Sustainment troops familiarize themselves with the CROWS system, firing M249 squad automatic weapons and M240B machine guns from their vehicles at Story Live Fire Complex, South Korea, on Jan 28, 2026. CROWS stands for Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station. (Tae Sung Kim/U.S. Army)
Recent live-fire training near the North Korean border helped familiarize soldiers with a system that lets them fire their weapons from inside armored vehicles using controls and sensors, according to Eighth Army.
Troops from 84th Ordnance Company, 498th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command trained Jan. 28-29 on CROWS — the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station — said Eighth Army spokesman James Choi.
The training took place at Story Live Fire Complex, where soldiers fired M249 squad automatic weapons and M240B machine guns while learning to assemble, prepare and operate CROWS, Choi said by phone Tuesday. The complex is about three miles from the border.
CROWS increases crew protection by reducing exposure to enemy fire, Choi said.
Sustainment troops familiarize themselves with the CROWS system, firing M249 squad automatic weapons and M240B machine guns from their vehicles at Story Live Fire Complex, South Korea, on Jan 28, 2026. CROWS stands for Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station. (Jack Ziercher/U.S. Army)
During the exercise, troops practiced shooting targets during the day and at night, said Choi, who could not disclose the number of soldiers involved.
Choi described the event as small-scale and part of routine training aimed at enhancing readiness. The exercise followed similar CROWS familiarization conducted about three months earlier, he said.
The first CROWS — more than 560 units — were delivered to the Army in Iraq under an urgent 2004 contract with Recon Optical, according to Defense Update, a defense information website.
Sustainment troops familiarize themselves with the CROWS system, firing M249 squad automatic weapons and M240B machine guns from their vehicles at Story Live Fire Complex, South Korea, on Jan 28, 2026. CROWS stands for Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station. (Jack Ziercher/U.S. Army)
In 2008, Norwegian arms manufacturer Kongsberg acquired the contract and by 2017 had supplied the Army with more than 12,000 CROWS units, according to a company news release in December that year.
The CROWS contracts are worth tens of millions annually. Kongsberg in 2023 announced a fourth five-year contract to supply the Army at a cost of $94 million.
