2017 Chinn Award goes to E. Daniel Shea

On December 7th, 2016, just outside of Washington DC, members of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Armaments Division Small Arms Steering Committee voted unanimously to convey the prestigious honor of the 2017 LtCol George M. Chinn Award to SADJ’s very own Dan Shea for nearly four decades of professional accomplishments in the field of small arms. Most SADJ and SAR readers know Dan as the Technical Editor and Editor-in-Chief of those well respected periodicals. However, few know the full extent and variety of the contributions Dan Shea has made to the military and law enforcement community and the end user; advancing the state of small arms technology, initiating foreign ordnance technology discovery, providing unmatched threat weapons training to uniformed service members, technical analysts, combat developers and trainers and for many readers, the cataloging and preservation of valuable small arms historical and technical materials and collections from countless notable small arms experts and organizations.

The annual NDIA Chinn Award is named after US Marine Corps LtCol George M. Chinn and is awarded to those who have made significant contributions to the academic study and research or publishing related to military or infantry small arms. Since the award was first created in 1988, NDIA Chinn Award recipients include small arms industry stalwarts like Dr. Edward C. Ezell, L. James Sullivan, Ronnie Barrett, George E. Kontis, C. Reed Knight, Jr., Phil “Doc” Dater and Richard “Dick” Swan, to name a few.

Dan fits in very well indeed as one of 28 recipients for all that he has accomplished since he started his first machine gun business in the mid-1970s after ETS from the US Army. Dan is also unique in the history of the Chinn Award in that he personally knew most of the previous award recipients, as well as Colonel Chinn. Dan has in fact conducted and published interviews on many of these personalities for SAR/SADJ, or in the case of Dr. Ezell helped rescue his entire reference collection with the UK Defense Academy in Shrivenham England, digitized it and made it available to all on www.smallarmsreview.com.

As a Chinn nominee, Dan Shea is unique. Known not only for his unmatched depth of knowledge of small arms and related ordnance, Dan is also one of the most connected subject matter experts in the small arms community. Dan travels to 20 or more foreign countries each year attending trade shows and visiting factories, hotspots and armories in search of new technologies, rare collectibles and relics, forgotten reference works and training aids and materials. Dan is well connected to senior government officials and industry leaders worldwide and through those relationships has access few others enjoy. As a result, Dan Shea can provide invaluable assistance to his customers be they military or civilian. Well known for his “RKI” (Reasonably Knowledgeable Individual) definition that applies to most “experts” in the small arms world, Dan is a true subject matter expert with few peers in any regard. While some “know guns” Dan knows far more and is able and always willing to convey that hard-earned expertise to those engaged in the fight against the adversaries of freedom. Dan and his companies have and still provide invaluable threat weapons training to our uniformed service members who face those weapons down range and has been since 1984 when he conducted the first foreign weapons class to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Devens

Massachusetts. Knowing the real capabilities versus the reported myths and understanding methods to identify and/or counter those threats saves lives on the battlefield. Dan and his wife and long-time successful business partner Debbie, have shipped free of charge some 160,000 copies of SAR and SADJ to troops stationed overseas to help them pass the time on long deployments.

Like the namesake for the award, Dan Shea is one who enjoys sharing his expertise and the vast array of knowledge he has collected over the decades. Where some might hoard and protect what they know, Dan shares it unselfishly and in many ways. He has penned more than 1100 articles since the 1980s and has served as Technical Editor for various magazines, technical books and briefings and the invaluable “NFA Handbook.” He created the “Machine Gun Dealers Bible” and today is working on the 5th edition. He is well known as one of the top authorities on NFA, State Department and Customs import/export and ITAR rules and regulations and provides that advice and expertise to those in need. Dan has consulted with countless government agencies, foreign governments and many industry companies on everything from small caliber ammunition to tracked radar-guided anti-aircraft systems. The elite agencies that provided endorsement letters in support of Dan’s Chinn Award nomination referenced Dan’s important technical and logistical support as being key in their mission success.

The author has witnessed the level of Dan’s expertise and willingness to share it freely in the US and abroad on many occasions, each one memorable. At the UK Defense Academy in 2010, I marveled when Dan schooled numerous retired British Army veterans on the use of a Lee-Enfield rifle as the third leg of a BREN gun anti-aircraft mount. They had never seen that before. He then went on to inform the curator there that his prized 12.7mm Russian Yak-B’s were incomplete without the blank firing cassettes employed to clear misfires. There are cassettes, and they didn’t have them. While collecting information for an article on the ATF Reference Collection for SAR, Dan named each and every loose magazine in an endless box of pistol, sub gun and rifle magazines that had been separated from the firearms to which they belonged. Dan named every one, to include the one-of-a-kind prototypes and rare examples, much to the amazement of those in attendance. Accounts such as these are endless and a credit to Dan’s passion for the topic and willingness to share his experience and endless “brain box catalog” with most anyone.

For those lucky enough to have visited Dan’s collection of weapons and rarities, the very fact that he opens his doors to most anyone illustrates his willingness to educate others on the fruits of his passion. Dan has been and remains today an inventor, author, researcher and historian, demonstrator, collector, privateer and arms dealer, international traveler and teacher. He is revered today in the community and will be remembered for a very long time, like those who have come before him on the Chinn Award trophy. E. Daniel Shea will be honored for his lifelong contributions to the field of small arms at the 2017 NDIA Armament’s Forum in Fredericksburg Virginia during the first week in May. Join the industry in this celebration by registering at http://www.ndia.org/events/2017/5/1/2017-armament-systems-forum.

2017 Hathcock Award goes to Todd Hodnett

I met Todd Hodnett in 2007 after hearing that I needed to meet “this Guy” that was revolutionizing the Sniper community with new training and techniques. Todd was teaching Long Range Sniper Training at locations in Texas and Utah and impressed the sniper community. As a Former Marine Corps Scout Sniper and completing both the Scout Sniper Basic and Advanced Courses, I felt confident that what Todd was teaching would augment what I already knew about this craft and would ultimately be another opportunity to hone critical skills. What I quickly learned though was that Todd Hodnett had thrown out a lot of what I was instructed in and had developed new techniques and equipment to enable the snipers of today with capabilities that my generation could only dream about.

Raised in the Heart of Texas, Todd spent a lifetime preparing for his current role. He first started shooting scoped rifles when he was 6 years old. The need to hunt effectively within West Texas requires keen ability and some luck. Todd’s skills with firearms were not limited rifles, he worked aggressively to compete and become the National Champion in Cowboy Action Shooting. While competing, Todd was asked to train some military personnel on Advanced Pistol skills which lead to training in precision long-range shooting. Collaborations with Industry lead to advancement of many aspects of a sniper’s capability. Case in point was one of Todd’s promotions of a gridded “holding” reticle. While this type of reticle was reserved for match shooters, Todd was able to modernize these reticles, and today they are the standard. Before long, Todd was training instructors from the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School and US Army Sniper School. In addition, he was quite an influence teaching instructors from all elements of Special Operations Command and Joint Special Operations Command. This quickly led to Federal Law Enforcement with FBI Hostage Rescue Team, Secret Service Counter Sniper and entities within the Intelligence Community signing up for this coveted opportunity. Today, Todd teaches every sniper instructor group in the US Military. His teachings have established new doctrine within many of these organizations and sniper schools. Todd has developed formulas, such as his Wind Formula, that provide quick reference and enable fast sniper engagement.

While working for an Electro Optics Company that produced high-end laser range finders, I worked with Todd to better utilize range finders and incorporate them within his training school. Todd crafted requirements for a smaller, lighter, less expensive range finder that ultimately became the Vectronix PLRF-05, (Terrapin). I tried to get it called the TH-05 (Todd Hodnett), but that did not fit into the marketing mystery bag of tricks. This is just one of a long line of technologies that Todd has designed or developed for the precision shooter. Todd has designed a scope level to maintain rifle position, a slew of reticles to aid in rapid engagement to include the Tremor 3 which is currently in every USSOCOM ECOS-O scope. Todd has produced training videos for those shooters not able to attend his classes, and he has developed tools such as the Wiz Wheel that will allow a sniper in the field to rapidly determine a shooting solution without the use of a computer.

What impresses me is that regardless of which military or federal law enforcement sniper you talk to, they typically have attended one, if not several, Todd Hodnett Classes and use his techniques when shooting a precision rifle. This, as some say, is the highest form of flattery, but it is also a demonstration to me that his techniques are relevant and enhance the shooter with critical technique that allows him to be successful. I cannot find a Military Sniper who does not know who Todd Hodnett is, just like that of Carlos Hathcock. In addition to his teaching, Todd continues to invest time and energy with military personnel that have suffered traumatic injury on the battlefield. Todd regularly takes these wounded warriors on unique, one-on-one, big game hunts and assumes all of the expense.

Todd could not accomplish this alone; he has a beautiful family led by his wife Shannon, two adult sons, Colby and Will, and longtime friends Mark Larue and Eddie Abraham. Todd has classes booked out for years typically and to be able to get out to West Texas and experience this is a blessing.

I consider myself fortunate to know Todd and consider him a close friend. I rest well at night knowing there are men out in harm’s way who are armed with skills honed by Todd Hodnett. There is no one in my opinion more deserving of this most prestigious award.

Historically, the annual AUSA Show is not known for debuts of the latest small arms technology. The big dollar programs like MRAP and Future Combat Systems seem to garner all the attention in their large, flashy booths and multi-billion dollar budgets. One has to look carefully for new small arms developments hidden away in the isles of AUSA. However, the fine folks from SIG Sauer debuted for the first time for the U.S. Army their latest assault rifles; the SIG516 and SIG517, at the annual meeting in October.

SAR has been invited to participate in prototype testing of the new SIG rifles. A more in-depth look into the new op-rod SIGs will appear in a future issue of SAR. For the moment we will explore the significance of yet again another gas-operated M16/M4-style assault rifle, this one from the German/Swiss/U.S. small arms company SIG Sauer.

While there are more than 30 different M16/M4-style ARs available on the market today, few have been designed as a family of weapons in multiple calibers and with modular features. Even fewer have truly novel features included in their design configuration. The new SIG516 in 5.56mm/.223 Rem., and its bigger 7.62x51mm/.308 Win. brother, the SIG517, look fairly conventional from a distance. Both are gas-operated Stoner pattern rifles employing the common multi-lug rotating bolt head seen for many decades throughout a wide range of select-fire rifles. Common features include machined aircraft grade 7076-TG receiver forgings, chrome lined barrels, free floating Mil-Std 1913 quad rail systems and various barrel lengths in multiple models. The free-floating receiver mounted rail system encompasses a user removable piston rod-style gas system that is removable from the gas block positioned just forward of the rail system. An assortment of commonly available retractable and fixed stock options, pistol grip accessories and after market trigger packs and gadgets fit the SIG rifles. The SIG516 upper and lower receivers are fully interchangeable with M16 and M4 receivers, both full auto and commercial semiautomatic models, so the civilian buyer will not be left out in the cold, and will work with all NATO-type M16/M4 magazines. Ambidextrous safety/selector levers are standard as are back-up mechanical sights. Barrel length options include 7, 10, 14.5, and Match-grade 16 and 20 inch barrels will be standard options for the SIG516. 12.5, 16 and Match-grade 16 and 20 inch barrels are planned in 7.62x51mm for the SIG517.

Where the new SIGs step forward slightly from the pack is by the addition of the well known and durable, long lasting and forgiving SIG cold hammer forged barrels and a 3 or 4 position adjustable gas regulator that is adjustable without tools for optimum function when suppressed or when using special-purpose low or high impulse ammunition, such as training or subsonic rounds. Where the true leap forward happens is not even apparent on the basic “Plain Jane” or tier two models shown at AUSA, and at the Modern Day Marine and UK DSEi 09 expos earlier in 2009. What sets the SIG516 and 517 apart from the competition is what is planned for the system in first tier “Combined Spaces Carbine” models in both calibers that was publicly debuted at the 2010 SHOT Show in January in Las Vegas that will allow for modularity of the buttstock by the operator without tools.

Compact 5.56mm assault rifles have been all the rage in U.S. units for CQB and special roles since the terminal performance demise for general combat purposes in the 1990s of the pistol-caliber MP5 submachine gun. Short barreled, highly portable and concealable 5.56mm compact carbines like the 5.56mm U.S. MK18 CQBR and 10-inch HK416 have replaced the MP5 in those confined spaces roles. Original user requirements for Combined Spaces Carbines usually demanded the reliability of the full size carbine combined with a desire for minimal overall size and weight – two competing demands in conventional direct impingement gas-operated ARs. The conventional Stoner-type AR design with its protruding six and a half inch buffer tube generally prohibits the maximum length reduction of the weapon to just a few inches (3.25 inches to be exact – not much of a reduction). Attempts to build side-folding stocks around a shortened buffer tube (a la U.S. M231 Port Firing Weapon) have never been popular with shooters. They do not greatly lessen the length of the weapon and all but destroy shooter comfort and cheek weld. Side folding stocks have to be extended before effective firing can commence. Conventional M4-style retractable or collapsible stocks allow the weapon to be instantly fired with the stock in any one of their many multiple positions but extend 6-7 inches or more from the rear of the receiver.

A modular stock system wherein any number of various stock modules can be fitted to the receiver by the operator and without tools in seconds, similar to the U.S. XM8 or MP5, has been strongly desired by many in the user community for decades. A fixed stock, MP5-style retractable stock, a side-folding stock or sniper stock, even a butt cap are all modular opportunities in such a configuration. The problem with the presence of the buffer tube and return spring usually has sidelined that appreciable system upgrade. Not the case in the new SIG516 and SIG517. SIG has found a proprietary way to eliminate the buffer tube and still keep the upper receivers interchangeable with standard M16/M4 lowers, and most importantly preserve the superior functional reliability that the modern op-rod ARs bring to the users tactical tool box. More about just how this is accomplished will be covered in the full future SAR write-up.

It seems that SIG is on track to elevate the already brilliant Stoner AR platform to new heights for the war fighter. Their timing could not be better, and clearly not a coincidence, as the release of the U.S. Army’s new “Individual Carbine” draft solicitation is expected out in early 2010. A long standing U.S. Army requirement for a Sub Compact Weapon (SCW) in 5.56mm sharing common modularity with the new carbine is also under development at the Infantry Center at Fort Benning. The new SIG516, to be produced in America in Exeter, New Hampshire, may place SIG near the head of the pack in what can be expected to be a very full field of competing systems in the first full and open commercial U.S. carbine competition since the M1 Carbine was adopted in 1941. We at SAR are watching this one very closely.

The “Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier” is the over arching US Army organization responsible for the development, procurement, fielding and sustainment of nearly everything the soldier wears or carries. PEO Soldier at each AUSA event shows off its accomplishments in small arms, accessories and related individual and crew served weaponry within its expansive and well-staffed booth. The 2007 AUSA Annual Meeting exhibit was no exception. The PM for Soldier Weapons, Colonel Carl Lipsit, was there again and ready to discuss programs and US Army initiatives and objectives, and to provide this snapshot of ongoing efforts.

XM320 Grenade
Launcher Module (GLM)

The planned one-to-one replacement for the aging M203, the XM320 GLM, is in final testing to address numerous Army requested changes deemed advantageous before fielding. The contract for this more or less Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) item was awarded to Heckler & Koch in 2005. First fielding is planned for late fiscal year 2008 and will begin with the Army’s Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). The US Army plans to procure upwards of 60,000 M320s over the next 5 years. Final operational testing includes evaluation of the day/night sight (DNS) mounting bracket and remote activation switch. A commercial hand-held miniature laser range finder will also be procured and issued with the GLM to allow for range determination to the target, the most common reason for grenadiers missing targets with low velocity 40x46mm ordnance at ranges beyond 150 meters. The M320 will provide the war fighter with new capabilities to include modular on or off the weapon use, night fire capability and first round on target accuracy within 5 meters.

M110 SASS

The 7.62x51mm NATO Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS), developed for the US Army from the COTS Knight’s Armament SR-25/MK11 sniper rifle systems, has completed all testing, is in production, and by the time this article is published will have been fielded with various US Army units to include US Army National Guard units from New York. The M110 SASS brings back to the regular Army the availability of aimed and accurate .30 caliber semi-automatic rifle fire that was lost when the bolt-action US M24 Sniper Rifle fully replaced the semi-automatic Vietnam era M21. Old lessons relearned again. When you find an auto-loading sniper rifle like the M110 SASS that can deliver accuracy on par or better than a bolt-action rifle, and with that it brings the ability for rapid multiple shot/target engagement capability, a capability always appreciated in the fast moving urban combat environment, keep a place for such a “tool’ in your infantry tool box.

XM26 MASS

As has been reported in detail in a recent SAR issue, the XM26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System (MASS) has been in development for nearly 10 years. The US Army is now close to fully fielding the final weapon and has been working on various improvements to the design. This includes a new liquid (oil) hydraulic M4-style butt stock to reduce felt recoil from the relatively light weight shotgun in the stand-alone mode. 3-round and 5-round box magazines will be available for the M26 to suit the needs of both weapon mounted and stand-alone use.

M2HB QCB

PM Soldier Weapons will have released a solicitation for a Quick Change Barrel (QCB) version of the venerable M2HB heavy machine gun before this article is in print. The requirement will be for upgrades to existing guns to be installed at Anniston Army depot and then to purchase these upgrades on new guns at a later time. This requested package, available for some years from various vendors as COTS items, includes the quick-change barrel, fixed headspace and timing, new safety and an improved blank firing adapter and flash hider.

Breaking News in US Weapons Procurement: Information that Shook Up the Small Arms Community

The last several years have been “interesting” in the small arms community, as various companies jockeyed to present replacements for our legacy system; the venerable M16/M4 rifle. At this AUSA meeting, information was available that rocked the community.

Colonel Lipsit provided some insight into the then ongoing Extreme Dust Environment testing that was being conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 2007. The test included the standard issue M4 Carbine (from US Army stock), the new SCAR-L Standard Carbine (prototype – LRIP design status), the HK416 Carbine (new production) and the XM8 Baseline Carbine (Spiral 3 prototypes from US Army stores). The M4 was tested with standard USGI aluminum magazines, the HK416 and SCAR-L with the vendor provided magazines and the XM8 with the polymer XM8/G36 magazine that is unique to that system. This test was intended to ascertain the performance of the US M4 Carbine in a severe dust/sand environment with various lubrication and cleaning methods/intervals applied. This is the third such test conducted on the M4 since 2006.

During the test, the weapons and test ammunition loaded in magazines and placed in magazine pouches, were “conditioned” in the dynamic dust chamber for 30 minutes. If ejection port covers were present on the weapons (M4 and HK416 only), they were closed and the bores sealed with shoot-through dust caps, SOP for soldiers in such environments. 120 rounds were then fired through each sample. The weapons were then re-exposed in the chamber again and another 120 rounds fired. At 600 round intervals the weapons were field stripped and wiped down. Lubrication was applied as per the manufacturers established guidelines for this test. At 1,200 rounds, the weapons were thoroughly cleaned. Testing continued to 6,000 rounds on each sample, the 6,000 round figure based upon the expected barrel and bolt service life as listed in the US military M4 specification document.

This testing, started in September 2007, was conducted after pressure was applied by Congress, primarily from the office of US Senator Tom Coburn, a hard charging Republican from Oklahoma and a long-time supporter of the US ground-pounder. Senator Coburn, and his equally engaged staff, orchestrated a delay in the confirmation of the then pending and now current Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Peter Geren, during the summer months of 2007. The purpose of this delay was to force the Army to evaluate the reliability of the US M4 Carbine against select op-rod 5.56mm carbines in a harsh dust/sand environment replicating as close as possible conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even special fine silicon based sand of the light powdery nature found in the Arabian Gulf was obtained for this assessment. An earlier and similar test at Aberdeen in January 2007 of new M4s, M16A2s and M249s in this dust/sand environment, conducted without lubrication in hopes that reliability would increase, ended with poor results for the M4; far below what had been expected, with a stoppage occurring on average once in every six rounds fired. A second similar test conducted by the Army in May 2007 ended with an average stoppage rate of one in 88 rounds fired. This latest 2007 dust/sand test was conducted using heavy lubrication, and as a result of Congressional involvement and pressure, included three modern carbine systems each of which employs an operating rod-style gas system.

Colonel Lipsit was quick to remind this writer that there was no requirement from the User Proponent, that being the US Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, for a replacement to the M4 at this time. Therefore this test was for data collection only for review by the US Army in its current planning for what might one day replace the current M4 Carbine when the sole source contract to Colt Defense ends in June 2009.

First Formal US Army Test of Op Rod Carbines

With the help of experts in the community, Congress mandated that in addition to testing the baseline US M4 Carbine that this assessment would also include three other systems that stand out from the ever increasing field of more than 15 commercially available op rod ARs. These three carbines were picked because they are or were recently being considered for US fielding, or are actually blooding bad guys in combat by an elite assortment of US Government organizations as is the case with the highly regarded HK416. Already fielded with select US Special Operations Forces, the HK416 Enhanced Carbine has exceeded expectations of the elite user community that have adopted it to replace M4s and MK18 CQBRs. As has been reported in the “Army Times” over the last 16 months every tier one (classified) unit within the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has tested, fielded and continues to employ the HK416 today.

Even the US Army’s own relatively new and mostly unknown Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) selected and fielded the HK416 in 2005 but ironically has been recently told by US Army leadership that its use of the HK416, a “non-standard” carbine, creates too many questions and requests from conventional units as to why the rest of the US Army cannot benefit from the availability of superior commercial off-the-shelf op rod carbines. They were then directed to turn them in. The removal of the 416s from the AWG began in November 2007 and will likely have been completed by the time this article goes to print. AWG sources reported that even after more than 2 years of hard training and combat use, not a single part was replaced in any HK416. Because M4s are hard to come by at the moment, the AWG received FN M16 lowers (with the M16 engraving milled off and M4 over stamped) with M4 upper receivers fitted to them. The 416s were sent to the depot; their fate unclear. Superior carbines as proven by other units, paid for by the US taxpayer, cherished by highly experienced and decorated AWG unit members, removed from a highly regarded operational unit and replaced by the very weapon they elected not to field to begin with.

SCAR Lights Up the Field

The second entry within this dust test is the new SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) being developed under contract for the USSOCOM by FNH USA, a regular and proud exhibitor at the AUSA Annual Meeting. Like the HK416, the SCAR family of rifles and carbines was developed as a result of user dissatisfaction with the documented poor performance and limitations of the 40+ year old M16/M4 platform when used hard in torturous SOF environments and on SOCOM missions. Like HK416, SCAR was developed from day one with first-hand user input and has been jointly and exhaustively tested by the expected end users, to include US Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force Special Operators in environments that closely replicate those in which the system will actually be deployed. The SCAR also uses an operating rod-style gas system and thus does away with the hollow gas tube and associated carbon fouling and heat transfer issues that have plagued the M16 and M4 with their direct gas system arrangements. It also boasts barrel life expectations of 35,000 rounds or greater and 100,000 round weapon service life, according to company and USSOCOM sources.

Dust off your XM8s

The third candidate (the word candidate may be misleading as the US Army is careful to point out this extreme dust/sand test was for data collection only. The final results will be reported to the US Army Infantry Center and be included in their ongoing Capabilities Based Assessment (CBA) intended to clarify and chart the US Army’s future path or plan for future small arms, due sometime before 2010) was the now defunct, and once US Army sweetheart, polymer based XM8. Once again operating with a piston rod, or operating rod gas system, the XM8 in its final official Spiral 3 configuration set a high water mark during reliability and environmental testing by the US Army in 2005 by achieving an impressive 18,000 round MRBEFF (Mean Rounds Between Essential Function Failure) performance rating (in layman’s terms, zero stoppages or parts failures in 18,000 rounds fired). No other official developmental carbine/rifle in the reported recent history of US Army testing has fared that well, according to sources within the test agencies.

Historical Significance

Four very different weapons in the first direct comparison test by the US Army in decades. The US M4; a combat proven and highly regarded variant of the original 1960s-era ArmaLite AR-15, first officially fielded with US forces in 1964, with its aluminum two part upper and lower receiver, add-on rail system and direct gas tube-style operating system. The HK416; a highly product improved hybrid of the famous ArmaLite platform, also sporting the two-piece forged aircraft-grade aluminum receiver design and using the proven pusher rod gas system first employed by its maker in the polymer G36 rifle in 1995, and with many of the same advantages and disadvantages of the Stoner design from which the weapon was reverse engineered. Then, the shinning star of the Tampa-based US Special Operations Command; the all business SCAR-L (L for “Light” for those versions chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge). With its one-piece extruded aluminum upper receiver with polymer lower receiver and user exchangeable barrels, the SCAR represents a unique departure for a US military rifle in that is shares up to 82% parts commonality with its big brother SCAR-H (H for “Heavy” or caliber 7.62x51mm NATO), and the many modular variants in the SCAR family, to include the short-barreled “CQC” (Close Quarters Combat), “S” (Standard Carbine) and “SV” (Sniper Variant) models. All basically the same caliber-specific platform, but with different interchangeable parts available for the user to configure the weapon he or she needs for today’s mission. Finally, the son of G36: the XM8. Arguably the most controversial rifle since the original AR-15 was introduced into the US military in the 1960s due to the unconventional way in which it was developed by the US Army and the fierce resistance from within the US Army itself, and the small arms industry, to its possible procurement from a foreign vendor without a US production plant and one that is not part of the existing US Small Arms Industrial Base. The mere thought of the US fielding a replacement to the US M4 and M16 without full and open competition, and direct comparative testing with other available systems, doomed the XM8 from the very start. An all polymer rifle save the barrel, bolt and select internal parts with a separate upper and lower receiver arrangement, using a polymer magazine and offering the user a multitude of possible variants mostly configurable in the field, the XM8 offers some notable advancements in ergonomics, user exchangeable stock options galore and a very innovative multi-function sighting device combining all of the needed “aimers” (red dot reflex sight and IR laser aimer and illuminator), and all zeroed in one single and simple operation.

Early Results

While the US Army’s Carbine Severe Dust Tests had just been completed and the final report still being written at the time of writing, early intel indicates that all three op rod carbines finished far ahead of the M4 for reliability in this environment. Sources report that the XM8 performed best amongst this pack with one stoppage every 472 rounds. The XM8 was followed by the SCAR-L with one stoppage every 265 rounds and then HK416 with one stoppage every 257 rounds. The M4’s performance was one stoppage every 68 rounds, just barely 2 magazines fired without incident, and a reliability rate almost 7 times worse than that of the XM8 under identical test conditions and protocol, almost 4 times worse than the SCAR-L and HK416. Reliable sources within the community reported that an adjustment to the lubrication schedule for the SCAR-L was required early on in the test, that one of the ten HK416 test samples performed poorly having most of the recorded stoppages and thus lowering the overall score of the weapon system (had this one sample performed like the others it would have finished at the top of the pack) and numerous barrels were replaced on the M4s to complete the 6,000 round test. When presented with these reliability numbers the Army was quick to down play the significance of the results, stating that these tests were conducted in extreme conditions that did not address “reliability in typical operational conditions” and that “everybody in the Army has high confidence in their weapon.” However, this is not what knowledgeable users are saying to this author and SAR.

Easy Answer? Not So.

From all of this modern carbine/rifle technology to choose from, developed at a cost to the US taxpayer of reportedly $70M or more ($20M SCAR, $50M XM8, zero dollars for HK416), surely the US Army could select the best available carbine for our troops and get that to the field before the shooting is over. They could but one problem remains: there is no requirement for a new carbine, or even meaningful incremental carbine enhancements. The term incremental can be defined as the 75% or “90% solution” versus the fanciful so-called “leap ahead” or “100% solution” we in this country too often pursue while all but ignoring available and affordable incremental upgrades and enhancements offered off-the-shelf by industry. This writer is not talking about accessorizing existing platforms, such as the addition of different butt stocks, rail systems, sights and the like. We have done that with some success over the years with flat top receivers and modular rail systems. While this enhances the use of the weapon for the operator, it does nothing to address the basic function or performance of the operating system, weapon integrity, function, safety and/or operator upkeep.

While the users on the ground surely would welcome a new carbine with the enhanced capabilities now and very soon to be in use in US Special Operations units, the official procurement process starts with a properly formulated and approved Requirements Document. In the US Army this begins within the lead proponent for small arms, the US Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Georgia. The USAIC, as mentioned earlier, is in the throngs of their CBA to determine where they want to be in 5-10 years with US Army small arms. Shall they field a new conventional carbine in 5.56mm? Should they leverage the polymer or caseless technology being explored in the current JSSAP LSAT program? Should the new suite of US Army small arms include air-bursting, or counter defilade technology, a technology that the US Army has invested deeply in over the past years to the tune of more than $377 million for the OICW/XM25 and XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon programs?

Strategic Pause?

Thus, without a formal requirement for anything new, the US Army continues to procure M4 Carbines and plans to do so up until at least June 2009 when the current M4 contract expires, at the tune of up to $375 million on a sole source basis without evaluating other current COTS weapons. The US Army states clearly that the M4 meets current US Army carbine specifications; and it does. There is no argument to that point. Colt is building for the US Army the carbine they have asked for and has on multiple occasions proffered to the Army various enhancements to the weapon, most of which were not accepted as they were not required in the weapon specs. However those specifications were written more than two decades ago based on the then current performance of the M16A1/A2, long before the advent of the modern op rod AR, the unibody extruded aluminum receiver of the SCAR, or the highly modular and user configurable design of a modern weapon like the XM8.

The Smoking Gun: Soldier Perspectives on Small Arms in Combat

One has to question the wisdom of not leveraging the incremental improvements that the current modern crop of assault rifles offers the end user. This point is especially driven home when one reads the US Army sponsored, Center for Naval Analysis conducted survey of 2,600 soldiers that had returned within the previous 12 months from Afghanistan and Iraq and had engaged in a firefight using the M9, M4, M16 (A2 or A4), or M249 during their last deployment. While the majority (75%) expressed overall satisfaction with their current rifle or carbine, few had ever seen and literally none have used a SCAR-L, XM8 or the HK416 or anything of a more recent design. Their frame of reference is thus limited to only what they know and have seen first hand. Given a shorter and lighter carbine with adjustable length butt stock versus the longer, heavier M16 with fixed stock; who would not welcome that, especially when fighting from vehicles and in the urban environment? Surely then the M4 would get high marks when that question is asked; which do you like better? The real test would be to offer the soldier a look at and chance to handle the more modern COTS carbines developed in the past 10 years like those described above. Surely the results of such a survey would be far different. Why not field one or more of these proven, modern carbines in a combat unit, say to a company or battalion as we have done with the Land Warrior ensemble, and then let them tell Army leadership where to spend our precious small arms procurement dollars?

What has not been widely reported from this US Army sponsored study is that, quoting from page 17 of this report, the “Percentage of soldiers who report experiencing a stoppage while engaging the enemy” was 19% for both the M16 and M4 (26% and 30% for the M9 and M249 respectively). The report goes on to state that, “A large impact means the soldier was unable to engage the target with that weapon during a significant portion of or the entire firefight after performing immediate or remedial action to clear the stoppage” (author’s emphasis added). 18% of these same soldiers stated that they were unable to clear that stoppage and get the weapon running again during the course of that engagement with the M4, 20% with the M16, 38% with the M9 and an astonishing 41% with the M249. Nearly one fifth to almost one half of the unit was “out of the fight” due to serious malfunctions in their basic weapon. These are the statistics taken right from the US Army’s own report. When questioned, US Army officials were quick to blame poor soldier maintenance for the stoppages. Sadly, we have seen this tactic used before with early AR-15s in Vietnam and more recently with the British Marines and their SA80A2’s in Operation Iraqi Freedom; blaming the war fighter for the inherent shortcomings of the weapon system.

One can then see a direct correlation between operational reports from these 494 combat soldiers surveyed who reported poor reliability to the extent of complete failure to operate during the heat of battle and the recent poor results of the same weapons in the Extreme Sand/Dust Tests described above, results that some in the Army are saying are acceptable. It is certain that those 494 brave men and women were not so satisfied with the weapon when it was useless in their hands with the enemy all around.

One then must ask why our most elite units are not using the same standard issue rifles or carbines as used by our conventional forces and instead have sought out, tested, and have fielded with great success weapons like HK416, and soon SCAR, the USSOCOM MK46 and MK48 machine guns, the MK43, and every type of handgun imaginable except the US M9?

Not the Last Word

As reported last year by this writer, this subject is far from over. Congress is involved and is drafting new legislation to persuade the US Army to consider incremental and commercially available small arms, and ammunition enhancements, both of which can and would make a big difference on the battlefield for the solider, every solider, not just our most elite warriors. In fact, on page 29 of the CNA survey referenced above, and I quote, “Twenty-six percent of M9 users requested higher caliber ammunition and increased stopping power. M4 and M16 users echoed this recommendation. When speaking to experts and soldiers on site, many commented on the limited ability to effectively stop targets, saying that those personnel targets who were shot multiple times were still able to continue pursuit” (author’s emphasis added). Soldiers are asking for more reliable weapons and more capable, more lethal bullets and ammunition yet we continue to buy thousands more of the same small arms and millions more of the same cartridges to feed them. Is it a matter of money? Is it simply too expensive to field enhanced small arms and ammunition?

The Flawed Cost Argument

The current unit costs on the current contract for carbines, and the wealth of defense spending on programs like the Joint Strike Fighter ($4.2 billion) for R&D alone, or the Army Future Combat System (FCS) which in the current defense budget received $3.2 billion for R&D, places the modern and advantageous weapons like HK416 and SCAR, and enhanced ammunition types like improved “blind to barrier” bullets and medium caliber rifle cartridges, well within reach for all US military personnel. For the $430 million dollars spent since 1980 on so-called “leap ahead” small arms programs, from which no single weapon or new round of ammunition has been fielded, we could have fielded more than a quarter million new 5.56mm or 7.62mm SCAR rifles at $1,800 each, or 358,000 new XM8s or HK416s in the more lethal 6.8x43mm SPC caliber at around $1,200 a pop. (For comparison, the 2005 contract price for an M4 was $980, $836 in 2007). However the internal bureaucracy and strong institutional resistance to field something new in the way of a modern carbine and/or rifle, anything new that is available today not in 2010 or beyond, and has been proven by other users (and in the Army’s own tests) to be incrementally better and easily integrated into the forward deployed units, is both hugely perplexing and mind numbing to this writer and many others in the community.

The Bottom Line

There should not be a single day that any US serviceman or servicewoman steps off a truck, aircraft or ship without the very best small arms technology America can provide. That technology exists today. The funds for its purchase, fielding and sustainment are obviously available and are being spent, but on decades old technology. This issue is critically important as we lose personnel in combat every single day and any advantage, even one that is ever so minor, may improve the odds of both user survival and ultimately mission success. Our weapons should be the most reliable, hard hitting and user friendly weapons on the face of this round globe yet they are not, and we should be ashamed as a result. Our fleet of small arms is old and showing their age.

Aging Fleet of Old Warriors

The average age of our eight top “work horse” weapons from the M9 to the MK19 is 33 years, 25 years if you remove the oldest- the M2HB- 23 years without the M2HB and M203 and still 21 years old with the oldest three removed from the average. If our computers, vehicles, night fighting capability, body armor, rations or medical equipment were from the same era as that of our most recently adopted small arms (mid-1980s), our forces would be hard pressed to perform on today’s modern battlefield as they have so stunningly performed during OEF/OIF. With a few exceptions, such as the new M110 SASS or M107 sniper systems, we have not fielded any new small arms designs since the mid 1980s. Again, not just for our most elite warriors in units that we do not discuss in print, but for every Soldier, Airman, Marine, Seaman, Coastguardsman and Special Operator. Anything less is a sad compromise – a compromise that we are making today and a compromise that costs lives.

The German Success Story

Even the German military, who’s annual defense budget spending figure of EUR 29.31 billion (GDP 1.3%) is far below that of the US ($42.8 billion) and below many neighboring countries in Europe (GDP 2.0%) have since 1995 replaced nearly every one of their small arms, have added numerous new calibers and capabilities they had not possessed previously. Because of this successful incremental fielding approach, the German military has the most capable set of military small arms in the free world today. In new improved small arms they have fielded no less that six since 1995 to include handguns, rifles/carbines and sniper rifles, and are working on at least three more that this writer is aware of, a new 4.6mm handgun, lightweight 7.62mm machine gun and improved .50 caliber heavy machine gun. Nine new capabilities have been added to the German small arms arsenal also since 1995 and include the first general-issue Personal Defense Weapon within NATO, a 5.56mm LMG, .300 Win Mag and .50 BMG sniper rifles and two 40mm grenade launchers, both under barrel and 40x53mm belt-fed versions. No less than six new calibers have also been fielded within the German military in the last 10 years to include brand new high performance cartridges like the 4.6x30mm PDW round. While the Germans continue to investigate advanced technology with R&D funding, they have not forgotten their soldiers fighting on today’s battlefields and have applied the “90% solution” by fielding incrementally superior small arms and capabilities. The same can be said to a lesser degree for other NATO countries like Britain, Spain, Norway, Canada and others. Let us also not forget the substantial efforts of potential threat countries as well in their development and fielding of incrementally superior small arms.

Officially, the conventional side of the US Army has not tested a single one of these COTS German weapons for possible US adoption, not one, yet many (no less than four) are in use by select US Special Operations units over those standard US issue weapons available from US military stores and which are in fact comparable in cost or less expensive than the US equivalent.

The Consequences of Failing to Act

A highly decorated US Army Special Forces senior NCO recently stated as part of this debate, “Most of the boots on the ground in OEF/OIF will be the first to tell you that the enemy has no respect for our war fighters in a head-to-head confrontation while maneuvering with his individual weapon (M16/M4). An enemy who does not respect a Soldier’s ability to deliver pain or death will always bring the fight directly to the Soldier, at belt buckle distance.”

We would like to urge everyone to get involved in this, and help our service members to get the best weapons possible. They deserve our united support. Write your elected officials on Capitol Hill. Write the US Army and Defense Department leadership. Demand that we first test then field the best commercially available weapons and ammunition that industry offers today to all of our war fighters and that we do it now, not 5-10 years down the road.

By Jim Schatz

Each year, as the air turns cool in the Washington, DC metro area and the trees that line the banks of the Potomac River begin to turn to color, the Army rallies for the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition held in 2007 from October 8-10 at the Washington Convention Center. This year’s event was larger than any before it and is, as always, an excellent opportunity to see the latest military equipment on display from around the world; not to mention the small arms – the real focus of this report

Protestors

As one arrived at the site of the show, the AUSA banners flew high and proudly from the tall buildings in downtown DC. The day was clear and sunny, a perfect day for such an event and folks were in high spirits as they made their way to the convention center by taxi, the Metro and on foot. However, this feeling of slight elation was dampened by the chanting and insulting signs of anti-war/anti-America protestors roaming outside of the center and harassing the visitors and denigrating the soldiers and contractors entering the facility. Waving their “blood” stained hands in the faces of the attendees and harassing our brave men and women warriors making their way inside, one could not help but wonder if they realize that their very right to protest, to spout their anti-freedom rantings, has and was paid for with the blood of so many courageous military men and women who have sacrificed so unselfishly and so dearly for our freedoms. To their great credit, the proud and disciplined soldiers in uniform were seemingly not enraged by the actions and mindless rantings of the protestors.

Quietly and Professionally

The mood inside the building was positive, electric in a way and yet reserved. The “surge” in Iraq is clearly working. Civilian and U.S. military deaths are down and insurgent deaths are up. The Army has once again, as it has always done quietly and professionally, performed at its very best for America and for the Iraqi citizens who maybe do not yet realize fully what freedom, independence and a true self governing country is.

The Army gathers each year at the annual AUSA Meeting to celebrate its successes, recognize its heroes and in many quiet ways morn its irreplaceable loses. In 2007, there was much work to be done in all these areas.

The big news on the show floor, besides the hum about troop withdrawals and the success of the surge and the meeting and greeting of old friends and comrades in arms, was the then very recent announcement of the sizable contract awards for new armored vehicles called MRAP. The MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protection) translates to highly mobile but equally protected wheeled vehicles to provide improved protection against IEDs and RPGs. More than 6,400 RG31 MK5 MRAPs have been ordered thus far for the Army alone from just one of numerous vendor teams, BAE Systems through its partnership with General Dynamics Land Systems, while another 600 MK5Es, an extended version of the RG31, have been ordered on a separate $135 million dollar contract for the U.S. Marine Corps. These are huge contracts with the biggest defense contractors in the world. The show floor was awash with armored vehicles of all shapes, sizes and even colors (yes, there was one in British SAS desert “pink” as well). The MRAPs have proven highly effective in countering modern ballistics threats with U.S. and coalition forces. They have and will continue to save lives on the battlefields wherever they are deployed. Most countries involved in OEF/OIF are buying into them at the moment.

AAI
(www.aaicorp.com)

The U.S. Army’s LSAT (Lightweight Small Arms Technology) demonstrator program continues with further success with both its Cased Telescoped (CT) and Caseless Telescoped (CL) ammunition types. AAI reps reported that to date 6,000 rounds of CT ammunition have been fired in the LSAT LMG prototype 001 with prototype 002 testing to begin shortly. Various successful live-fire demonstrations had been conducted for U.S. Army officials at Fort Benning and elsewhere. The caseless ammunition firing weapon is further behind and is challenging the designers to solve the tough-nut chamber sealing issue that haunts all auto-loading caseless ammunition firing small arms. Reportedly, the firing mechanism is in final development with a two-part expanding chamber design similar to that of the ill-fated H&K G11 Rifle.

Thus far, 100 rounds of the rectangular DNAG G11-style ammunition, the basis for the LSAT caseless ammunition, have been fired on test fixtures only. The first cylindrical LSAT caseless ammunition was expected to be completed by end of CY07.

While still clearly in the early R&D stages of development, the LSAT program offers scalable technology that can be applied to other types of small arms such as 7.62mm rifles and machine guns. LSAT offers 35-50% system (weapon, links, ammo) weight savings, but only if system durability and soldier ruggedness can be assured. Watch this program carefully. Put your money on the CT ammo.

Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.
(www.barrettrifles.com)

The big news at the Barrett booth this year was their 240LW, an in-house development to reduce the overall weight of the U.S. M240 GPMG. The Barrett 240LW (LW for Light Weight) employs a fluted barrel and one-piece CNC machined steel receiver. Offering a weight reduction of 5.5 pounds, this brings the outstanding reliability of the otherwise heavy M240 machine gun into a more portable, maneuverable weight range of 21.5 pounds, and along the lines of lighter GPMGs like the M60 and HK21E, without the need to employ more exotic materials with questionable durability. While there is no official program for this Barrett-funded creation, one can only wonder, “Why not?” Barrett also announced at AUSA that the “BORS” (Barrett Optical Ranging System) is now available for commercial sale at $1,500 each with mount; $2,700 with the L&S MKIV telescopic sight.

Beretta Law Enforcement and Defense Group
(www.BerettaLE.com)

Beretta Firearms Company may be the longest running small arms exhibitor at the AUSA event, continuously supporting the U.S. Army Annual Meeting for more than 23 years. The newest product on display at the Beretta booth this year was the new Px4 Storm Subcompact Pistol. Available in calibers 9x19mm Luger and .40 S&W, the Px4 Subcompact, with 3-inch barrel, weighs only 26 ounces and holds an impressive number of cartridges (thirteen 9mm rounds or ten .40 S&W rounds) for such adiminutive pistol.

Colt Defense, LLC
(www.colt.com)

This year Colt came to the AUSA Show to impress the attendees with new and long awaited developments in the M4 family of weapons. This includes the open public display (and even disassembly) of thehighly secretive M5 Advanced Military Carbine with piston operated gas system, Colt’s new patented aluminum rail system offering 100% return to zero capability and redesigned front sight assembly. Other unique features include barrel heat sink and airflow grooves to help cool a hot barrel and reduce the occurrence of cook off. Colt claims the new op rod M4 has fired over 12,000 rounds without cleaning or stoppages. It is even fitted with proprietary drain system to allow for over-thebeach use wherein the operator can safely fire the weapon without the need to first fully drain water from the interior of the weapon.

In addition to the Colt LE1020 Law Enforcement Carbine with piston operated gas system, Colt representatives were also showing SLA models of various prototype folding stocks for use with the M4 and M5 Carbines to reduce the overall length of the weapon to compact PDW size. The Colt 5.56mm PDW, as it was being referred to, sports a 10.3-inch barrel, new buffer and spring built into the back of the bolt carrier, 3-position QD sling attachment points and LaserMax vertical foregrip with green aiming laser. Firing at 700-900 rounds per minute, the Colt 5.56mm PDW stands ready for the release of the long rumored requirement from the U.S. Army for a rifle-caliber Personal Defense Weapon. At the time of writing, little additional information was available on any such release by the U.S. Army for such a weapon. However, according to sources within PEO Soldier, this requirement is still being written by the user proponent.

FNH U.S.A, LLC
(www.fnhusa.com)

The big news at the FN booth was, of course, SCAR. If reports from both company representatives and from U.S. officials are correct, the SCAR Light and Heavy models and the 40mm EGLM grenade launcher could enter series production as early as March 2008. Reportedly production, fielding and logistical funds have been programmed for full SCAR (12-16 thousand units) and EGLM fielding within USSOCOM once the full production Milestone C decision is made. This is expected to come after the final Operational Test (OT) report is completed and reviewed. At the time of writing, the USSOCOM was finishing up the last of the OT phases with U.S. Army Rangers and Special Forces, U.S. Navy SEALs and U.S. Marine Corps MARSOC personnel. One interesting note was that the BOI (Basis of Issue), which was originally heavy on the SCAR-L (5.56x45mm NATO) side, has now been revamped and it shifted to the SCAR-H (7.62x51mm NATO) variants at the request of the user community. Maybe someone in the SOF world knows something we don’t? An 85% commonality of parts between the SCAR-L and SCAR-H certainly will help to reduce the logistical burden on the organization, especially when one considers just how many different weapons the SCAR family will eventually replace.

The SCAR-L was also involved in the congressionally mandated Extreme Sand/Dust Tests at Aberdeen in 2007 wherein it competed against its potential rivals in the U.S. DoD rifle market. This included the XM8, HK416 and Colt M4. Reportedly, the SCAR-L completed the test with good results but not before a change in the lubrication cycle was required to insure reliable function and test completion. The op rod SCAR-L did reportedly finish ahead of the direct gas operated M4 along with the other two operating rod carbines tested.

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products
(www.gdatp.com)

(GD) announced that the .50 caliber XM312 is now a separate effort split from the Army’s Future Combat System program and has received some close attention from the U.S. Army and USSOCOM recently for potential replacement of the venerable M2HB heavy machine gun. The XM312 has been modified to accept the standard U.S. M9 disintegrating metal link belt common to the U.S. M2HB. Due to the light weight and reduced recoil of the XM312, it can be mounted and employed anywhere a 7.62x51mm M240 GPMG can be used. Under the current schedule, Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the XM312 is anticipated to begin in 2010 with full production to begin in 2011.

GD representatives also stated that M2HB and MK19 production is “maxed out” at the moment with series production ramped up to meet U.S. and foreign friendly requirements. Approximately 1,800 to over 2,000 of each will have been procured during CY07.

NAMMO
(www.nammo.com)

If you want to witness ammunition and ordnance perfection and innovation, the NAMMO booth at AUSA is the one to visit. Makers of some of the finest high performance small arms ammunition in the world, to include the armor piercing M995 (5.56x45mm NATO) and M993 (7.62x51mm NATO) rounds, they also have an IR Tracer round now in final U.S. Navy qualification testing for use with passive night vision devices. Most notably the progress of the preprogrammed air bursting 40x53mm HV ammunition for the U.S. MK47 Striker ALGL (Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launder) is now in final type classification in the U.S. 90,000 rounds will have been delivered to the USSOCOM by December 2007 for combat evaluations by USSOCOM and other U.S. Army units.

Night Vision Systems
(www.nightvisionsystems.com)

NVS had on display the clip-on Knight’s Armament Company Universal Night Scope Thermal (UNST), or model M890. The maker claims this small 23-ounce device, mounted forward of a variety of optical and reflex sights, can provide human target detection up to 1,000 meters. The UNST can be quickly detached via the throw lever mount, fits on most any rifle or scope and can even be used in a hand held mode when detached.

ST Kinetics
(www.stengg.com)

Singapore based ST Kinetics had on display in their booth a series production sample of their new Air Bursting Modular System (ABMS) for any 40x53mm grenade machine guns. This bolt-on system can be added to the weapon in minutes by the operator and allows for the use of preprogrammed air bursting ammunition to attack targets hidden behind cover, in the defilade, using their quick attach Fire Control System. Using time-of-flight technology, the ABMS ammunition contains 300 tungsten balls within its warhead and costs approximately $350-400 each. Each round has a self-destruct feature and when programmed for air burst will detonate 2 meters above the target and at any location before or after a barrier as determined by the gunner. The ammunition programming “coil” attaches to the muzzle of the grenade launcher and therefore requires no permanent modification to the host weapon. The entire system costs $50,000 at this time. ST Kinetics is also currently working on a 40x46mm LV air burst system as well.

Part 2 of the 2007 AU.S.A Show Report appears in the next issue of SAR and covers current U.S. Army small arms programs and the results of the recent U.S. Army Extreme Carbine Sand/Dust Tests.

America has long been considered a country occupied by an untold number of expert riflemen. Volunteer militiamen and uniformed members of America’s military services have skillfully employed countless types of rifles and handguns in the defense of this country, both here and abroad, for a very long time. It is often said that a man is only as good as his equipment. While that may be true, it is the proficient use of sound equipment that makes the difference “down range.” Firearms proficiency is a direct result of ones understanding and ability to master “the integrated act of firing one round,” or the fundamentals of marksmanship, as it is more commonly known. There is simply no substitute for marksmanship regardless of the technology offered in the firearm. Laser sighted weapons with full solution fire control systems firing air bursting munitions still must be accurately aimed and fired by skillful operators to bring steel on target. Like the Laws of Physics, the fundamentals of marksmanship cannot be changed and must be applied if positive results are expected with each pull of the trigger. When applied correctly, the proficient application of the fundamentals of marks-manship can make a man armed with even a simple WWII-era bolt action rifle a very dangerous man on the battlefield. Developing, scrutinizing, pushing the envelope and applying and teaching the art of advanced marksmanship has been the specialty of the US Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) (www.usamu.com) since it was formed in 1956 by President Eisenhower.

50-Year AMU Reunion

More than 630 individuals attended the 50-year anniversary of the USAMU during a grand 3-day reunion at its home base at Fort Benning, Georgia, the “Home of the Infantry.” Sponsored and organized by the Military Marksmanship Association (www.militarymarksmanship.org), formerly the Army Marksmanship Unit Association, and the USAMU, this event “brought home” many well known distinguished rifle, pistol and shotgun shooters and their spouses to honor the many achievements of the unit and its past and present members.

Mission First

To better understand the varied mission of the AMU, one must first understand the organization itself. The AMU is presently commanded by LTC Charles Connett. A highly decorated combat veteran of the US Army Special Forces, LTC Connett directs the daily activates of the 125 member organization, which includes both military and civilian personnel. Armed with a surprisingly modest annual operating budget, the AMU is able to field, train and support winning teams and winning weapons systems, and maintain the necessary training facilities, in support of the many activities and programs described below.

The USAMU is composed of eight sections that include a Support Staff, a Custom Firearms Shop and six competitive shooting sections, or “teams” as they are often called. These sections include Service Rifle, Service Pistol, Action/Combat Shooting, International Rifle (which includes Air Rifle, Small Bore Rifle, 300- Meter Rifle (calibers up to 8mm)), International Shotgun (which includes Trap, Double Trap and Skeet), and International Pistol (which includes Air Pistol, Free Pistol, Rapid Fire Pistol, and Sport Pistol). AMU shooters compete with calibers ranging from .177 caliber to .45 ACP, 12 gauge and .300 Winchester Magnum.

Each team has its own coach and is staffed by active duty Army competitors who are also advanced instructors in their chosen shooting discipline. The Service Rifle and Service Pistol teams employ stock and/or highly modified variants of standard-issue US Army weapons such as the M16A2 rifle and M9 pistol. Past service weapons like the US M14 and M1911A1 can and are still seen on the service category ranges in competition, and at the annual National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, the zenith of small arms competition in America. Even M1 Garands and 1903 Springfields are not uncommon sights on service rifle ranges around the country.

The International teams use a variety of non-standard and custom made firearms from highly respected makers like Anschutz, Walther and Hammerli that must comply with the strict standards of the sport. International team members compete in international events to include Military World Games known as “CISM” as well as various World Cups, the World Championships, the Pan-American Games, and for those who qualify, the summer Olympic Games. In fact since 1956, AMU shooters have won literally hundreds of team and individual titles including more than 454 individual and team World Championship medals and 21 Olympic medals. This is one reason why the AMU is called the Home of Champions. As of late 2006, USAMU shooters have earned seven Olympic quota slots for the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. These slots include two male and one female shotgun slots, two men’s pistol slots and two men’s rifle slots.

Real World Contribution to the War Fighter

One should not be mislead by the highly publicized quest for gold of units like the AMU. Each military service has its own version of a shooting team and they all meet and compete throughout the year against Reserve, National Guard, law enforcement and civilian teams. Often and inappropriately maligned as “just a shooting team,” the skills and contributions of the men and women who wear the coveted AMU black cap should not be overlooked.

Since its creation in 1956, the charter of the AMU has been to raise and maintain the overall marksmanship proficiency within the Army. Unlike some other services that have career fields assigned for their shooting team personnel, active duty personnel assigned to the AMU retain their Military Occupational Skill (MOS) when assigned to the unit. New Army enlistees can enlist directly into the AMU but this has been a relatively rare occurrence. For this to occur, the prospective AMU member must have a written recommendation from an AMU coach and approved by the AMU commander. Once assigned to the unit, it is now possible to remain there for an entire career. Of course this is greatly dependent upon maintaining ones skill level at a constant national or world class level; not an easy task by any measure. Interservice transfers into the AMU from other services are also possible and recently quite common. Six or more members of the US Marine Corps Marksmanship Unit, to include two gunsmiths, have made the transfer in the past 10 years to the Army Marksmanship Unit. Candidates must first leave the service and then enlist anew into the Army.

AMU shooter/instructors train novice and expert marksmen to compete in Division/ Corps/Post, Interservice, National and International shooting competition. Not all competitors who shoot for the AMU are assigned to the unit. Many promising candidates are picked up on temporary orders from Army units of all types to travel with the team on the shooting circuit throughout the spring and summer shooting season. This provides the participants with the priceless chance to learn highly advanced marksmanship skills from the distinguished AMU shooters and the opportunity to apply and practice these skills under the stress of individual and team competition. At the close of the summer tour, most attached team members return to their units and in turn pass on these newly acquired or recently honed skills to other members of their units and other units on their posts. In many ways one can say that the AMU acts as an incubator for the Army’s overall marksmanship proficiency. Promising summer pick-up shooters may even be offered the chance for a permanent change of station assignment to the AMU.

AMU members develop new weapons, ammunition, marksmanship concepts and applications. They teach in Army schools such as the Army Sniper School, and/or run AMU-created courses such as the Squad Designation Marksman Course (SDMC) and Close Quarters Marksman (CQM) programs of instruction, as well as the DoD mandated National Small Arms Firing School conducted each year during the National Matches at Camp Perry . They provide input, write and update instructional manuals that all Army personnel refer to when conducting unit marksmanship training. They support collegiate (ROTC), regional, high school and sometimes club small bore rifle programs. AMU instructors have conducted countless small arms firing, safety and marksmanship instruction clinics to an untold number of US and friendly foreign military service members, law enforcement and civilian students. AMU “Black Hats” are often seen at public events and expositions helping to recruit civilians for the challenges and associated benefits derived from an Army career. They are goodwill ambassadors “packing heat” one might say. The Service Rifle section estimates that only 20-25% of their time is spent on competitive practice. The balance of their day is spent preparing for, teaching classes and training the trainers.

Ignore It and It Will Go Away

Marksmanship is a highly perishable skill demanding intense focused concentration, fine muscle movement, learned muscle memory from repetition and a host of capabilities not often found in most military activities. The Army’s attention to marksmanship proficiency has, shall we say, “varied” over the last few decades and started into a fast decline in the early 1980s when leadership disbanded the three regional AMU detachments located at Fort Riley, Kansas, Fort Ord, California and Fort Meade, Maryland, as well as the many hard working post AMTU’s (Advanced Marksmanship Training Units). This reduced the number of AMU experts available to regional commands and thus the access to their instruction and skills to many units sorely in need of proper and sound marksmanship training. For a time, unit marksmanship training was conducted mostly from Army field manuals by admittedly well intentioned NCOs and officers who unfortunately had no real hands on marksmanship training beyond what was learned during their basic and unit training. At the same time many Army posts canceled post unit marksmanship competitions and the crop of promising new shooters selected by the regional AMU detachments for the summer tour to Camp Perry all but dried up. The realization brought on by combat operations in “Gulf I” and elsewhere, helped refocus Army training to include sound and critically important marksmanship training, especially in the area of intermediate (less than 300 meters) and long range rifle shooting (600 meters or greater). The Army learned once again the hard way the value of the well trained rifleman as they employed Designated Marksman and Snipers to counter enemy sniper threats. The hard earned talents of the men and women of the AMU, and other like units within the other services were once again realized as an extremely valuable asset within the ranks of the Army that needed to be tapped.

Black Magic?

Competitive shooting at the level of an AMU shooter is a true form of physical human art and can best be compared in some ways to golf or free throw shooting in basketball. While is can be physically demanding at times, especially the action sports, most national and world class distinguished marksman “earn their money” in a fixed position intensely focused on the sights, or target downrange depending on the shooting discipline, with often no perceivable movement visible. Those unfamiliar with this display of high level marksmanship skill often describe a rifle or pistol match as boring. It is anything but boring for the competitor and requires great skill, dedication and an almost fanatical attention to doing the exact same thing time after time after time. That is accuracy defined from the human form. The correct action, the “integrated act of firing one round,” done over and over again to near perfection. Any golfer will know how easy that seems, but how very hard it is to accomplish consistently and under varying conditions.

The accomplishments of competitive shooters like those from the AMU are astounding, often unimaginable. For instance, take International Free Pistol. In this event competitors fire a .22 caliber single shot pistol at stationary targets at 50 meters from a standing unsupported position using only one hand to hold the pistol. The X ring, or highest scoring zone in the center of the bulls eye target, is less than 2 inches (50mm) in diameter. A perfect score in a 60 round match, fired over the course of 2 hours, is 600 points. A world class competitor will score somewhere around 565 points. That means that the majority of those rounds fired must impact within that 2 inch circle at more than half the distance of a football field. It is akin to trying to shoot a bullet down the length of a 2 inch diameter pipe without it touching the sides over the distance of 50 meters. Not impressed? Okay. Take a nationally ranked Service Rifle shooter who wins a Long Range Rifle Match firing an AMU-modified M16A2 rifle at a 10-inch X ring at a distance of 1,000 yards. That’s an M16A2 rifle with IRON SIGHTS! Still not moved? Try the AMU International Section-developed 1,000 yard Palma rifle with optical sight. Chambered for a 6.5mm wildcat cartridge called the “6.5/284” and specially loaded at the AMU, the round launches a 142-grain projectile with far less felt recoil than .300 Win. Mags often used in this match. In this match armed with these rifles the four man AMU Palma team set a new national record in 2006 (799 points out of a possible 800) by placing 79 out of 80 shots into the 10-ring at 1,000 yards. The 10-ring is only 20 inches in diameter. 53 of the 80 shots fell within the 12 inch diameter X-ring. The vast majority of the shots fell within a 6 inch group, at 1,000 yards.

Not Your High School Metal Shop

One of the little known but critically important elements of the AMU is their inhouse ability to modify, and in fact create from raw materials, intensely accurate firearms and ammunition in all categories. This is the job of the skilled gunsmiths and technicians of the AMU Custom Firearms Shop. Staffed by 15 members, which includes 5 machinists, both civilian and Army personnel, “The Shop” produces top-quality, match-grade rifles, pistols, shotguns, scope mounts, rails, buttstocks, whatever is needed by the competitors to win on the range, on modern CNC machines, such as the Fadel 22-tool, four access, CAD-programmed milling center.

The successes of the AMU shop in the specialized fields of R&D and rapid prototyping are not well known outside of competitive shooting circles. AMU has initiated and/or performed on many special programs to develop and field much needed firearms and weapon enhancements of service “rack” grade weapons in support of the US war fighter. National Match M14 rifles and M21 sniper rifles developed and in many cases built by AMU gunsmiths, have and still serve with US Army combat units today in the Global War on Terror (GWOT). AMU has been a one-stop rapid prototype shop for many special requirements for US special operations units. The concept of the 6.8x43mm Special Purpose Cartridge was jointly developed by AMU personnel working in close concert with US Army Special Forces personnel to address recorded combat failures of 5.56mm M855 weapons in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first prototypes of the highly accurate and optionally sound suppressed M16-based Special Purpose Receiver (SPR), officially type classified in USSOCOM as the MK12, was first developed at the AMU and has since served with great distinction in US special operations units operating in “the sand pile,” and other unmentionable places. AMU pistol smiths have developed highly specialized M1911 pistols for sound suppressed use by SOF personnel, a feat once thought impossible due to the locking system employed in the pistol. AMU rifle smiths have developed sound suppressed .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester Magnum caliber sniper rifles on special order for “special customers” that are highly regarded works of “functional gun art” from this very well respected organization.

Some of the unit armorers in today’s US SOF units and DoD and special law enforcement tactical units have trained, worked, consulted with or have even been assigned to the AMU Customs Firearms Shop at one time or another. Like the competitive shooting sections of AMU, The Shop is also an incubator in its own right for precision firearms and ammunition developments. The AMU Ammunition Loading Section loads thousands of match rounds each day in support of the unit’s mission, each round measured to within 1/10th of a grain of propellant. They are also working on the fringes of advanced ammunition technology to meet the unique needs of their customer base, whether they are punching holes inpaper or people.

SDMR – Bad News for the Bad Guys

It was the AMU where the Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR) was first envisioned and built to meet an urgent combat need from the 3rd Infantry Division for use during combat operations in OEF/ OIF. 240 SDMRs were built by the AMU for the 3rd ID in an effort to provide the infantry squad with a much needed counter sniper and precision engagement capability that before SDMR did not exist, and was being exploited by the enemy. Many other conventional Army units have since also received SDMRs and SDMR instruction as provided by the AMU. The SDMR is a highly modified M16A2 rifle assembled by the experts at the AMU and is fitted with a 1-inch diameter AMU-fluted match grade barrel with 1/8 inch twist for use with the 77-grain MK262 match-grade ammunition, free-floating Daniel Defense 4-quad rail system, Trijicon ACOG 4×32 reflex sight with A.R.M.S. QD mount, Harris bipod and Knight’s Manufacturing Company 2-stage match trigger with the automatic sear removed. While the excellent Charlie Milazzo 2-stage trigger is preferred, they are no longer readily available.

After modification by the AMU gunsmiths, the SDMR is capable of firing a rapid fire 10-shot group of under 8 inches at 600 yards. 10-shot groups are a far better indicator of true accuracy over 5-shots groups fired by many shooters and commercial rifle makers as they can be up to 50% larger in diameter and more realistic as to what one would experience in combat or on the range. The SDMR is intentionally left to look like a standard M16A2 rifle so the Squad Designated Marksman does not appear to an enemy combatant or sniper as any greater threat than the basic riflemen. That is likely his last mistake.

As part of the AMU SDMR effort to support combat units, the AMU Service Rifle section teamed with civilian and retired military members of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), best known to most readers as the place to acquire a USGI M1 Garand “cheap” from US arsenal stocks. These combined government/civilian mobile training teams, comprised of expert riflemen from around the country, created and conduct SDMR courses for Army Squad Designated Marksmen to insure they can get the most out of the SDMRs assigned to their units. The CMP procured 40 SDMRs from a highly respected US rifle vendor for use in joint USAMU and CMP Train-the- Trainer courses that are conducted over 35 times a year to soldiers being deployed in support of the GWOT.

Likely You Won’t Find These in Your Arms Room

The service grade AMU M16A2 and M9 pistols, used by AMU shooters in national competition, are highly modified variants of the standard issue firearms. You won’t see these on the shelves at FN or Beretta. Various enhancements created at the AMU are incorporated into the weapons to improve their “shootability” in the hands of the competitors. For instance, in the M16A2 the weight of the rifle is actually increased. Most Service Rifle section shooters prefer a heaver rifle when firing in the off-hand or standing position during the Slow Fire stage of the rifle matches. This additional weight, consisting of specially contoured lead weights added under the hand guards and within the butt stock, help to stabilize and “settle in” the rifle during the critical final aiming process. M16A2 “Service Rifles” are also fitted with 1/4-minute rear sight drums fabricated on AMU machines. This allows smaller adjustments to be made to the rifle’s zero during competition to account for the smaller targets engaged and for wind and ammunition variances experienced at long ranges compared to the 1- minute adjustments of the issue rack-grade M16A2’s that are designed and sufficient for hitting man-sized targets. 2-stage match triggers and match-grade barrels are also fitted to the AMU M16A2 creation.

Even the 9mm M9 Beretta pistol gets a thorough facelift to become an AMU certified Match Grade Service Pistol. Stock M9s are fitted with a new, reinforced Brigadier slide assembly, KKM Precision barrel, steel frame inserts, and high profile Bo-Mar click adjustable sights. The AMU pistolsmiths machine a flat on the barrel at the 6 o’clock position and add a set screw to insure positive and consistent shot to shot accuracy. An over-travel set screw is added to the trigger and the sear and disconnector are polished to provide a crisp and clean 4-pound trigger pull. In the end, the pistol is expected to fire a 10-shot group from a Ransom rest at 50 yards of less than 2 inches using match-grade 115-grain ammunition from Atlantic Arms.

There is a great deal of very clever professional “tinkering” that goes on daily by AMU technical staff in the never ending search for accuracy. In fact, it is hard to find a truly “stock” weapon within the walls of the AMU. They are there though. AMU shooters use accurized weapons for the Presidents Hundred rifle and pistol matches, but use standard issue weapons for matches such as the All-Army Small Arms Championships.

AMU Hall of Fame Inductees – Keeping “The Best” For Last

As is usually the case with all reunions, the 50th reunion of the Army Marksmanship Unit, held during October 2006, brought together many old faces and their spouses to relive old times and great accomplishments. The organizers of the three-day event planned informal roundrobin shooting events for the attendees on the AMU rifle, shotgun and pistol ranges as well as a tour of the US Army National Infantry Museum located adjacent to the AMU headquarters building on Fort Benning. The obligatory social events included Section dinners, a fantastic BBQ, a look at the draft of the 50th Anniversary AMU Book available through the Military Marksmanship Association web site, section photographs and the dedication of the new AMU Action Pistol Range, named for Army MSG William Krilling who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry during the Korean War. The last night reception at the glorious Columbus “Iron Works” was attended by many dignitaries to include the only current active duty Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, LTC Gordon R. Roberts, Columbus Mayor Robert Poydachef, LTG Robert L. Van Antwerp, U.S. Army Accessions Command Commanding General, Mr. Gary Anderson, Director of the Civilian Marksmanship Program and ten time individual World Champion and two time Olympic medal winner in 300 meter 3- position rifle, and ISSF President Olegario Vazquez Rana. Even Mr. Dieter Anschutz of the Anschutz company, long time supporter of international rifle and pistol shooting, was in attendance to celebrate his company’s 150th anniversary, as was Lones Wigger, twelve time individual World Champion and 3 time Olympic medal winner!

During the reunion, past champions were recognized for their achievements. 23 AMU members were inducted into the Section Halls of Fame. This included 1LT Joe A. Deckert, LTC John R. Foster, SFC John P. Kingeter, LTC Harry A. Lucker, and MAJ Willis L. Powell, Running Target Hall of Fame; LTC Sallie L. E. Carroll, SGM Emil W. Heugatter, 1SGT Class Barbara Hile, and MSG Ralph O. Thompson, Service Pistol Hall of Fame; and MSG Burl Branham, Shotgun Hall of Fame. Six former AMU shooters were inducted into the AMU Hall of Fame. Those persons were MSG Erich Buljung, SSG Matthew A. Dryke, SGM Emil W. Heugatter, CPT Daniel Puckel, COL Thomas J. Sharpe, and SFC Earl Waterman.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Ms. Paula Randall, USAMU Public Affairs Officer; LTC Charles “Ty” Connett, USAMU Unit Commander; Robert Aylward, USAMU Deputy Commander; SGM Ybarra, USAMU Sergeant Major; Mr. Bruce Meredith, 2005-2006 President of the MMU; Mr. Gene Clark, 20-year member of the USAMU Custom Firearms Shop; Mr. Glenn Sulser, USAMU Gunsmith, and finally SGT Robert Parks, Service Pistol shooter, for their assistance in preparing this article, and to the many volunteers who made the USAMU 50th reunion such a resounding success. SIGARMS, Ruger and various other commercial vendors deserve special recognition for their support of the reunion with the presentation of various firearms and related items.

The author would also like to dedicate this piece to fellow AMU Service Pistol shooter Dave Woodcock, a rising star destined for greatness, who tragically passed away unexpectedly in the 1980s. Had he stayed a little while longer, it is certain he would have been National Pistol Champion.

About the Author

Jim Schatz was a member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, detached to MTU # 1 at Fort Meade, Maryland, from 1981 through 1984. A Service Pistol and new Service Rifle shooter and Counter Sniper Instructor for AMU, the author was first introduced to formal competitive shooting by his father and advanced pistol marksmanship instruction under the watchful eye of Army coach MSG Oscar Gomez as part of the Advanced Marksmanship Training Unit (AMTU), a post level MTU at Fort Bragg.

Army Wounded Warrior Program

The AMU participates with great enthusiasm in the Army Wound Warrior program. Since 2004, the AMU and Walter Reed Army Medical Center have been collaborating on a program to allow select personnel a chance to train, compete and instruct at the AMU. While at the 50th reunion, I was honored to meet AMU team member SSG Josh Olson of Spokane, Washington. In his first year as a prone International Rifle shooter, SSG Olson qualified for the Paralympic Games. SSG Olson had never even shot competitively before signing on with the AMU. His goal is to shoot in the 2012 Olympic Games. He lost is right leg as a result of a RPG impact during combat operations in Telafar, Iraq in October 2003 as a member of the 1/ 187 RCT 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division. Today he moves around smartly on an Army provided micro-processing prosthetic C Leg. The Army Golden Knights Parachute Demonstration Team, according to SSG Olson, also has two Army Wounded Warriors on their team, each with below-theknee amputations. Visit the Army’s Wounded Warrior Program website at www.aw2.army.mil for more information.

By Jim Schatz & Dan Shea

At a facility in West Virginia, there exists what might be considered the home of the American Government’s firearms technical excellence, which includes a unique working firearms collection not before shown to the public. Imagine a facility staffed by highly experienced, dedicated working professionals charged with providing legally undisputable firearms and ammunition technical support to US Federal and local government agencies and friendly foreign governments. Imagine the assembly of a collection of rare, one-of-a-kind prototypes, first run samples, failed industry ideas and highly collectable once-transferable ordnance pieces ranging from the Colt AR-15 Model 607 (Model 7) to Russian Model 1905 Brass Maxim water-cooled machine guns. Conceive, as well, of the compilation of a firearms and ammunition reference library second to none comprised of extensive technical data on a world of offerings in small arms and ordnance materials. Task this organization with defining and enforcing the complex sea of applicable regulations and interpretations as they relate to the technical aspects of firearms and their classification under Federal laws. Combine all of this into one outfit and you would have the Firearms Technology Branch (FTB) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

In the ATF chain of command, FTB is part of the Firearms Programs Division, which, in turn, is directed by the Office of Enforcement Programs and Services (EPS). Few SAR readers need much of an introduction to ATF. Where this article will tread new ground is in revealing the fascinating collection of firearms, ordnance items, accessories, and dangerous and unusual pieces that make up the “National Firearms Collection” (NFC). The highly experienced staff of the ATF Firearms Technology Branch has overall responsibility for the management of this one-of-a-kind collection that is comprised of more than 10,000 serial numbered items. It is certainly safe to say that no other collection of this type exists anywhere in the United States. Small Arms Review was offered an exclusive chance to be the first and only small arms periodical to cover the contents of this fascinating collection. This assemblage of reference firearms was first compiled by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, later to become the IRS that we know today, as criminal evidence acquired as early as 1931. The items were later transferred to ATF in July 1972 when this entity first separated from the IRS and became a distinct Bureau within the Treasury Department. These older IRS-era pieces are some of the most fascinating items in the collection as they are still complete with the original hand written evidence tags.

Mission First

The mission of the FTB is multifaceted. The workforce of Firearm Enforcement Officers and support personnel, which includes armorers and administration staff, has the primary tasking to support law enforcement investigations and programs related to the use of firearms and related ordnance materials. In fact, well over half of the Branch workload is dedicated to supporting law enforcement programs and investigations. Support is rendered to US Federal agencies, the Department of Defense, to State and local law enforcement organizations, to the ATF Office of Chief Counsel, to Congressional affairs personnel, to the firearms industry, and to the general public. This includes the examination, testing, and classification of firearms-related evidence submitted to the unit as a result of ongoing criminal investigations. This can also include technical support for search warrants and technical training for US and foreign forensic personnel in areas such as tooling marks, firearms operation, and manufacturers’ markings. FTB personnel provide expert testimony in criminal prosecutions; train agency personnel related to firearms use; provide and/or assist in the maintenance, employment, and support of existing issue agency weapons; and help with the selection of new weaponry. FTB staff members are available to answer the technical questions of almost any nature and on any subject posed to them by investigators, members of the industry, and civilians. It is highly likely that if you have contacted the ATF Headquarters in Washington, DC, with a question on a firearms-related technical or regulatory issue, it would have been answered by a member of the Firearms Technology Branch. This author found the members of the Branch to be dedicated, very experienced in the field of firearms, well known within the firearms community, especially at the supervisory level, and committed to their profession; and he discovered, further, that many were hard core gun aficionados with personal interests in the history of these firearms. Many are former military or law enforcement personnel and are active in after hours’ firearms-related activities like competitive shooting, gun collecting, and the ways of the firearms community in general. They are also regular readers of Small Arms Review, when the branch copy can be located. It is reported that SAR is one of the most popular gun magazines at the FTB.

The role of the FTB armorers is to provide maintenance and support for all ATFissue firearms and those props used for investigations and trials. The level of technical expertise has to be especially complete when one considers that an armorer assigned to this unit may have to be able to set the headspace on an M2HB, determine the safety of a “home grown” firearm like a pen gun or silencer prior to confirmatory testing required in support of every criminal investigation, determine the origin and year of manufacture of illegally imported AKs from the former Yugoslavia, or decide which transferable Vietnam era AR-15s confiscated in a criminal investigation should be destroyed. There are few Government or industry conducted armorers training courses for many of the firearms in the collection simply because of the point of origin and technical nature of the more unique items.

The Firearms Technology Branch is charged with ascertaining the technical nature of illegally manufactured or modified weapons. For instance, in a case where a legal semiautomatic firearm, seized from a criminal during an investigation, has been converted to fire in a fully automatic mode, FTB Firearms Enforcement Officers will inspect that weapon and record the nature of the modifications made to its mechanism. Once the weapon is deemed safe to fire, FTB personnel have ammunition of almost any type available and an indoor firing range to conduct a live-fire test of the firearm to confirm that it does in fact function as an illegally modified weapon. This same procedure is used for silencers where FTB has available the latest sound metering technology to test the sound reduction of everything from stolen US Government equipment to improvised silencers made from a variety of items available from a local hardware store or supermarket. The Branch will also test weapons which have discharged accidentally during an investigation and those that are converted to full auto illegally. Dealing with weapons that are highly modified and possibly unsound requires careful pre-firing studies and safety assessments before they can be safely fired. To ensure staff safety when handling potentially dangerous ordnance items, FTB draws on the extensive in-house experience and judgment of its staff, and occasionally outside subject matter experts when necessary.

The FTB evaluates imported firearms to ensure compliance with the provisions of Title 18 U.S.C., Chapter 44, § 935(d). In cases where candidate firearms are disapproved for importation or sale due to non-compliance with import requirements, these articles must be re-exported or destroyed, and often are abandoned due to excess costs or tedious procedures. When abandoned, they may become part of the National Firearms Collection. If you were looking to see how not to seek import approval on semiautomatic SKSs or AKs, the FTB has many examples of failed attempts by importers to properly modify semi-auto rifles to meet importation guidelines. We saw samples of SKSs with some full auto parts, full auto sear mounting holes and even one that actually had a selector lever for full auto fire. Along with these, there are firearms built in proscribed countries and transshipped to a “friendly” country and falsely claimed as satisfactory in origin.

In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C., Chapter 44, § 922(p)(1), “Undetectable Firearms Act,” FTB personnel survey and test domestic and foreign origin handguns to ensure they meet the minimum size, functional, and material content requirements for commercial sale. The Branch also tests for compliance any ammunition that may fall into the controlled category of “Armor Piercing.” And finally, and in addition to an already packed business day, the FTB must also evaluate NFA-related documents and provide comments to ATF Chief Counsel, analyze proposed new legislation when requested by the Office of Public and Governmental Affairs, prepare all correspondence concerning the classification of firearms as “curios” or “relics,” and prepare correspondence for importers and manufacturers concerning marking requirements for firearms and related materials.

Now the Fun Stuff 

Within the National Firearms Collection, there are all manner of weapon reference types, many that would never be seen anywhere else. This includes racks and racks of rifles, both military-style assault rifles and conventional commercial hunting and competition rifles; submachine guns in various sizes and shapes; machine guns light, medium, and heavy; sniper rifles; shotguns; and destructive devices to include single-shot, multipleshot, and automatic grenade launchers. Each weapon’s category is organized by country of origin and/or alphabetically. Below the long gun racks are cabinets with drawer after drawer of handguns arranged alphabetically by maker or country of origin, both revolvers and semiautomatics, as well as full auto machine pistols, again some made by licensed manufacturers and those illegally made in unlicensed “work shops” both in the US and abroad. Within the handgun drawers are countless examples of silencers, pen guns, flash light guns, “zip” guns, toy and miniature guns, homemade AOWs (Any Other Weapons), and even an entire line of wearable “clothing guns” that includes an assortment of belt buckle, pager, cell phone, brass knuckle, knife, arm and even ring guns.

The collection includes reference samples of various automatic sears and lower receivers, such as the wide assortment of MAC-type lower receivers in various stages of completion. Within the NFC resides an excellent collection of crewserved weapons and anti-tank rocket launchers, like the infamous RPG and the WWII-era British PIAT launcher. ATF does not purchase or accept donated weapons from industry into the collection so the vast majority of the reference pieces have been added to the collection as a result of FTBs daily performance of its extensive mission portrayed above.

The reference collection includes mostly criminal case seizures, expired bond weapons not sold during the 5-year allowable period, those surrendered by unwary civilians, and, as indicated, samples sent in for ATF review and approval by US importers and manufacturers seeking permission for import and/or sale, which in some cases are later abandoned to ATF. When asked, our FTB guide for the day and the Vault Curator answered quickly that the most common WWII “bring-back” weapons have been MP40 submachine guns, lots of MP44s, and Czech ZB26 and ZB30 light machine guns, of all things. Not surprisingly, weapons from the Pacific theater are also not uncommon. Library pieces are donated by other agencies and many have returned from service overseas as a result of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, such as Iranian-made G3 rifles included in the FTB collection. One of the more interesting unofficial “displays” was a cart marked for destruction of, shall we say, obviously well-used 1960s-era US AR-15s, M60s and M79s that were captured by the North Vietnamese after the fall of Saigon and were later smuggled back into the United States and quickly confiscated by US Customs and ATF personnel. There is even a sawed-off and exquisitely engraved 12 gauge Purdy shotgun originally valued at more than $50,000 on display No one ever said all criminals were smart.

Important Notices

As we dive into this extensive photographic collection expertly recorded by SAR Editor in Chief and Technical Editor Dan Shea, it must be stated that the ATF National Firearms Collection is not open to the public. As a working reference collection, access is available to other Government personnel involved in official business generally via request to the Chief, FTB.

It must also be stated that manufacturing firearms and/or silencers, or making certain key changes in a weapon’s configuration (overall length, barrel length, external features, etc.) or changing the function of a firearm in many cases requires special approval and licensing in advance from ATF. Readers are advised to check with their local ATF office and/ or the ATF Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide before proceeding on home projects of this nature and to always remember “All ATF rules apply.”

Acknowledgements

The co-authors for this article and the fine folks at Small Arms Review magazine would like to thank the men and women of the Firearms Technology Branch, and the leadership at the ATF, for the opportunity to see and record the fascinating and significant ordnance pieces that make up this one-of-a-kind collection for SAR readers.

“We are only now able to speak about this program publicly due to a recently dismissed legal challenge that kept the HK416 out of the public eye and out of the competition for the Special Operations Force Combat Assault Rifle, commonly known as SCAR” – Jim Schatz, Military Programs Manager, HK Defense

Much ill-informed commentary has surrounded nearly all aspects of USSOCOM’s (United States Special Operations Command) SCAR competition, particularly as to why HK was so conspicuously absent. This reporter believes the problem can be summed up neatly with just one word: Lawsuits.

When SCAR solicitations went public, HK’s versatile XM8 system was in an advanced state of development under Program Manager Soldier Weapons (PMSW) after transitioning from the Joint Services Small Arms Program. JSSAP, set up years ago in an attempt to avoid the inherent wastefulness of uncoordinated development, is the official new weapons and ammo pipeline for all the US Armed Forces. A fully SCAR-compliant version XM8, we were told, was ready for submission to USSOCOM. But it was barred at the last minute because it was a “government-sponsored entry.”

While most of us probably have some heartburn with the concept that the SCAR program’s much-touted “full and open competition” actually meant that only industry-submitted rifles could be candidates, such thinking doesn’t necessarily apply in a genuine emergency situation.

In fairness to the folks who were desperately trying to get US Special Operations Forces something measurably better than their stubbornly troublesome M4 carbines, it was a certainty that any legal challenge to the winning SCAR would delay fielding for months or even years. So, if PMSW’s HK-built XM8 SCAR emerged on top, a crippling lawsuit alleging favoritism was all but inevitable.

It is also reasonable to say that one or more of the expected entries from some big names among US and international gunmakers would almost surely meet the grade. Most anything better than the M4, fielded quickly, would be preferable to waiting interminably for other candidates to run the gauntlet of lawyers and judges.

We at SAR would like to think that these admitted speculations are prominent among the real-world factors that may explain the tough decision to disallow the HK XM8 SCAR.

But, what about the HK416? This assault carbine and rifle system was clearly an industry-funded COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) development, it likely met all the stated SCAR program requirements, and the required test samples with all bells, whistles, papers, and whatnot were ready to go into the arena of competition beginning 18 June 2004.

Back in April 2004, Colt filed legal action against Bushmaster Firearms and Heckler & Koch, alleging infringement on proprietary aspects of the AR-15/M16/M4 design. Although recently resolved in an undisclosed but apparently satisfactory manner for all parties, the lawsuit and related court orders kept HK’s 416 out of the running for SCAR.

This was unfortunate for HK’s plans, and in reality, many in the military community as well as the small arms industry had really wanted to see the HK416 put through the SCAR testing to see what it was made of. A drop on unit to fix the M4 is of great interest to many who carry it. This would have also allowed the HK416 to move onto the SCAR Heavy phase and the EGLM (Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module) section.

Operator Envisioned

Army Special Operations Command, which includes Rangers, Green Berets, “Nightstalker” aviation, and at least one officially nonexistent unit of legendary prowess, was not at all happy with the performance of standard-issue M4 series carbines. Despite SOPMOD (Special Operations Peculiar Modifications) and other extraordinary efforts over several years to identify and correct problems with reliability, durability, accuracy, and lethality, Army special operators were rapidly losing confidence in Colt’s chopped “Sixteens.” Particularly those deployed in the aftermath of 9-11 to fight Osama bin Laden’s terrorists in the harsh terrain and climate of Afghanistan.

This dissatisfaction achieved critical mass when it was determined that cleverly worded restrictions in Colt’s government contract blocked all other firms from participation in PMOD (Platform Modifications) to the troubled weapons. Unwilling to let the M4 situation continue, but not having authorized funding to attempt a “Fix” on the problems, Army Special Operations turned to a company with a reputation for solving small arms problems and doing it on their own dime.

The half century old German firm of Heckler & Koch has earned a well-deserved reputation for innovative firearms design and excellence in manufacture. US and allied special operations units are enthusiastic customers for the full line of HK weapons including the iconic MP5 submachine gun.

Relevant to this story, in the last few years some of the company’s prominent engineers bought out corporate interests and now run the whole show. This streamlined, performance driven structure is one major reason for agreeing to help Uncle Sam at no cost. The other comes from long established relationships between HK’s military and federal operations representatives and special operations personnel of all services. For Jim Schatz and many other long-time HK reps, the bottom line isn’t money; it’s men whose lives are on the line.

Mid-Life Crisis

The willingness to work on the M4’s woes without direct compensation was one thing. The ability to succeed where all others had failed was quite another. As luck would have it, HK could proudly point to an extraordinary success story in transforming the British Army’s relentlessly awful SA80 rifles from rubbish to reliability. The bullpup L85 and L86 weapons are a textbook example of a basically sound design, improperly produced and fielded in an unreliable condition. They repeatedly defied all home-grown efforts to correct their many deficiencies and, in a decidedly embarrassing development, Royal Marine Commandos had insisted on the switch to Canadian-made M16s in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

At this time HK was a subsidiary of giant conglomerate British Aerospace, so it was politically acceptable for Germans to get the rifle-rework job as a one-last-chance before the scrap heap. The short version of the epic tale of the “SA80 Mid Life Improvement Programme” is that HK’s Ernst Mauch succeeded, dumbfounding the critics and delighting the UK’s long-suffering Tommies by delivering SA80A2 Rifles and Light Support Weapons that worked.

One of the ripest areas for improvement in SA80 weapons was the magazine, a NATO standard aluminum 30-rounder of the same type as issued to American GIs for their M16s. Just like ours, the British magazines were flimsy, prone to damage, cheaply made and geometrically awkward. They had to go.

HK’s team quickly concluded that no amount of tinkering including polymer housings, synthetic followers and the like would do the trick. In short order they produced a gracefully curved, rock-steady version with heat treated steel walls and follower with anti-friction finish, advanced spring stock, and careful attention to production tolerances. It is available also in 20-round capacity and both with HK’s same proprietary “Maritime” anticorrosion coating as used on the famous MK23 SOCOM pistol.

Formal testing and combat experience have conclusively demonstrated the dramatic increase in reliability and service life from the combo of Mauch’s A2 engineering changes and the switch to High Reliability magazines. As of this writing, HK is well along in refurbishing some 300,000 existing weapons at its factory complex in Oberndorf, Germany.

Project HK416

US Special Operations Command knew all this because operators in Afghanistan got a planeload of HK High Reliability Magazines as a Christmas present in 2001. So, with a government-approved no-cost contract in hand, a purposely-unnamed “user unit” in Army Spec Ops confidently lent HK some of its troubled M4s for intensive technical and operational evaluation beginning early in 2002. Aside from some general requirements to maintain the M4’s major mechanical and handling features and keep as many of the original parts as possible, HK was to have a free rein.

Design team chief Wolfgang Bantle put the guns through all steps in the proven test regimen developed in the SA80 experience including high-speed video of mechanical action, detailed metallurgical analysis and carefully considered parts swapping.

Bantle’s assessment identified key areas for modification to increase accuracy, safety, “user friendliness” including ease of handling and cleaning, modularity, and parts interchangeability. Most importantly, he promised a significant increase in reliability as well as extending component service life to at least double that of the M4 series carbines.

Fundamental to the success of the rework was the decision to scrap AR-10/AR-15/M16 inventor Eugene Stoner’s direct gas system of operation. Indelicately but accurately described as “craps where it eats,” the M16/M4 pumps hot gas and carbon fouling into the bolt carrier and receiver with every round fired.

It must have been a no-brainer for Bantle to immediately change out the M16 gas system and plug in the HK G36 assault rifle’s piston and pushrod. An adaptation of a system first widely used in the WWII Russian SVT (Tokarev semiautomatic rifle) this is HK’s highly successful departure from its traditional roller locking system as found in the seminal G3 and MP5. Stoner’s successful multiple lug lock up system was retained. The G36 operation system has since been further modified in the XM8 family of weapons.

As seen in the accompanying photos, the G36 system in the HK416 has a gas block mounted above the barrel at a position near the muzzle end of the quad rail. Inside is a port drilled in the top of the barrel that diverts a small amount of gas as each round is fired. This enters an expansion chamber in the gas block to kick a piston rearward, simultaneously driving a pushrod against a striking surface atop the bolt carrier. Superheated gas and carbon fouling are vented at the front of the handguard.

This clever arrangement not only gives much cooler operation and far cleaner internals, it is also said to be insensitive to barrel length and variations in ammunition. Both are very important for “modularity” and multinational logistical interoperability.

Operator Tested

At appropriate stages, Bantle’s rework would be sent to the purposely-unnamed “user unit” for operator evaluation, much of which was done in extreme environments including the scorching Arizona desert in mid summer. Their feedback was carefully considered then cut into steel before resubmitting each in a succession of new and improved prototypes.

All of this was being done over many months with no monetary compensation under terms of the contract with USSOCOM. On the other hand, there was still much comfort at HK to be taken in strong sales worldwide of their full line of military and law enforcement weaponry. The future looked good for the XM8 at PMSW as did prospects for the developmental 416 system to enter and do well in the upcoming SCAR trials. Until, of course, both systems were barred from competition.

Undaunted, Bantle and his team pressed on toward the finish line. Requested improvements continued including availability of four barrel lengths from 10 to 20 inches, all cold hammer forged from the finest steel with hard chromed chambers and bores for greatly extended service life and immunity from obstructed bore disasters.

Interface between the moving parts, the bolt and barrel extension in particular, was carefully studied on high speed video then modified to optimize performance. This included refinement of the locking recesses and lugs as well as strengthening the extractor and its spring. Extending the barrel nut some 10mm yielded greater rigidity for accuracy and function, as well as giving a heftier anchor point for HK’s very important free-floating quad rail forend.

This forend itself is noteworthy for a number of design features obviously demanded by the operators. Rock solid when in place but quickly and easily removable with only a screwdriver or bolt lug as a tool, it precisely indexes to the receiver top rail at exactly the same height. Full length MIL-STD 1913 hardpoints at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions offer plenty of room to mount a catalog of SOPMOD accessories. Numbered positions facilitate exact relocation of day and night sights, IR and visible lights, grips, grenade launchers, and more.

The M4’s buffer, despite being “improved” in two stages by Colt, still didn’t perform to HK standards. Bantle’s solution called for a carefully calculated filler of granulated tungsten paired with a new spring of better materials and more consistent tension. This smoothed out the action and virtually eliminated the unhealthy phenomenon of “bolt bounce.”

Operator Chosen

The resultant HK416 Enhanced Carbine was accepted by USSOCOM on behalf of that purposely-unnamed Special Operations “user unit” in December 2004 and deliveries of production models began soon afterward. It wasn’t long before reports of combat success in southwest Asia were forwarded to HK; compensation in a very real sense for the hard work and economic uncertainty of the multi-year project.

Not surprisingly, HK now has its hands full with a flood of orders from not only the original requestors, but other elite military and federal law enforcement organizations, the names of which are carefully guarded. Program spokespersons explained to press event attendees that orders from other LE customers – however urgent – must wait for awhile. Disappointingly, the possibility of civilian-market sales of the Drop-In-Kit is “not likely in the foreseeable future.”

Lock, Stock and Barrel

Despite this list of modifications, the HK416 Enhanced Carbine and Rifle System maintain the basic mechanical characteristics of Stoner’s otherwise efficient design. So, “legacy” M4s (Colts already in the field or on the repair bench) can be quickly and simply upgraded using the Drop-In Kit by substitution of HK’s upper receiver with bolt assembly, buffer and spring assembly as well.

No vexing serial number change and no retraining to new operational and handling characteristics. Not to mention the vast increase in reliability, serviceability, accuracy, and compatibility with rail add-ons.

Of course Bantle was inspired to go ahead and fix the lower receiver as well. HK’s own 416 D (“Defense”) model lower offers superior fit and finish with pictograph selector markings and a specially flared and beveled magazine well for faster reloading. Add HK’s carbon-reinforced polymer four-position telescoping stock and you have the Mercedes of M4s at your fingertips.

Just as the SCAR is to have both Light and Heavy versions, a firing prototype HK417 is undergoing testing in Oberndorf, chambered for powerful 7.62x51mm NATO standard ammo. Rest assured that other calibers are under consideration including 6.8 Remington SPC.

Building a Better Blooper

Beginning way before but still unresolved during the run-up to the SCAR program, the Army has long been dissatisfied with the Vietnam War era M203 40mm grenade launcher; the familiar push-the-barrel-forward-to-load “blooper” (named for the distinctive sound of its low velocity cartridge on firing) is simple in mechanical function, straightforward to operate, tough and accurate enough. But there’s room for improvement and the search for an Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module has been a funded requirement under various names for years.

HK has had a better blooper ever since they took the top-break HK69 and made it open on the side instead. This deceptively simple and eminently practical change immediately allowed under-barrel mounting to most any weapon with a suitably long forearm. And, since the open breech stuck out to the side, even extra long special grenades (pyrotechnics, riot loads, etc.) could be inserted without a problem.

Improvements to the firing mechanism were also made for safety and serviceability. One in particular is the double action trigger system that, in the event of a misfire, allows multiple tries at activating a stubborn primer without the hair-raising need to open the breech every time for recocking. An unpleasant experience with a balky HE round in the chamber of an M203.

A modified version of the original HK69’s integral pistol grip was retained, giving the grenadier a truly ergonomic foregrip that’s handy not only for grenade popping but also helping to stabilize full auto fire with the host rifle or carbine. This isn’t available on the M203 where one’s hand stretches to grip the magazine and reach the trigger at the same time.

This new and improved blooper was first offered by HK as the AG36, a welcome addition to the innovative G36 family of assault weapons. It has since found favor clamped under other designs including the afore-mentioned British SA80A2 (L85A2) rifles and it does nicely as the standard 40mm component of PMSW’s HK-made XM8 family of rifles and carbines.

A slightly modified AG36 was HK’s obvious choice to compete in the Army’s 40mm Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) solicitation that kicked off in June 2004. Don’t be embarrassed if you confuse this with USSOCOM’s Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module (EGLM) program, a “spiral development” component of the SCAR light and heavy rifle, also beginning that same month. And don’t be further confused that the ARDEC GLM apparently morphed into PM Soldier Weapons’ XM320 GLM. Clear?

Anyway, the M203 is toast since HK’s GLM/XM320 entries came out on top and now, as announced in May 2005, HK Defense will soon be providing Uncle Sam’s grenadiers with as many as 11,000 side-opening forties, special day-night sights, and all the support equipment that normally accompanies a new small arms system.

As to USSOCOM’s EGLM, this automatically went to FN when the FN candidate won the SCAR L competition. HK has cause to hope that their XM320 will be under consideration as an alternate GL component in the SCAR family of light and heavy weapons.

Pistol Power

Handguns tend to be an afterthought to the regular military services. Not so for special operations and law enforcement where a quick draw and double taps are all-too-often required to satisfactorily resolve a whole lot of sticky situations.

HK has an almost overwhelming array of choices when it comes to pistols. From undercover concealment to underwater infiltration, there is a design, configuration, caliber, and compatible accessory to cover just about any contingency.

HK Defense points with justifiable pride at the “largest pistol contract in U.S. law enforcement history” coming in August of last year when the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its intentions to buy as many as 26 million dollars worth of HK pistols.

After four months of exhaustive testing of 46 models submitted by five of the industry’s most prominent names, DHS selected HK’s USP Compact LEM, the P2000 and P2000SK. Each one was selected in 9x19mm, .40 S&W and .357 SIG calibers.

Future Handgun System Candidate?

One handgun system that commanded the most attention from attendees was the USP COMPACT TACTICAL .45, intriguingly equipped with a “wet technology” sound suppressor from Knight’s Armament.

HK’s family of USPs (Universal Self-loading Pistols) has found great favor with military, law enforcement and civilian shooters who like the classic M1911 but also appreciate the advantages of updated mechanical characteristics. Among these are a patented recoil reduction system that easily handles punishing +P+ loads, super accurate and high endurance polygon rifling, choice of ten trigger/firing mode configurations, and four popular calibers from 9mm to .45ACP.

With the Army’s recent announcement of the Future Handgun System program has come intense speculation over which COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) pistol is most likely to emerge victorious as a replacement for tens of thousands of current Beretta M9s. It’s NATO-standard 9mm ball cartridge’s deficiencies have been irrefutably documented and, according to the Program Manager for Soldier Weapons, “the Future Handgun will almost certainly be chambered in .45ACP.”

Any number of worthy contenders may be found among offerings by US and overseas firms making serviceable handguns that fire John Browning’s enduring 95 year old copper jacketed bumble bee. But the performance criteria, physical characteristics, business and manufacturing aspects, plus a laundry list of other things certain to be required by Uncle Sam, will rule out most from the beginning.

HK spokespersons politely decline to speculate on any aspect of their firm’s possible participation in the Future Handgun trials. So, this leaves it up to us to look at what is available right now and speculate that HK’s likely entry will be a USP Compact – easily configured from currently available options with whatever the Army’s specs call for.

The USP Compacts are both sturdy and light, featuring a shorter trigger reach and grip circumference that make it female soldier friendly without compromising combat performance. Ambidextrous controls? Check. DA/SA/LEM triggers? Yep. Anticorrosion? Of course. Service life? 20,000 rounds minimum. Tac light mounting? Rails molded in. Suppressor? Glad you asked….

SPECOPS types will no doubt appreciate the afore-mentioned USP Compact Tactical .45, pretty much a standard Compact equipped with a threaded o-ring barrel. This allows screw mounting of many different suppressors including the Knight’s Armament wet can shown in the accompanying photos.

Bureaucrats will also appreciate the significantly lower price vs. USSOCOM’s formidable MK23, as well as modularity that allows installation of a match-grade trigger mechanism and micrometer target sight if needed.

Wartime pressures have accelerated many aspects of the weapons and ammunition procurement process but the biggest steps must be taken very deliberately. As this is written in the last week of June there is no definitive answer to several important questions involving HK weapons under consideration by the US military.

Until such time as contracts are actually awarded (and maybe lawsuits settled) for key items like the XM8, HK Defense has prudently postponed construction of the major manufacturing complex planned for the 29 acre site it has purchased in Columbus, Georgia, just outside of the US Army’s Fort Benning, Home of the Infantry. Meanwhile, its products continue to be made in Oberndorf by an engineering and manufacturing team of unrivalled skill.

These winning designs are represented in the United States by men like Jim Schatz, Wayne Weber, Phil de Garis, Bob Schultz, Sal Fanelli, George Kontis, and plenty of others who are the underlying truth behind HK’s familiar motto: “In a World of Compromise, Some Don’t.”

Visit HK Defense on the web at www.hkdefense.us. Also, SAR recommends the unofficial but highly informative www.hkpro.com.

HK416 Model 10RS Tech Specs

Caliber: 5.56 x 45mm (.223 Remington)
Operation: Short recoil piston and pushrod, fires from closed bolt
Locking: Stoner type multilug bolt rotates in carrier
Selector: Safe, semi and full auto
Cyclic rate: 700 to 900 rpm
Barrel: 10.5 inches, conventional rifling 1 turn in 7 inches, cold hammer forged
Overall length: 27 inches (stock retracted) to 30.9 inches (extended)
Weight: 7.3 pounds
Notes: Drop-in upper receiver kit is fully compatible with M4 and similar lower receivers. Optional barrel lengths
include 14.5, 16.5 and 20 inch versions. Proprietary free-floating quad rail and buffer assembly. Now in service with special operations units in southwest Asia.

HK XM320 Grenade Launcher Module Tech Specs

Caliber: 40 x 46mm
Operation: Single shot
Locking: Side opening
Trigger: Double action
Barrel: 8.47 inches, rifling 1 turn in 47.24 inches
Overall length: 11.81 inches.
Weight: 3.39 pounds as mounted on M4
Notes: Operator configurable as under-barrel or stand-alone launcher with additional components including mechanical ladder or day/night/ranging electronic sights, and detachable/retractable stock. Side-opening feature accepts extra long special purpose rounds. Modular design and open architecture for multi-weapon compatibility and planned upgrades.

HK USP Compact .45 Tech Specs

Caliber: .45 ACP
Operation: Recoil
Locking: Modified linkless Browning type
Trigger module: 10 variants
Barrel: 3.8 inch, polygon rifling, 1 turn in 15.98 inches
Overall length: 7.09 inches
Weight: 1.6 pounds
Notes: Slightly smaller version of standard USP. 8- and 10-round magazine capacity. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer frame. Recoil reduction system, 20,000 rounds minimum service life. Tactical model with threaded o-ring barrel for suppressors.

by Jim Schatz

During the 1960s development efforts in the United States resulted in the perfection of a high/low propulsion system to safely and accurately launch tube-fired 40mm grenades from the operator’s shoulder. This development quickly resulted in the design of various single-shot launchers, both stand-alone models like the well know US M79 and more importantly the add-on 40mm grenade launcher we have known for decades in the US as the M203, first adopted in 1968. Arguably the most commonly encountered add-on rifle-mounted launcher in the world and at last count used by more than 40 countries, the M203 proved successful the concept of a “dual purpose” weapons system, one that allows the operator to accurately engage point targets with rifle ammunition or area, protected or defilade targets using high explosive grenades by means of a relatively lightweight and easily portable package. With more than 20 various types of rounds available presently or previously in the United States and many more of foreign origin, the add-on grenade launcher allows the user to launch all manner of ordnance including lethal HE, fragmentation and anti-personnel rounds as well as less-than-lethal rounds and a wide assortment of pyrotechnic and marking cartridges. A great idea and an even better tactical tool.

The standard M203 attaches to the host rifle by means of a special receiver and hand guard design that is by no means quickly detachable and must be mounted or dismounted at unit armorer level. A grenadier in a conventional unit is assigned those duties on a more or less permanent basis so there have historically been few reasons to make the M203 easily removable from the host weapon. That being said, quick-detachable (QD) versions of the M203 have been fielded for the U.S. M4A1 Carbine with US special operations forces in the SOPMOD (Special Operations Peculiar Modification) Kit and with foreign users who desire greater flexibility in the configuration of their individual weapon. These QD M203’s can be quickly attached to the rifle or carbine with special integral adapters to increase the modularity of the weapon system and thus the tactical flexibility of the user. Why carry a 3-pound grenade launcher if it is not necessary? Conversely if the 40mm capability is required, it should be available to every combatant without a need for the exchange of his or her assigned rifle or the need for extensive modifications to the host weapon to accommodate the launcher. The ability to utilize the launcher in a stand-alone mode like the M79 also has some attractive tactical applications as well.

With the almost universal popularity of today’s four-quadrant modular rail systems for accessory attachment it was only a matter of time before the small arms community created an add-on 40x46mm low velocity grenade launcher that could be attached to these rail systems just as the operator might attach a vertical fore grip, flashlight or laser aimer. It would, however, be necessary to insure the rail system could withstand the constant firing of a projectiles weighing upwards of 1/2-pound launched at more that 270 fps. Heckler & Koch now offers a grenade launcher that fits this exact description and with many improvements deemed superior by various user groups both here in the United States and overseas.

Item Description

In 2000 Heckler & Koch began the production of a new family of lightweight breech-loaded single-shot 40x46mm add-on grenade launchers termed AG for “Anbaugerat” (translation “mounted implement”). The first model of the HK AG launcher to be developed was the AG36 for use on the 5.56x45mm HK G36 rifle and carbine. The German and Spanish armies now employ the AG36, providing the dual-weapon capability that was previously lacking in their armed forces. The AG36 attaches to the gas block of the G36 rifle by means of a special hand guard, which in turn is secured to the aluminum receiver of the launcher. A large removable locking pin is inserted through one of two holes through the handguard and the corresponding hole in the gas block mounted on the barrel. This arrangement insures a rigid mounting interface that easily allows 5,000 plus rounds to be fired with no damage or degradation to the weapon systems performance. As the gas blocks of the G36 are mounted at various locations on the barrels of the various variants there is a mounting position for the 18.9- and 15.4-inch rifle-length barrels and the 12.5-inch carbine barrel.

An integral polymer pistol grip is attached to the receiver. It includes a rotary safety switch with safe and fire positions, breech release button within the trigger guard and unique double-action-only trigger mechanism. To fire the AG launcher the operator uses his non-firing, or weak hand, on the launcher’s pistol grip to disengage the safety and depress the double-action-only trigger. This insures that the strong hand remains on the operating controls of the host rifle at all times. The aluminum receiver houses the side-swinging, rifled, aluminum 11-inch barrel that is spring-actuated. In the event the barrel does not spring open slots in the receiver allow the operator to manually persuade the barrel open. The receiver has threaded mounting points for the attachment of a variety of sight options.

HK AG Variants

Other variants of the HK AG grenade launcher have been created for an assortment of host weapons. One thousand AG-C launchers (“C” for Colt Carbine) were developed based on the AG36 for use on the British C8 Carbine, the Diemaco licensed variant of the U.S. M4 Carbine. Fitted with the Knights Armament Rail Attachment System (RAS), the British C8 with AG-C launcher has been in service with the British Special Air Service for more than two years, to include combat service in “the sand pile.” A variant of the AG launcher also can be attached to the US M16A2 rifle or its variants. In fact, the Dutch military employs the AG-NL (“NL” for Netherlands) on their C7 Rifle, a Canadian Diemaco copy of the US M16A2 Rifle, and their C8 Carbine, the Canadian-produced copy of the Colt M4 Carbine. In the NL variant, the launcher attaches not to a MIL-STD-1913 rail, as is the case with the AG-C, but to the standard handguard mounting position normally occupied by the standard lower handguard section. A variant of the HK launcher called the AG SA80 has also been developed for the British SA80 Individual Weapon (L85), 600 of which are already in service with British forces. With the exception of the mounting interface above the receiver, the basic launcher is identical throughout the family of HK AG launchers.

Mounting made easy

The current series-production HK AG-C Add-on Grenade Launcher is a detachable module that can be attached to the host weapon using any available MIL-STD-1913 rail, such as that found on the Rail Adapter System for the M4 and M16-series weapons. The AG-C is a self-contained launcher with its own safety and firing mechanism housed within an integral vertical pistol grip. The user can detach the HK AG-C from the rifle/carbine without special tools and fire the launcher, with decreased hit probability, in the event of an emergency, separate from the weapon as a grenade-pistol. To remove the launcher from the carbine simply retrieve the L-shaped 5 mm Allen wrench stored in the slot provided in the receiver just above the ambidextrous safety/selector lever. Loosen the locking screw completely (it is captured so it cannot be lost in the field). This screw is located where it attaches to the bayonet stud. The launcher is simply slid forward off of the mounting rail and removed from the host weapon. Reverse this order to return the launcher to the same or to a different weapon. Because the sights are attached to the launcher itself and not to the rifle, the zero of the grenade launcher is retained, thus avoiding the time and hassle of rezeroing.

Features, Operation

As mentioned previously, the HK AG-C features a side-opening (swinging) aluminum barrel that opens under spring pressure to the left with the depression of an ambidextrous breech release latch located within the trigger guard of the launcher. This feature allows the weapon to be loaded and unloaded easily from awkward shooting positions. It also provides the user with the means to fire 40x46mm rounds that are 134mm (5.28 inches) or longer in overall length, an option not possible with slide-action style launchers such as the U.S. M203. The side-swinging barrel presents the spent case directly into the waiting hand of the grenadier. No automatic ejector is provided in the HK AG-C. The spent case or unfired live round is removed manually. Finger recesses are provided at the rear of the chamber to ease extraction even with gloved hands. Auto-ejectors in a grenade launcher may seem advantageous, but their additional complexity, especially in adverse environments or when firing poor quality ammunition, may severely affect the reliable operation of the launcher. With the HK AG-C launcher the “KISS” principle was applied and has proven effective and popular with the users. The AG-C is so simple there is NO operator disassembly procedure for the launcher.

One might ask what about the left-handed gunner? How about a barrel that could swing left or right? Once again this complexity in design was avoided to insure reliability in action. The design is effective nonetheless. The lefty uses his right hand placed on the pistol grip of the launcher to operate the controls of the launcher. This places his hand at the correct location to load and unload the breech by simply rotating the weapon system 90 degrees to the right. This procedure is nearly as fast as that accomplished by the right-handed operator.

All operating controls and the sight-mounting locations are fully ambidextrous for right- and left-hand use. All controls can be operated with only the fingers of the firing hand from any firing position. The careful selection for the location of each operating control insures that the actuation and status of each control is fast, easy, intuitive and can be accomplished by the user by feel only, if necessary, as is often the case under low-light conditions or while under stress. The side-loading breech places the spent case or live round at the right-handed operator’s left hand to facilitate speed reloading during multiple target engagements or while operating under the cover of darkness. The British Special Air Service (SAS) proved these attributes superior during the testing of the HK AG-C and eventual adoption of the launcher in 2000 where the HK AG-C was selected over other existing add-on grenade launchers.

User Safety Assured

The barrel release latch and mechanical safety/selector lever are located in a position within easy reach of the fingers of the shooters strong hand. This positioning, however, also eliminates the possibilities of inadvertent activation during handling. The rotating manual safety/selector lever is positioned behind the breech in a location designed to both offer easy actuation by the user and still prevent accidental movement even if the safety/selector lever is accidentally swiped off. The double-action-only (DAO) trigger function prevents inadvertent firing if the trigger is pressed partially. A total of 11-16 pounds of pressure on the trigger are required to fire the AG-C.

The DAO trigger mechanism employed in the HK AG-C is not controlled by the opening or closing of the breech as in the M203 design. The use the trigger-cocking DAO firing system allows the user to fire the launcher through the simple squeeze of the trigger. As the HK AG-C employs this DAO trigger mechanism, the internal striker is never cocked until the very moment of firing. Thus the launcher can be repeatedly loaded and cleared without being cocked, a feature that reduces the chances for accidental or impact induced discharge. This feature also allows for multiple-strike capability in the event of a stubborn (hard) primer and the robust hammer and drive spring ensure strong primer indent even after prolonged use or in cold climatic conditions where primer sensitivity can be less than optimum. No other controls, to include the breech release latch or barrel, need to be actuated to allow for repeated attempts by the operator to fire the chambered round.

A breech safety device also insures that the chambered round cannot fire unless the breech is completely locked closed. Accidental firing caused by rough handling or drops up to 2 meters in height are avoided by the design of the trigger mechanism.

ights

As mentioned earlier, the sights of the HK AG-C are attached directly to the receiver on rigid mounts that can be removed by the operator with a simple Allen wrench. This allows the sights to be placed on either side of the launcher for right or left hand use. The dual sight-mounting points on the AG-C also provide a means to attach dual sighting systems, a reflex sight and back-up mechanical sight for instance.

Standard mechanical sights for the AG-C are comprised of a lightweight polymer folding front Patridge-style post with protective ears and a folding rear ladder sight. The rear sight is graduated from 50 to 350 meters in 50-meter increments. Adjustments for windage and elevation are possible through the use again of a simple Allen wrench.

Mechanical leaf and ladder sights in this writer’s opinion have also been the second greatest detractor from the accuracy potential of add-on launchers. The first is the 40x46mm ammunition with poor round-to-round dispersion, typical of the M781 training and practice (TP) rounds most US troops train with. Fortunately, the combat rounds are superior in their accuracy and there are excellent and very accurate TP rounds available from foreign manufacturers, in particular the NICO TP Tracer round. This training round provides excellent round-to-round dispersion – less than the 5-meter bursting radius of the cartridge. The tracer element provides a telltale visible red trace to the target, and unlike the more common orange “marker” rounds, is useful for training under low-light conditions.

To take advantage of these more accurate rounds and to eliminate the operator-induced aiming errors with mechanical sights, Heckler & Koch has developed, in conjunction with the Ring Sight Company in the U.K., a very simple yet effective reflex sight for use with the HK 40mm family of AG launchers. The Ring Sight uses a solid glass block with etched reticle pattern. This reticle provides a series of simple aiming dots, thus eliminating the need to align the coarse front and rear sights and target, a difficult task especially on targets beyond 150 meters. Simply place the fine transparent aiming dot on the target and mash the trigger. Grenadiering made easy. Increases in hit probability are easily doubled with most shooters, as is the ability to deliver multiple rounds to the same aiming point. The Ring Sight reticle pattern provides range-to-target numbers corresponding to the appropriate aiming dot out to the maximum effective range of the round.

The reflex sight is also powered for low-light use using a replaceable tritium source and can be used with NOD’s. The sight is externally adjustable for elevation and windage using an Allen wrench. The sight is mounted to the AG-C launcher on a removable mount that attaches to the receiver. On other host weapons to the HK AG launchers, the reflex sight can be attached to the rearward portion of the receiver, as is the case when used on the HK G36 Rifle or Carbine or US M16A2 wherein the sight is attached to the carrying handle near the rear sight.

Ammunition and the HK AG Launchers

The HK AG-C is fully compatible with all 40x46mm low-velocity (LV) rounds produced and in service around the world, to include all NATO and US rounds. The HK AG-C can chamber and safely fire any length 40x46mm LV round due to its single-shot side-loading breech design. This would include compatibility with programmable air-bursting rounds that are being currently developed in this caliber for launch from add-on 40mm shoulder-fired grenade launchers similar in nature to the HK AG-C. With the right ammunition the AG-C is highly accurate, more than capable enough to deliver multiple rounds within the standard 5-meter bursting radius, which is standard for the HE-Fragmentation rounds most often used in combat.

Proven System

The Heckler & Koch Anbaugerat Grenade Launchers are state-of-the-art, have been developed for ease of operator use and with guaranteed operator safety. They have been exhaustively tested in all climatic conditions to include multiple user and HK tests in the deserts of Yuma, Arizona and Kuwait, the jungles of Brunei and the cold weather climates of Norway, Canada and Alaska. They have proven rugged and effective in combat operations in Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and certainly many other unmentionable locations around the globe.

Future Enhancements

The newest variant of the AG-C grenade launcher is termed the AG-C/EGLM (Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module) and adds a quick-detachable retractable butt stock to the system. This butt stock slides into the female attachment groove that marries to the MIL-STD-1913 rail. The AG-C/EGLM incorporates a spring-actuated stock release lever on the left rear portion of the receiver. Four length-of-pull positions are available to allow the operator to adjust for various body sizes and to account for load bearing equipment, heavy clothing and especially, body armor. With the buttstock attached, the AG-C becomes a stand-alone 40mm launcher for times when the assault rifle is not required. Sling attachment points are provided for use with standard carrying slings.

The greatest promise for increased combat capability in 40x46mm grenade launchers lies in improved ordnance (more accurate, more lethal, increased lethal radius, air-bursting) as well as fire control systems that can provide not only day and night time capability but also allow the user to accurately engage targets with a single round without having to “walk” the rounds onto the target. First round hit probability out to the maximum effective range of the round must be improved to enhance the usefulness of the system while at the same time reducing the combat load of the warrior. It should be possible with existing technology to make certain that every one of the 36 rounds typically carried by the grenadier falls within a lethal radius of the intended target.

Accurate ammunition and launchers like the HK AG-C exist. The challenge to industry now is to marry these components with a sighting system that provides the precise range-to-target and corresponding ballistic adjustment to at least 5 meters to guarantee first round casualties on the target with the first round fired. If not, the first few rounds are little more than wasted position disclosures for the grenadier.

The reasons for this evolution are fairly straightforward, and still certainly valid for today’s tactical personnel. Users learned that the 9mm submachine gun was simply incapable of dealing with hard targets such as individuals wearing body armor or vehicles due to the limited terminal performance of the 9X19mm Parabellum cartridge. In addition teams armed only with submachine guns were in a bad way against their opponents armed with assault rifles, especially when moving over land to and from target locations. Outgunned basically, a transition from pistol-caliber submachine guns to rifle-caliber weapons offered the operator far greater capabilities against soft and hard targets at 2-4 times the maximum effective range of the typical pistol-caliber sub gun.

While some have questioned the use of rifle-caliber weapons in the Close Quarters Battle role many special operations units have already transitioned to 5.56mm M4 Carbine variants for this role as far back as the early 1990’s. Issues with bullet performance at close range, over penetration and ricochet against building materials have to some extent been successfully addressed with relatively recent developments in the design of new cartridges and projectiles. Today many units are even carrying 5.56mm CQB weapons that can be effectively suppressed with advanced and durable sound suppressors and subsonic 5.56X45mm ammunition loaded with extremely heavy projectiles in excess of 150 grains.

This trend towards rifle-caliber CQB weaponry, mostly in 5.56X45mm caliber, has made its way also into federal law enforcement and to a lesser degree some state and local agencies as well. Many teams have traded in or disposed of their trusty MP5’s for a varying assortment of .223 weapons. The proliferation of the M16/M4 weapons system throughout U.S. military and law enforcement communities clearly provides the impetus to the adoption of what were once considered only perimeter weapons to “inside” guns firing rifle ammunition. For reasons of unit price but more notably simple familiarization and availability, HK fared rather poorly against the gas-operated M16/M4 weapons until the advent of the new G36 weapons system.

The Gay Sechs und Dreizig (G36) Arrives

HK’s contenders since the early 1970’s were the HK33 rifle, HK33K Carbine and miniature HK53 “Submachine Gun” as it has sometimes been called due to its size, only 2 inches longer than the 9mm MP5. The FBI Hostage Rescue Team utilized the HK33K for many years during the 1980’s as perimeter guns while the 9mm MP5’s performed the inside CQB duties. GSG 9 and the British SAS adopted the HK53 for missions where compact 5.56mm firepower and performance was required, in the case of the Germans against vehicles where the 9mm MP5 had proven less than effective. HK53’s have been issued with select special operations units due to their near identical operation and handling characteristics compared to the MP5 sub gun. However, as good as the roller-locked HK rifles were, units who were already using some variant of the M16 still often overlooked them.

Americans favor rifles wherein the bolt locks open on the last round fired. The roller-locked HK rifles do not. No degree of technical justification can change that. HK33’s and HK53’s also require special blank ammunition to operate the delayed blowback bolts and muzzle devices for firing frangible ammo. They are also not supported by the military supply system or aftermarket accessory industry like countless variants of Eugene Stoner’s creation. Higher unit costs of HK33’s and HK53’s and support parts and tools also made the adoption of the roller-locked HK 5.56mm rifles a costly venture, one out of the financial pockets of most organizations.

With the arrival of the new HK G36, driven by the German military’s need for a lightweight, affordable and conventional 5.56mm rifle for their forces operating with NATO in Bosnia, many if not all of the issues that held back the roller-locked HK33 and HK53 disappeared.

In 1990 the G36 development began at HK. In 1995 the German Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) officially adopted the G36. Within the same year the newly formed German Special Operations Unit, KSK, arrived on HK’s doorstep in Oberndorf with a request to make the G36 rifle shorter. 90 days later the first G36K Carbines rolled of the assembly lines fitted with 12.5 inch barrels. Not looking to be outdone by its competition HK responded to a requirement released by the GSG 9 in 1999 for an even smaller, sub- machine gun sized 5.56mm weapon. This user request drove the development of the latest variant of the G36 weapons system, the new G36 C. Ironically the unit that first placed confidence in the MP5 in the mid-1970’s, GSG 9, would drive the development of a weapon that could be the potential successor to the MP5, and one chambered for a rifle round.

Full circle

With all the tactical advantages of the rifle-caliber CQB weapon there was a price to pay in the important area of size, weight and most importantly maneuverability in the close confines of the typical CQB structure. Fully loaded and outfitted with tactical light, sound suppressor and reflex sight today’s M4 carbine or HK53 for example can easily exceed 8 pounds or more. The excessive overall length of the weapon makes quick movement through the tight confines of CQB targets more difficult than can be managed with shorter, lighter submachine gun. The MP5 is famous for it’s overall “shootability”. The MP5 is fast and easy to be accurate with due to its unique roller-locked breech and closed bolt design, rifle-like configuration and excellent sights and trigger. The short overall length of the MP5 pays huge dividends in a weapon that can swing laterally quickly and effortlessly from target to target like a 20 gauge trap gun does compared to a larger, heavier 12 gauge- for instance. In the eyes of most professional operators only the handgun is faster that the MP5 for engaging multiple targets spread throughout a room.

Today, in fact for the past 10 years, rifles have shrunk in size to meet this growing worldwide demand for compact rifle-caliber weapons. In 1989 there were less than 6 Miniature Assault Rifles, today there are more than 30 from numerous different countries around the world. For the purposes of this article a Mini Assault Rifle is defined as a rifle-caliber weapon with a barrel length under 12 inches, an overall length of under 30 inches and weighing less than 7 pounds. These weapons are often seen in VIP protection details, during vehicle operations, by special police units and during hostage rescue missions.

The Mini Assault Rifle (MAR) today provides the handiness and fast action of the submachine gun but with the ballistic and terminal performance approaching that of full size assault rifles. Providing muzzle velocities from 2,100 to up to 2,600 feet per second or more the terminal performance of a 5.56mm projectile from the MAR even at these reduced velocities is deadly effective, even against hardened targets and targets at ranges out to and exceeding 300 meters. The shooter can now fight to, from and inside the target with the same small handy weapon. Once inside, the operator is not handicapped by an overly long or large weapon resulting in fast and surgical target engagement. The Mini Assault Rifle of the late 1990’s appears destined to be the submachine gun of the late 1970’s.

The G36 C. The MP5 replacement?

In many cases and for many potential users the answer may be yes. The HK G36 has already proven itself to be a truly modern, reliable and clean shooting gas-operated weapon. Already issued to the armies of Germany and Spain the G36 has done extremely well in the shrinking world small arms market. The modular receiver design allows various interchangeable barrel assemblies to be fitted to it by the user unit using only simple tools. Barrel lengths include the 18.9 inch rifle barrel, 18.9 inch light support weapon barrel with heavy profile, the new 15.4 inch intermediate barrel with 1/9 inch twist, 12.5 inch carbine barrel and the latest G36 tube, the 8.9 inch G36 C barrel.

The G36 is small and handy. In fact at just over 6 pounds the G36 C is a full inch shorter than the 9mm MP5A3 with their buttstocks extended. With the stocks closed the C is more than 1.5 inches shorter than the MP5A3. The use of advanced polymer materials and side folding stock make for a lightweight and highly portable weapon. To shorten the G36 C, one inch was removed from the folding buttstock and a shortened yet effective 4-prong flash hider was created to tame the muzzle blast common with short barreled rifle-caliber weapons. The right side folding stock allows the weapon to be carried covertly under a light jacket in a special concealed shoulder carrying rig. Spent cases are ejected through the skeletonized stock for use when fired from the confines of a vehicle compartment or aircraft cockpit.

Even with the shortened barrel the G36 C provides @ 2,400 fps muzzle velocity from 55 grain M193 and 62 grain M855 ammunition with muzzle energies ranging from 675 to 775 foot pounds. For comparison, standard 9mm ball ammunition fired from the MP5 steps out at @ 1,200 f.p.s. and provides a modest 383 foot pounds of energy on target. The MP5 can also not defeat most soft or hard body armor using conventional projectiles nor will it reliably perforate vehicle body panels as will the 5.56X45mm cartridge.

Where the MP5 was lacking in areas of user friendliness, the designers of the G36 C listened intently to the comments of the prospective users. The highly desired bolt catch never available on the 9mm MP5 is standard equipment on the G36. Like every G36 operating control, to include the safety/selector lever, magazine release, cocking handle and forward assist, the bolt catch button is also fully ambidextrous. It can even be switched off for those who prefer the bolt to close on an empty magazine. A common complaint of the MP5 has been the location and shape of the safety/selector levers. Hard to actuate without adjusting the grip of the firing hand, the G36 provides a much-improved rendition that pleases most every user regardless of hand size or flexibility.

The clean shooting short stroke gas piston system utilized in the G36 and the C variant brings almost no carbon fouling into the receiver of the weapon. This saves on cleaning time and reduces potentially fatal stoppages, the worst event that can occur in the middle of a CQB mission. This unique feature also guarantees reliability even after prolonged shooting sessions or under adverse conditions. As a result of HK endurance and reliability testing it has been proven that G36’s will run without incident, without cleaning or lubrication for more than 15,000 rounds.

Like the MP5, options abound

The G36 C provides the user with a host of options. Realizing that every unit and in fact many individual shooters desire specific options for the intended mission, the G36 offers modular sight systems, molded-in threaded hard points for accessory and a rail attachment on the forearm and five optional trigger groups.

The G36 C comes standard fitted with a long Picatinny rail “carrying handle” with adjustable iron sights. This rail provides a long landing strip for almost any assortment of sights and targeting devices, used alone or in tandem. Being quick detachable, the rail can be removed and optional optical, folding iron and dual sights installed with no special tools. Tritium night sights of course are available as options.

Tactical lights, lasers and vertical foregrips can be arranged on the G36 C at the discretion of the shooter on one or three sets of molded-in threaded hard points positioned on the left, bottom or right sides of the detachable ventilated forearm. Accessory polymer MIL-STD-1913 rails can be attached to the hard points with Allen screws. These rails then accept most any accessory designed to fit this now universal mounting rail, including those in the U.S. SOPMOD accessory kit for the M4 Carbine.

Tough act to Follow

Will the new HK G36 C totally replace the venerable MP5 in the CQB role? It is highly unlikely considering the Government issue abundance and universal familiarity of the current M4 and M4A1 Carbines. However, time will tell if the advantages of a sub gun size 5.56m CQB weapon can win out over issue carbines available to most users at less than half the unit price of one G36 C.