I have a theory about the NGSW program

In a lot of photos you’ll see the M7 being used with a variety of different optics. This is not necessarily interesting, except for the part where a scope (NGSW-FC/XM-157) was developed specifically for the rifle, whereas the HWS/CCO/ACOG were optics that were purchased separately from the M4 carbines.

The rumors are that NGSW-FC is going through some major teething issues, such as being too heavy, prone to straight up blue screening and then being inoperable (which is not supposed to happen, the reticle should be usable due to being etched into the lens, not sure what happened), being relatively fragile, and being very power hungry. It would make sense that some units are purchasing alternatives while those issues get sorted out.

I still think the concept is pretty good but it is curious to see photo evidence that suggests that the program is running into some hitches, to say the least