The history and development of the US Army’s Grenadier Sighting System is a remarkable story spanning many years, resulting in a sighting system that is unmatched for this type of small arm. The Wilcox Grenadier Sighting System (GSS) day/night sighting system for the M320/ M320A1 grenade launcher (GL) is the result of over a decade of design refinement, development, developmental testing, operational testing, lessons learned, continuous improvement, and ongoing production in conjunction with the US Army; it is simply the most accurate, user-friendly, forward-upgradeable, and most heavily tested day/night sighting system for the M320/M320A1 GL in the world.

In Part 1 & Part 2, we covered the US Army’s search for a new 40mm M320 GL in 2009, their decision to choose the Wilcox GSS as the single production awardee in June 2019 and the GSS’s initial production and discriminating features.

SUCCESSFUL US ARMY GSS PROGRAM

The US Army’s competitive acquisition plan included 2 upfront phases of Developmental prototypes. With each set of prototype deliverables, there was a series of Soldier testing and feedback, as well as other tests. This forward-thinking was done at a time before Soldier Touch Points (STP) were a common US Army activity. The US Army spent three (3) years testing several sets of contractor prototypes from two GSS contract awardees before making a final production best- value decision. After obtaining feedback from multiple users and other tests during the developmental cycle, the US Army down-selected a single GSS awardee, Wilcox. Subsequently, Wilcox went through a First Article Test Acceptance (FAT) production qualification. At present, Wilcox delivers monthly production to the US Army with Government witnessing monthly lot acceptance testing.

“The GSS is a significant improvement to the M320 and tremendously increases the Grenadier’s capability in all environments.”

– COL Jason Bohanon

Project Manager Soldier Lethality ensures that Soldiers on the battlefield have overmatch capabilities in individual and crew-served weapons including M320/M320A1. PM SL supports Soldiers through the development, production, fielding, and sustainment of current and future weapons systems, as well as associated target acquisition/fire control products. As a result of PM SL’s efforts, Soldiers benefit from continuous improvement programs and are equipped with systems that enhance both survivability and lethality. Under PEO Soldier, Project Manager Soldier Lethality, Colonel Jason Bohannon had this to say about the Wilcox GSS after a recent visit to the Wilcox facility.

“After shooting the GSS at night….I’m sold on its capability!”

– LTC (R) Peter Stambersky

WILCOX GSS AVAILABILITY

The Wilcox GSS product is available through the US Army’s GSS production contract. Similar to the acquisition of the M320/M320A1 GL contract, other Services may acquire the Wilcox GSS through the US Army. By doing so, these Services will be leveraging the upfront investment of the US Army in time and expenses in nearly a decade of applying lessons learned, development, and ongoing production, as well as economies of scale under the contract.

Further, the Wilcox GSS is available from the US Government to friendly foreign nations through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process. The US Army Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier has a built-in infrastructure to leverage its existing US Army contracts to support these requests through a structured FMS process. More specifically, FMS requests are routed to the PM Soldier Lethality FMS office.

In addition, Wilcox makes similar commercial version alternatives designated by the company as the Rapid Acquisition Aiming Module Grenadier Sighting System (RAAM GSS). The Wilcox RAAM GSS™ is an exportable version of the US Army selected and current production Grenadier Sighting System (NSN: 1010-01-686-8798). By procuring the RAAM GSS directly from Wilcox, host nations can obtain systems sooner. The FMS sales process can take up to 2 years to trigger the acquisition process.

Similarly, the RAAM GSS has proven to increase hit probability by significantly enhancing daytime and nighttime grenadier         accuracy, while simultaneously decreasing target engagement time.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the Wilcox GSS is the resulting product enhancement from years of investment by the US Army and Wilcox. Its increased accuracy, part of its added benefits, provides a supporting and justifying ammunition-saving payback rationale.

The Wilcox GSS product features and operational performance have proven through competitive and documented testing to be unsurpassed. Its smart logistically supportable design ensures customers’ investment will be maintained for years to come. Most notably, the Wilcox GSS operational benefits (decreased engagement time, increased accuracy, user acceptance) in a multi-year competitive process demonstrate the product is unrivaled by any other day/night sighting system for M320/320A1 GL and similar man-portable GL systems.

The history of the US Army’s Grenadier Sighting System (GSS) is a remarkable story that exemplifies a successful program collaboration between the US Army and the Wilcox Special Projects Team. The Wilcox Grenadier Sighting System day/night sighting system for the M320/M320A1 grenade launcher is the result of over a decade of design refinement, development, testing, continuous improvement, and ongoing production in conjunction with the US Army; it is simply the most accurate, user-friendly, forward-upgradeable day/night sight for the M320/M320A1 GL in the world.

Learn more about the Development of the Wilcox Grenadier Sighting System or download the GSS Case Study.