On 19 April 2022, the United States Army awarded a 10-year contract to SIG Sauer to produce the XM250 machine gun, along with the XM7 rifle, to replace the M249 light machine gun and M4 carbine, respectively.[11][12] The names were chosen as the next numbers sequentially to the weapons they will replace (the rifle was originally designated the XM5, but was later changed to XM7). The first batch of twenty-five XM7s and fifteen XM250s were planned to be delivered in late 2023. In total, the Army plans to procure a total of 107,000 XM7s and 13,000 XM250s for close combat forces. The contract has the capacity to build additional weapons should the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command choose to be included.[13]
The XM250 light machine gun weighs 13 lb (5.9 kg), or 14.5 lb (6.6 kg) with a suppressor. It has a basic combat load of 400 rounds in four 100-round pouches weighing 27.1 lb (12.3 kg). Compared to the M249 light machine gun weighing 19.2 lb (8.7 kg) unsuppressed, with a basic combat load of 600 rounds in three 200-round pouches, weighing 20.8 lb (9.4 kg), the XM250 light machine gun weighs about 4 lb (1.8 kg) less and a gunner carries roughly a 1 lb (0.45 kg) heavier load with 200 fewer rounds. The barrel on the XM250 light machine gun is not considered to be a quick-change barrel and the stock is collapsible but non-folding.[13][2][4]