Army’s new M8 rifle to reach initial batch of soldiers in December

Sig Sauer is preparing to ship the Army’s new M8, formerly the XM8, carbine rifle to several units at Fort Bragg before the new year. Army Sgt. Grace Liby fires an XM8 at a range during the Army Best Squad Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., Sept. 14, 2026. The service’s new M8 carbine, formerly the XM8, is expected to reach soldiers in units at Fort Bragg, N.C., in December. (Justice McDonald/U.S. Army) Christmas may come early for some soldiers stationed in North Carolina, with the service’s newest generation of rifles expected to reach their hands before the end of the year, manufacturers confirmed this week. Sig Sauer is preparing to ship the Army’s new M8, formerly the XM8, carbine rifle to several units at Fort Bragg in December.

The change from the X designation indicates the weapon is no longer in the experimental phase. The company confirmed they were “ramping up to successfully meet the U.S. Army’s fielding schedule” of December. This follows initial production deliveries in March following a “rigorous prototyping and evaluation effort,” Tory Mazzola, spokesperson for Sig Sauer, told Stars and Stripes in an email Wednesday. Changes to the upgraded carbine rifle will feature “soldier preferred ergonomic upgrades, including a heat shield, softer butt pad, and a more rigid handguard for optics and other mounted equipment,” Mazzola