True Velocity Ammunition and sister company Lone Star Future Weapons have sued gunmaker Sig Sauer, claiming that Sig Sauer stole their trade secrets in relation to the U.S. Army’s Next-Generation Squad Weapon competition worth an estimated $4.5 billion. The lawsuit, filed in Vermont Superior Court, alleges that Sig Sauer wrongfully misappropriated the trade secrets of True Velocity and GD-OTS, which developed the proprietary “revolutionary mitigation system” SRIA.
The LMMG developed by GD-OTS is a key technology at the center of the dispute, as it bridges the gap between lighter and heavier weapons systems without increasing the weapon’s mass or receiver length. Sig Sauer recruited several key engineers from GD-OTS, including David Steimke, who played a key role in designing the LMMG. Steimke is now Sig Sauer’s chief engineer.
The court document alleges that Sig Sauer has utilized the technology in four belt-fed machine guns they have designed, prompting True Velocity and Lone Star to seek a court order to stop Sig Sauer from using their trade secrets and to request monetary damages. The lawsuit coincides with Sig Sauer and True Velocity competing for another U.S. military weapons contract for a .338 Medium Machine Gun for U.S. Special Operations Forces.
The lawsuit highlights the importance of protecting intellectual property in the defense industry and ensuring that proprietary information is not misappropriated for competitive advantage.
