of the XM919 weapon and training devices such as the XM922 subcalibre trainer. The IAM requirement has been simmering at least since 2016.

“The XM919 IAM will be a lightweight Shoulder Launched Munition (SLM) capability for combat units at the individual Soldier level,” the army said in its fiscal year 2024 (FY 2024) budget request. The XM919 is meant in part for urban operations “to defeat adversaries protected by field expedient structures and light armored vehicles while providing behind-the-wall lethality effects”, the request said.

It must function day or night and from within enclosures, and combine the capabilities and replace the M72 Light Anti-Armor Weapon, M136 AT4 Light Anti-Tank Weapon, M136A1 AT4 Confined Space, and M141 Bunker Defeat Munition – which is meant to reduce the burden of maintaining and training multiple systems.

The XM919 began an engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase in the third quarter of FY 2020. “Market research”, which is to include live test firings, will support a ‘milestone C' production decision that could lead to a five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) production contract, the army said.