By Kevin Dockery

Few firearms manufacturers have proven themselves as successful as the Knight’s Armament Company (KAC). In just 25 years, C. Reed Knight, Jr. has taken his company from being a modest but skilled R&D shop into a unique modern military supplier. The structures that have held the shops and offices of KAC have changed from being a small two-story building in an orange grove to a sprawling complex of buildings, bunkers, and range facilities with the main plant having more than 400,000 square feet of work space.

The new location of the Knight’s Armament Company is in the old McDonnell Douglas Astronautics facility on Columbia Blvd. in Titusville, Florida. The Titusville plant is only a relatively short drive from central Florida and the huge convention center at Orlando. It is when the SHOT Show is at the Orlando center, such as it was this year, that KAC takes advantage of their facility’s location, and the invited guests of Mr. Reed Knight can take advantage of his own style of southern hospitality.

Even in the middle of January, central Florida can be a hot place, especially for writers and guests who have come down from the colder (much colder!) northern climes and countries. The well-upholstered and air-conditioned transportation put on by Knight’s made the afternoon trip to Titusville a quick and comfortable one. The crowds from the buses were filled out even further once at the plant by the number of people who arrived in their own vehicles. Any way you had arrived, the trip was well worth the time with what was waiting for everyone at Knight’s.

After a quick organization, and the filling out of the more and more common legal forms and releases, the writer community and dignitaries were invited to try out a number of products from both KAC as well as other manufacturer’s. It was trigger time again.

When the Shot Show was last in Orlando a few years ago, Reed Knight held his first open house at the Titusville facility. At that time, the primary guest of honor was General Mikhail Kalashnikov himself and an extensive demonstration was put on of the Knight Armament’s line of products. This year, the open house was a much larger affair and General Kalashnikov was unable to attend. Even the good general might feel that he missed out as instead of witnessing the Knight products, writers and others were invited to try them out for themselves.

Just moving around the huge facility was an event in itself with vans moving groups of people from one firing site to another. Part of the reason for this was the different ranges needed for the other companies that were also taking part in the KAC open house.

The first of the ranges visited was the close-in firing demonstration held by Lewis Machine & Tool Company of their M16 variations. One of the highlights at this position was a chance to fire the CQB version of their Monolithic Rail Platform upper chambered for the powerful 6.8mm round. Having seen combat with Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan, the 6.8mm round with its heavier bullet is proving to be a valuable asset, one worthy of further examination. With the radical rail system patented by LMT and machined out of a solid aluminum forging, the strength of the system is phenomenal, and the accuracy that comes with that strength is also world-class.

The LMT 6.8mm upper Close Quarters Battle specimen available for the demonstration was quick to handle while remaining controllable, even on full automatic fire. The future of the 6.8mm round is still vague at best. But no matter the caliber, Lewis Machine & Tool has a winner in their solid Monolithic Rail Platform uppers as well as their own line of receivers and complete weapons.

Transport took the groups finished with shooting at the first range to the next open range where a new line of rifles from Knight’s Armament were waiting for use. Even though we were all looking forward to examining the new weapons, it was hard not to be impressed with the layout and facilities of the Titusville compound. There were rows and rows of huge concrete and earth bunkers, leftovers from the days that McDonnell-Douglas Astronautics Company loaded up Dragon missiles on the site. The massive bunkers would hold up to the ignition of enough ammunition to satisfy the most jaded of SAR readers, while still leaving enough room to outfit a small country – or shoot up on a Knob Creek weekend. If there is an expansion into heavy ordnance in Knight’s future, the Titusville facility has more than enough assets on hand to take care of any job short of making solid-fuel space-shuttle engines.

At the next range were some very familiar weapons, with new twists that were not immediately apparent. The SR-15 series of rifles and carbines are upgraded AR-15 style rifles with a number of improved features developed by Knight engineers. On the table were a pair of SR-15 E3 URX (Upper Receiver Extending) carbines, both with KAC folding iron sights and attached Harris bipods. Inside, the carbines boasted dual extractor springs, redesigned locking lugs with increased strength, and a number of other new and patented features. The overall design of the SR-15 proved such and improvement over the original design that it was adopted as the basis for a heavy-barreled 5.56mm sniper rifle, the Mark 12 Mod 1 Special Purpose Rifle. The URX E3 carbines were to prove only slightly less accurate, and nearly two pounds lighter, than the GI Mk 12 Mod 1 rifle, but at the short range available to the shooters at that table, the guns showed themselves to be more than adequate.

It was at the last range that the wait was longest to fire the weapons, and the reason was obvious enough. To a long-gun shooter, the last range area held a real treat. On the benches were premier examples of the KAC engineers, and the lasting legacy of Eugene Stoner.

Seven years ago, the Navy SEALs adopted a modified version of the SR-25 rifle as their new semiautomatic 7.62mm sniper rifle – the Mark 11 Mod 0, a replacement for the venerable M14-based sniper weapons still in the racks. On the bench was a single example of a Mk 11 Mod 0 rifle, set up with both a sophisticated electro-optical sight and a long Knight-produced sound suppressor. The optics was a CS6000 thermal imaging sight capable of detecting human activity out to a range of 2,200 meters. All-in-all, a very serious weapons system.

Lined up next to the Mk 11 were the two newest versions of the SR-25, the recently adopted XM110 U.S. Army Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle System (SASS). The XM110 has a twenty-inch match grade 1:11 twist heavy barrel, as does the Mk 11. But the muzzle of the XM110 barrel is threaded to accept a flash suppressor. The trendy desert tan color of the XM110 rifles also made them stand out, but all the weapons shared the same basic characteristic – long range accuracy combined with a quick follow-up firing capability.

Firing some of the best weapons available might prove enough for most to spend an afternoon away from the Shot Show. But Reed Knight’s rendition of southern hospitality required that he offer much more. Underneath huge tents in the parking area near the main building were set up long rows of tables, just what were needed to partake of the excellent barbeque served up by the caterers. Keeping with the overall country-western theme of the day, Reed Knight, along with his staff and sons, were wearing western outfits, complete down to Colt single-action revolvers riding in low-draw holsters. In the background was both a mechanical bull for the more adventurous among the guests, as well as a much safer Country-Western band, the Bama Band, who were twice nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s Band of the Year Award and were for 20-plus years the touring band for superstar Hank Williams, Jr., that fired up their music in the sunset hours.

But it was the tour of the KAC main plant that really drew the crowds. On the plant floor were Mazak machining centers – quarter-million dollar chunks of computer-controlled precision. And there were rows of the big machines stretching out across the plant floor. Each machining center is capable of turning out identical parts for as long as needed, and then they can be reprogrammed to produce other components with a minimum of fuss, given skilled staff. And Knight’s Armament has 300 personnel making up that skilled staff manning the 400,000 square feet of floor space.

To help the production machines make their parts at KAC is a new Fanuc robotic arm. The bright yellow arm was twisting and turning through a complicated measuring protocol, dancing the same moves over and over for the on-looking crowd.

On the production floor, rack after rack was filled with parts in various stages of manufacture. The area was quiet for the open house, but the bins and racks of parts stood in mute testimony of the demand for Knight’s components and assemblies to aid the United States and the Global War on Terrorism.

There is something to be said for the success of a design when you see hundreds and hundreds of parts to make up the Knight Rail Adapter Systems (RAS) that are seen on many of the weapons serving in the hands of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The basic idea for the RAS came to Reed Knight when he watched footage of our troops in Grenada back in 1983. A long-time competitive shooter, Reed saw the guns in the hands of our troops with flashlights duct-taped to the forearms. Knowing that there had to be a better way to secure the illumination and aiming devices desired and needed by the troops, Knight and his engineers came up with the rail system, now used in every branch of the service.

Other components for successful Knight designs filled the bins on the floors and tables, but it was the second floor that held the crown-jewels of the tour. The Knight firearms library holds an extensive collection of weapons for study, many of them museum-class specimens in their own right. Taken as a whole, the library of firearms can easily compete with a number of large weapons museums around the world. Only these weapons are for study to help develop new designs to keep American arms technology in the lead for many of the world’s militaries. The Knight Working Reference Collection is incredible to experience.

The large number of guests at the open house had to be broken up into smaller groups to go through the plant and finally visit the collection. Since a number of unauthorized photographs of part of the collection have been posted on the Internet, cameras are strictly forbidden for the visitors to the collection. For the readers of SAR, Reed Knight graciously allowed this writer to bring a camera into parts of the collection to illustrate this article.

In the hallway leading up to the main room housing the bulk of the library, glass walls show the interiors of two side rooms housing two very special collections.

With justifiable pride, Reed Knight stood in front of the E. M. Stoner Memorial Gallery. Not just any firearms were contained in the gallery, it was a tribute to the firearms genius and hard work of Eugene Stoner, a designer and engineer well known to any who study the art of modern weapons. On the walls of the gallery were unique specimens of Stoner’s designs, most of them one-of-a-kind prototypes.

Opposite of the Stoner gallery was another room holding the examples of the products and weapons made by Reed Knight and his people over the years. A centerpiece of the KAC Shot Show booth was 6x35mm KAC Personal Defense Weapon. On the walls of the gallery were specimens of that weapon along with a number of others. When Reed was asked which of the pieces was his favorite, he reached over and pulled down a Mk 11 rifle, a particularly beat up and badly damaged piece.

The reason for Reed’s pride in that particular rifle? It had taken its damage in combat, serving in the very capable hands of a Navy SEAL.

SAR would like to thank Reed Knight and his son Trey, as well as their staff, for the wonderful opportunities they have afforded the small arms community in the past years, and to salute their commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and future development in small arms. The Knights have helped countless designers, writers and researchers over the years, and the readers of many firearms magazines, especially Small Arms Review, have benefited from this commitment to academic research. During the event at Knight’s, over 1,400 people experienced the hospitality and received a good old fashioned Barbecue in addition to their test firing demonstrations and tour of the plant and the Knight Collection. Those who toured the Collection were treated to explanations and anecdotes from Reed, Trey, George Kontis, Col. David Lutz and other employees of Knight’s, and SAR’s Dan Shea was also drafted/volunteered to serve as a guide for several tours as well. It was clear that everyone involved was proud, and indeed humbled, to help the attendees experience the amazing depth and focus of the Knight Collection. Again, SAR would like to thank the Knight’s for their generosity in sharing the history and knowledge they maintain in their Collection, and indeed, for keeping the torch alive in an age when political correctness has threatened our national security by chiseling away at our martial knowledge.

“It really goes back about twelve or thirteen years when Gene Stoner – rest his soul – and Reed Knight, my boss, got together and Reed gave Mr. Stoner an engineering and production facility for him to fulfill some of his dreams. And one of his dreams was a rifle like the SR-25. Soon after building the first SR-25 some of our special forces took them to Somalia and that’s where the SR-25 started to make its combat reputation. Soon after that the barrel was shortened from 24 inches to 20 inches and other things were changed and improved and that’s where the MK 11 comes from. That became the MK 11 Mod 0 in the year 2000. Now, five or six years later you’ve got the XM110 so there’s a clear sequence.” David A. Lutz, VP for Military Operations, Knight’s Armament Company

The fast-paced urban combat environment that quickly evolved in the Global War on Terror created shooting challenges that weren’t being satisfactorily met by the Army’s standard issue bolt action M24 Sniper Weapon System or by the limited-issue accurized M16 variants and reworked M14s. So many snipers were reporting dissatisfaction and their need was so urgent that the Army’s Program Executive Office Soldier fast-tracked a solution as authorized under the Soldier Enhancement Program. A formal Presolicitation Notice for what was soon designated as the XM110 SASS was posted on 17 Nov 2004:

“The US Army ARDEC…has a requirement for a 7.62mm semi-automatic sniper system (SASS) capable of delivering precision fire primarily on anti-personnel targets out to 1000 meters…. The offeror shall submit five (5) bid samples at no cost or obligation to the government…. The first fifteen (15) of the thirty (30) SASSs will be delivered with spare parts 30 days after contract award.” Solicitation Number W15QKN-05-R-0433

The actual solicitation followed barely two weeks later, nearly a hundred pages of highly detailed requirements in which the Army invited all comers to submit a definition-stretching COTS/NDI (Commercial-off-the-Shelf/Non-Developmental Item) for a comprehensive evaluation. Five manufacturers bravely entered the arena but when the slugfest ended Knight’s was the winner announced on 28 September 2005. Their modified MK 11 Mod 0 has earned a five year contract and recent statements by program officials indicate the Army intends to buy and deploy thousands of complete systems as fast as Knight’s formidable manufacturing facility can turn them out.

A few months after the award announcement, when the runner-up’s formal protest had been dismissed after lengthy review by the General Accounting Office, the government bureaucracy’s innumerable administrative details had been worked out, and the production process was smoothly underway, Knight’s invited SAR in for an exclusive tour of its impressive new headquarters and enormous manufacturing complex on Florida’s “Space Coast” in Titusville.

While there we got the opportunity to conduct an in-depth interview with a key player in the fast and furious process that resulted in this tremendous victory for snipers in the Army, as well as significant product improvements that are already beginning to benefit those in other branches of the US Armed Forces.

David A. Lutz, a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel with a well-deserved reputation for straight shooting in every sense of the word, is Knight’s Vice President for Military Operations. He was instrumental in development of the Stoner-Knight SR-25 into a military sniper system that has achieved tremendous success with Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and other elements of US Special Operations Command. Lutz worked closely with retired Navy Lieutenant Commander Michael Warner, who skippered Knight’s winning team in the SASS competition as Program Manager.

What follows are key excerpts from more than two hours of in-depth discussion, giving a fascinating look from the contractor’s perspective at the complex process that has led to selection of the Army’s newest sniper rifle.

SAR:The Army’s solicitation ran to nearly a hundred pages for an end-item system that was supposed to be pulled almost literally off the ready rack. Comments?

Lutz: ‘Non-Developmental Item’ is supposed to be the short cut to fielding the 90 percent solution to the guy in the field immediately. It seems to me that the generals know what NDI is, they know that’s what’s needed because it supports the troops they command. But once the program gets launched the bureaucracy below the general officer level is the same as it was twenty or thirty years ago.

There were things on nearly every page that you had to do; whether it was produce a gun or produce a piece of paper or produce a plan. If I can make a comment here, unless you’re a pretty good size company and have some pretty extensive depth of skill sets, you’re not going to be able to address these ‘NDI’ solicitations that require such boilerplate.

SAR: How did the Army’s experience with the M24 system influence the initial solicitation and subsequent modifications?

Lutz: As originally conceived – I think by the Army Sniper community – it was supposed to be a total package to include a night scope, a new spotting scope. So they put everything they wanted into it. They even made reference to a ‘sniper support kit’ that would have all these bells and whistles that you’d see – let’s say – at the S.H.O.T. show. A spirit level on the scope so you could make sure you’re not canted. A little wind direction velocity meter that you might see at Camp Perry.

Well, when the solicitation came out for this XM110 some of those extra things, so to speak, were not included in the solicitation. I think the Army wisely pared down that list.

What they were really interested in was a rifle. Part of the requirement was for that rifle to have what’s now the standard Picatinny Rail. We put such a rail system in the year 2000 on the MK11 Mod 0 so the real estate of the rail could be out front of the daytime zeroed sniper optic and could accept an attachable night sight that would not require the sniper to remove his day scope and possibly lose his zero.

SAR: You’ve shown us in side-by-side comparison that Knight’s winning XM110 is essentially the same as the SR-25 and the MK 11 Mod 0. Same upper and lower receiver, bolt mechanism, direct gas tube system, match grade Obermeyer barrel, and so forth. But significant modifications had to be made in secondary areas. Take us through those changes in the rifle from muzzle to buttstock, starting with the Army’s requirement for a separate flash suppressor and a sound suppressor.

Lutz: The MK 11 Mod 0 does not have, never did have, a flash suppressor. When the Navy SEALs need flash suppression they install the sound suppressor that comes with the system. Our sound suppressor I guess in a way is the world’s best flash suppressor as well because it masks all the flash.

A flash suppressor was not a COTS item (for the SR-25) so we had a very short period of time to adapt the MK 11 barrel which we use in the SASS but we thread it and we install a flash suppressor we designed – a very basic flash suppressor – to meet that Army requirement.

That in turn had an effect on the sound suppressor we manufacture for the MK 11. The flash suppressor makes the MK 11 barrel an inch and a half longer and it also increases the diameter at the muzzle so a new sound suppressor had to be designed and manufactured for the Army SASS. Now the working part of the suppressor – the baffle stack that’s in front of the muzzle – is identical so you get the same noise attenuation but it’s an inch and a half longer at the rear because of the impact the flash suppressor had on it.

The way the suppressor attaches to the rifle is identical. There’s two points of contact, one at the muzzle and the primary one back on the gas block where there’s a drop latch which secures it. And right behind the gas block we’ve got the rail system.

SAR: Any changes there?

Lutz: The URX – Upper Receiver Extending – rail system for the SASS is new and in fact better in some ways than the MK 11. Instead of there being some sort of slip nut between the receiver and the rail system as a means to attach and secure it, in URX form the rail system screws directly onto the upper receiver and then as the barrel nut is torqued the upper receiver and the rail become one piece. It’s much more rigid, you have the timing across the top of the rail precise with the MIL-SPEC as opposed to the MK 11. So it’s better in several respects.

Also unique to the URX is that the bottom rail is detachable by the operator. This allows the operator to take that lower rail off and clean debris, dirt, mud from around the outside of the barrel.

We developed the URX, ironically, for a completely different SR-25 requested by a certain part of the military that already had MK 11s. If possible it should be just as accurate but something that was lighter weight, easier to carry that they could use for patrolling, reconnaissance missions and perhaps even close quarters battle. So we developed the SR-25 Battle Rifle with a fourteen and a half inch barrel and a telescopic buttstock. In an effort to take as much weight out of it as we could, we developed this URX forend.

All we had to do for the SASS is make that Battle Rifle’s URX forend long enough for the twenty inch barrel SASS rifle. That was pretty easy for us to do.

We put our standard MK 11 folding rear sight on the gun. It had to have backup iron sights adjustable from two hundred to six hundred meters. But they wanted the front sight to be integral to the rail, so the SASS – as opposed to the MK 11 which has an accessory, a true clamp mounted flip front sight – so we very quickly came up with a design to make the front sight integral to the URX rail.

SAR: The Army wanted an ambidextrous selector but didn’t specify an adjustable trigger mechanism.

Lutz: The requirement asked for an ambidextrous selector and we make one of those – we’ve made it for the SR-25 for awhile so that was pretty easy to do.

Though the Army didn’t ask for an infinitely adjustable trigger, it’s common for snipers who are used to bolt action rifles to have a trigger that is adjustable in eighteen different directions. We use a very simple, reliable two-stage trigger. They’re all set here in the factory at four and a half pounds and that’s as much as they need. I know that some precision shooters like a lighter trigger pull but I think most of that experience is based on single stage trigger use.

With a two stage trigger you have an initial take up of about an eighth of an inch, in actuality uses up about a pound and a half of that four and a half pounds. So for your final squeeze your brain’s forgotten about the one and a half pounds you took up the first stage with so as you squeeze the trigger it really just feels like three pounds. It’s something you have to try and I’ve found when most marksmen actually try the trigger they think it’s fine. And when you think about the fact it’s not going to fall out of adjustment or an operator will find out subsequently it is very difficult to change those adjustments. Making it more ‘fail safe’ is the way to go.

SAR: Stock length and cheek weld are also important to precision shooting.

Lutz: The MK 11 did not have an adjustable buttstock and it was required by the Army that the buttstock be adjustable for length. In order to start off at the shortest distance possible, instead of using a standard M16A2 rifle stock that the MK 11 uses, we went back to the Vietnam-era M16A1 stock which gave us a five eighths inch shorter overall package. Our adjustable buttstock extends from that for about two and a half inches so you’ve got quite a bit of length adjustment.

Now it was desired by the Army that the stock also have an adjustable cheekpiece and it have adjustments for cant and what’s called castoff. Because those things were ‘desired’ – not required – and because we didn’t really have time to adequately address them in a sound engineering design we didn’t do any of that, we just did the required length adjustment.

Our XM110 is an M16 based design that Mr. Stoner made in what he called a ‘straight line design’ with the stock already at the proper height for a scope if you have the right height scope mount, about an inch and a half. So the contrivance of an adjustable cheek piece is really not necessary with this style rifle as long as you have the correct height ring.

And also because of the feature of the M16’s charging handle that’s right on top of the stock when retracted. There can’t be any raised portion in that four or five inches right behind it.

Our charging handle, by the way, is based on Dave Dunlap’s “Gas Buster” design that we pay a royalty to PRI (Precision Reflex Inc.) for permission to use. It has a number of important benefits, particularly operator comfort when the sound suppressor is attached.

SAR: Is the system’s day scope an “off-the-shelf” Leupold?

Lutz: One of the hardest nuts to crack was trying to meet all of their required capabilities for the scope and then to address some of their desirable features. One of the things they obviously wanted was a variable power scope that had one half of a minute of angle (MOA) adjustments in elevation, but also had the characteristics of what most people call a ballistic cam, or an elevation knob graduated in meters. In this case it had to be graduated from 100 meters to 1,000 meters.

Now there are lots of scopes graduated in meters; particularly the Leopold Tactical Series with what they call the M3 turret. But those clicks – increments on the knob – are all one MOA. To get half MOA clicks you have to accept a knob that rotates 360 degrees twice so it becomes a two turn system. Now the way Leupold engineered this, once the rifle and scope are zeroed, you can rotate the elevation knob about two and a half total turns.

The Army also required the whole rifle to be a desert tan dark earth color. Leupold didn’t make a scope that color at the time. They went right to work and now the current scopes are all hard anodized dark earth. This is defined in the Mil-Spec narrative as ‘darker than a cardboard box but not as dark as chocolate.’

The scope also had to have an illuminated reticle. Fortunately, one of the newer lines of the Leupold Tactical Series scopes are their three and a half to ten power variable with the TMR, Tactical Milling Reticle. It’s illuminated for low-light shooting, powered by the same battery that’s in the Army’s M68 Close Combat Optic – what you and I call an Aimpoint.

We had a lot of options for the scope mount when the solicitation came out but we wanted to improve our return to zero capability and make it simpler. So instead of using a pair of parallel split rings and all those parts and pieces, we came up with a new one piece scope mount that as a product improvement has potential to become a quick detachable design.

The two half inch nuts and two clamps are standard format types of scope attachment means that (snipers) use their half inch T handle 65 inch pound torque wrench that’s included in our tool kit. But the way the mount’s designed, you can take the two nuts and the two clamps off, put a single clamp on that side with two wing nuts. By virtue of the torque you can get from the wing nut and the longer one piece clamp you can get the same return to zero without resorting to the wrench technique. So we’ve got plans for that mount beyond the SASS.

SAR: The rifle we just photographed on your range is remarkably uniform in ‘Flat Dark Earth’ color from end to end despite the differences in what’s underneath – steel suppressor, aluminum receiver, synthetic stock, etc. How is this done?

Lutz: One of the challenges to make the rifle this brown color is that we’ve been working for several years trying to get the right dye mix to anodize different aluminum parts this ‘dark earth’ color. Sometimes you’d come up with a perfect color, other times you come up with a color that was too much of a gold tone. And if it wasn’t a gold tone when it was freshly done, as soon as you’d put the gun together and had some oil on it this oil made the light tan anodization look gold.

So once the rifle is all put together we mask off some areas and paint – bake on paint – a dark earth MIL-SPEC color to the whole gun. That’s how to deliver the gun in a nice uniform appearance. You also get quite a bit more corrosion resistance because you’re painting right on top of pristine anodization, or in the case of the barrel, pristine mag phosphate.

SAR: The system comes complete with two hard cases full of accessories, tools and equipment. Any particular challenges to pulling all these together?

Lutz: The Army SASS required a system case that had enough room in it for everything that was listed in the solicitation to include a drag bag. Of course it had to have the rifle and there was an assortment of ten and twenty round magazines, cleaning kit, sling, scope covers, laser anti-reflection filter, plus spare parts. Basically the whole nine yards.

We knew what that sniper community already had, particularly as far as a kit goes that supports the M24. We emulated with our XM110 candidate as much as we could what they were used to seeing, even to include the M1907 leather sling which has been in the Army for a long time.

Hardigg, in Massachusetts, put a lot of effort into both of the system’s hard side cases. Although the Army solicitation referred to the SASS as ‘Non Developmental,’ there was not a rifle on the planet that met all the criteria they required, much less desired. Likewise with the system case and the second case that fits inside that is used to protect the day scope if and when the sniper needs to take it off.

The scope case had to pass a cold weather drop test at 65 degrees below zero, a drop test from five feet onto a steel plate that was on top of a concrete slab. There was not an ‘NDI’ case that would pass that drop test and also be small enough to also fit in the system case without taking up way too much space. Hardigg really worked hard to make one at minimum size that would pass all these tests.

We submitted our five SASS samples on time in March last year and at that time Reed Knight, the owner of the company, directed that we build another forty more. That was because the solicitation required that if you won and received the award, then you had to quickly deliver fifteen rifles – I believe it was 30 days after award. To get ahead of that curve we went ahead and built forty.

SAR: Give us a quick version of where this program is right now (Feb 2006) as far as Knight’s is concerned.

Lutz: What I’ll call real First Article Testing is being done now up at ATC (Army Test Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland) on the fifteen rifles we were required to deliver right after the announcement that we had won. I think really what they’re doing is they’re verifying the barrel life and accuracy and reliability they obviously captured from testing the first five that they used as a selection criteria. About two weeks ago they were at the 3,500 round barrel life point.

Personally, I’m gearing up to deliver training at the end of the month, both operator and maintainer. It’s a contract deliverable that we train their new equipment trainers. So we’ll train them for a week here at Knight’s and I guess they go back to Fort Benning (GA) and practice on each other for a couple of weeks. They also take the handout material and electronic material I give them here and they translate it into the Army boilerplate. Then, they go up to Fort Drum (NY) – probably in May.

SAR: 10th Mountain Division?

Lutz: Yes, they’ll do the Operational Test. Soldiers – snipers – have already tested some of the first five. And also George Niewenhous (ATC) doesn’t have all fifteen of the rifles. Two of the fifteen went to Fort Benning, so the Sniper School has two as we speak.

We know the rifle works and I’ve seen pictures of it being drug thru the mud and through obstacles in part of the testing they did for the first five. It’s been through some hurdles already. But the Operational Test is much more than just testing the rifle. It’s going to test the training program, what they call the ‘POI’ (Program of Instruction) that Fort Benning is going to develop, obviously with some help from us.

They’re going to come up with a way to train the trainers, then take ‘em up to Fort Drum and work with soldiers and armorers who aren’t trained on this particular rifle. The Army will evaluate how effective the training is, the handout material, the amount of hours they need to train on whatever. Does the technical manual adequately show them how to change a gas tube, how to change an extractor? The amount of ammunition; how many rounds are needed for someone to qualify. Those are all parts of an operational test that go beyond whether or not your rifle shoots.

SAR: After that?

Lutz: When that’s finished we expect to get what we call ‘L-Rip’ – Limited Rate Production authorization. By sort of reading between the lines we think that’s going to be somewhere between two hundred and three hundred systems. The first ones are going to end up being delivered in December (2006) because by their schedule December is when the First Unit Equipped is going to be designated. I’ve already heard that the 10th Mountain is real excited about these rifles and they’ve asked permission to take the rifles with them when they deploy.

(Note: Subsequent Army announcements indicate the intent to buy 4,492 systems. SAR has learned that Knight’s is refurbishing the Army’s Operational Test rifles and elements of the 10th Mountain recently deployed to Afghanistan will be the first to receive them as an “urgent need requirement.”)

SAR: Any feedback from the folks who have been testing the XM110 that you can talk about?

Lutz: They apparently have a really good accuracy test stand up at Aberdeen. ATC shoots in a tunnel with no wind, no mirage, no humidity, no mosquitoes biting you like here. The five guns that we sent up for the initial tests all shot under .8 MOA (minute of angle) from the stand.

SAR: Have improvements to the MK 11 in Knight’s XM110 caught the eye of the Navy and Marine Corps?

Lutz: Very soon after the Army selected the SR-25 based XM110, the Marine Corps ordered 180 MK 11s on the current contract we have with the Navy and SOCOM. It’s a MK 11 but they want it with the SASS threaded barrel, the SASS flash suppressor, which also means they get the SASS sound suppressor, and URX type forend, as opposed to the MK 11 forend. And they want it black because they feel it will blend in with the rest of the troops that all have black guns so the snipers won’t stand out so much.

We’ve had joint service meetings where it appears as if the Navy is planning for subsequent MK 11 buys with several of the same things the Marine Corps adopted or wanted, but painted like the Army’s.

SAR: The M110 SASS is semiauto only and has a ‘legal length’ barrel. What plans does Knight’s have to offer the M110 SASS to law enforcement as well as competition shooters in the civilian world?

Lutz: We’ve got our hands full right now with deliveries to the military.

SAR: Any final thoughts on the process?

Lutz: The government would help themselves if they could release some of the specifics as early as possible so we could either develop the things we need to develop, link together those different things that are commercially available, all under one house.

I think the user would have been better served if somehow we would have been allowed to submit the MK 11 Mod 0 – we’ve produced over a thousand of them – as it is. That would have been a true NDI.

(Editor’s Note: Persistent misinformation about the Army’s SASS selection process deserves authoritative rebuttal. The General Accounting Office’s findings on the protest filed by the runner-up system’s proponent may be found at www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/297374.pdf)

Visit Knight’s Armament Company on the web at www.knightarmco.comSR-XM110 Rifle System Characteristics Military Description: Knight’s Armament Company’s SR-XM110 is a precision, medium weight, detachable magazine fed, gas operated, semi-automatic, free-floating barrel sniper rifle system, optimized to fire the M118 Long Range ammunition.

Each SR-XM110 SASS delivered contains the following components:

• 7.62x51mm NATO SR-XM110 Rifle
• MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny Rail forend with four rails parallel to the bore with the top rail surface on-line with that of the upper receiver. The design of this forend allows the rifle barrel to be free-floated for enhanced accuracy.
• Back Up Iron Sights front and rear, either integral to the rifle or installed on the MIL-STD 1913 Rail.
• Collapsible Bipod that is adjustable and Operator removable if desired.
• SR-XM110 Magazines: four 20-round magazines and four 10-round magazines.
• Leather Carrying Sling. This sling is also designed to support the rifle in various shooting positions as an aid to marksmanship.
• 3.5×10 Variable Power Day Optic Rifle Scope mounted on a one-piece return to zero MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny Rail scope mount. An Operator removable Laser Filter Unit, Anti-Reflection Device and flip-open dust covers may also be provided.
• A Sound Suppressor that provides very effective acoustic, flash and blast suppression.
• A Flash Suppressor that minimizes muzzle flash when the sound suppressor is not used.
• Protective (hard) Carrying Case for the complete weapon system, as well as a sub-component hard scope carrying case.
• Soft Weapon Carrying Case (aka: Drag Bag. Optional item dependent on individual contract requirements) and a Soft Rifle Scope Carrying Case with padded Scope Cover Insert.
• Cleaning Kit with coated bore rod and guide plus required brushes and jags. Also a pocket-sized field cleaning kit with flexible rod.
• Deployment Kit containing Operator Level tools not provided in the Cleaning Kit, Scope Cleaning Kit, Spare battery for Day Scope Illuminated Reticle, Carrying Case with Field/Operator Spare Parts.
• Operator and Armorer Maintenance Manuals.
• A modified Army M240B 7.62mm Machine Gun Blank Firing Adapter can also be provided.

GI Joes and Janes fighting the Global War on Terror (GWOT) are getting some damn good stuff through the system these days. Among noteworthy pieces of gear are a variety of day optics that help pinpoint bad guys in crowds of ordinary citizens and increasingly sophisticated night sights that strip away the cloak of darkness and even “see” through smoke and sandstorms. Just about everything from pistol magazines to “smart munitions” is more and better as America’s vast technological advantages and economic resources are directed toward supporting the warfighter. Who thinks this has resulted from the collective wisdom and dedication of legions of bureaucratic bean counters? SAR argues that troops fighting terrorists today – and those who will undoubtedly be doing so well into the foreseeable future – should credit NDIA in general and its Small Arms section in particular.

This worthy organization’s 2005 annual gathering was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey’s impressive Convention Center over three information packed days beginning on 17 May. Each morning kicked off with a general session, giving all an opportunity to benefit from prepared remarks by authorities like Marine Corps Systems Command’s top general and the Army’s Program Manager for Small Arms.

Back to School

Afterward, attendees had to make some hard choices among more than fifty multi-track panel discussions, informational and technical papers. So, there was a fair amount of shuttling between conference halls where experts explaining ammunition innovations spoke concurrently with those of mortars. Or small arms at the same time as international infantry, then fire control vs. weapons and ammunition. Luckily, PowerPoint files with many of these presentations are readily available to all though the internet. Inexcusably, most postings omit the text of prepared remarks so one is left for the most part with meatless bones to gnaw on. Wise to this frustrating situation, many attendees run tape recorders but that presents the equally daunting task of reviewing hours and hours of poor quality audio. Note-taking requires a fast pencil and a keen eye for essential points. What follows are some brief points from downloads, tapes, slow pencil, and jaundiced eye.

Those needing more are strongly encouraged to log on at www.dtic.mil/ndia/2005smallarms/2005smallarms.html and scroll down to the titles listed here in the order posted.

• LETHALITY 101 by Shawn Spickert-Fulton, US Army ARDEC. “When a shooter asks the experts about his weapon’s ‘lethality,’ he is likely to get more responses than he has rounds. These answers, like the shots, will all be off target to some degree.” The Joint Service Wound Ballistics Team is working to clarify, define and standardize methods of gauging relative lethality. Will this someday put an end to endless silliness written about “knockdown” and such?
• MORTAR OVERVIEW by Major Paul Shuler, APM for Army Mortar Systems. This set the stage for seven in-depth papers on the latest developments in the infantry commander’s “hip pocket artillery,” including smart ammo and mortars linked to the digital battlefield.
• PROGRAM MANAGER SOLDIER WEAPONS OVERVIEW by Colonel Michael Smith, PMSW. Colonel Smith led an in-depth presentation by key members of his team on what’s in the pipeline for near term and later issue. (Editor’s Note: SAR was given the opportunity to conduct a wide-ranging interview with the colonel and his two top deputies. A comprehensive feature on the vital work of PMSW may be found in Small Arms Review, Vol. 9, No. 3, December 2005.)

• JOINT SERVICES SMALL ARMS CAPABILITIES UPDATE by Joel Goldman, JSSAP Chief. JSSAP is working to correct identified shortcomings in current infantry weaponry with respect to target acquisition, lethal and non-lethal capabilities, personal defense, and detection avoidance. The US Army National Small Arms Center and the National Small Arms Technology Consortium are actively seeking technologies that advance state-of-the-art and improve capabilities to sustain military supremacy so JSSAP can plug these in to both today’s weapons and developmental platforms. Among JSSAP’s many cutting edge programs may be found the 25mm XM109 Anti-Materiel Rifle and XM29 Integrated Airburst Weapon System.

• LIGHTWEIGHT SMALL ARMS TECHNOLOGIES by Kori Spiegel, JSSAP, and Paul Shipley, AAI. In February 2005, AAI won JSSAP’s multimillion dollar contract for further development of what may emerge in about two years as a replacement for the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. “Alternative materials” are being explored for the receiver and barrel along with caseless or plastic cased ammo. See also: COMPONENT TECHNOLOGY INVESTIGATIONS FOR LIGHT MACHINE GUN APPLICATIONS by Lucian Sadowski, ARDEC.

• FUTURE FORCE WARRIOR UPDATE by John Edwards, ARDEC. Tomorrow’s high tech infantryman is on track from a Stryker Integrated Land Warrior sometime around 2007 to the Objective Ground Soldier System of 2014. Along the way technological developments now in the works will be incorporated to increase survivability and lethality.
• FCT (Foreign Comparative Testing) and SOCOM SHOULDER FIRED WEAPONS by Keith Martin, SOCOM. It’s no secret that American special operators – Rangers in particular – have a great affection for their awesome 84mm Carl Gustaf M3 recoilless launchers. The family of off the shelf ammo includes some spectacular rounds such as the newly procured ADM 401 Area Deterrent Munition packed with more than a thousand flechettes.
• MINIATURE DAY/NIGHT SIGHT DEVELOPMENT by Barry Gatewood, NSWC Crane. Shortcomings in SOPMOD sighting components are being addressed with new COTS (commercial off the shelf) products including Elcan’s quick switch 1 to 4 power day Enhanced Combat Optical Sight-Carbine, Litton’s “starlight” Miniature Night Sight Version II and Insight Tech’s Clip On Night Vision Device Thermal.
• LIGHTWEIGHT REMOTELY OPERATED WEAPONS SYSTEMS by Anthony Sebasto, ARDEC. Recently demonstrated combat success of the formidable 600 pound CROWS (common remotely operated weapon station) compels development of smaller and lighter systems at ARDEC. One is the Picatinny Lightweight Remote Weapon Station, only 200 pounds ready to shoot. Another is SWORDS, familiar to our readers as the weaponized TALON robot.
• S.C.A.R. – SOF COMBAT ASSAULT RIFLE by Troy Smith, NSWC Crane. FN won the initial contract for the 5.56mm SCAR Light so the Belgian firm has a lock on further development and manufacture of the 7.62mm Heavy version and the 40mm Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module.
• MPRS – MULTI PURPOSE RIFLE SYSTEM by Alon Guttel, Israel Military Industries. While Uncle Sam continues long-track development of the XM29 Integrated Airburst Weapon System, IMI is said to have already fielded something with very similar capabilities. MPRS is a modular bolt-on system consisting of a sophisticated fire control system that interacts with tube launched “smart” airburst programmable 40mm grenades or advanced muzzle launched ordnance. Need quick aerial recon but no spy drones available? Shoot a Rifle-Launched Reconnaissance Grenade carrying a miniature TV camera that sends pictures back to your GI issue Palm Pilot!
• 40MM AIR BURSTING MUNIITON SYSTEM AND LIGHT WEIGHT AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHER by Fong Kok Chung and Aw Chen Hok of Singapore Technologies Engineering. Similar in capabilities to General Dynamics’ 40mm MK47 Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launcher, the STE LWAGL boasts a computerized day/night fire control system and a “smart” airburst blast and fragmentation warhead. Total system weight of 65 kg breaks down into three loads of 23.5 kg or less for individuals to carry.

Mysteriously absent from the posted proceedings is a presentation by Transformational Defense Industries’ Tim Lindsay and Andrew Finn on “Super V,” an exciting new recoil-mitigating technology demonstrated in the prototype KRISS submachine gun firing full power .45 ACP ball at 1,300 rpm. TDI expects to apply “Super V” to long arms as well and has promised SAR a live fire evaluation as this program matures.

Awards

This year’s George M. Chinn award was presented to Rich Audette of Program Manager Soldier Weapons and the Carlos Hathcock award went to Christopher Mitternight of Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane. Also honored for years of exemplary professional service were Sal Fanelli and Jim Schatz of Heckler and Koch, Marvin Maule of Aberdeen Test Center, Colonel Michael Smith and Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Clarke of PM Soldier Weapons, as well as Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carpenter, now with National Defense University.

Dr. Stephen Small, JSSAP’s own national treasure, succeeded again this year in telling a century-old story that was spot-on relevant to today in his Awards Luncheon address “A Bold Initiative: Colonel Miles and the Lee Magazine Rifle in 1879.” This fast-cycling bolt action became better known in later times as the British Army’s beloved Short Magazine Lee Enfield. Small’s postscript had heads nodding in agreement that true visionaries should not expect to be warmly embraced by entrenched bureaucracies. “As for the Lee rifle, it has the dubious distinction of being the most successful rifle ‘never’ to be purchased by the U.S. Army.”

Hardware Show

Welcome respite from information-rich presentations was provided by numerous breaks in the large exhibit hall where more than sixty commercial firms and government entities showed their wares. The diverse subjects of many dry technical papers and an alphabet soup of acronyms took form there in an array of things to pick up, point, look through, and discuss.

From AAI with a model of JSSAP’s conceptual “Lightweight Machine Gun” and ammo mockups (www.aaicorp.com) to Weibel Scientifics’ precision instrumentation (www.weibel.dk), attendees got up close with new hardware and knowledgeable product reps – many of whom are the engineers responsible for design and production.

SAR Editor-in-Chief Dan Shea and this reporter started at opposite ends of the hall searching for what’s new, improved, and noteworthy. Some observations from our pooled notes:

• NSWC Crane, the superstore for SEALs and Special Boat units, has combined a deck mounting soft recoil heavy machine gun mount with smoke projectors. Shoot, screen, scoot!
• JSSAP is working diligently on reducing the bulk and weight of remotely-aimed weapons stations and PMSW is proud of many quick-fixes to urgent soldier requests. Some cases in point are the SWORDS robot gun mount, the eleven pound XM192 tripod and an M240 with titanium receiver. www.peosoldier.army.mil.
• Elsewhere in the hall we found Savit, supplier to PMSW for those handy soft pack belted ammo carriers and a neat little collapsible stock for the M249 SAW.
• Reed Knight’s candidate in PMSW’s XM110 Semiautomatic Sniper System competition, a highly evolved SR-25 with a custom-built Leupold day optic, adjustable buttstock, and URX (Upper Receiver Extending) Picatinny Rail. www.knightarmco.com
• Aimpoint’s new 3Xmag, a quick-mounting three power magnifier optimized for in-line use with the M68 Close Combat Optic (Aimpoint CompML3). www.aimpoint.com
• Elcan’s SpecterDR, a dual-role combat sight that switches instantly from 1x close combat to 4x for extended range engagements. www.elcan.com/specter
• Buffer Tech showing Enidine’s remarkable new M16 buffer, as well as an improved MagCinch with built-in bottom pull tab and several sizes of MOLLE compatible pouches to hold multiple cinched mags. www.buffertech.com
• Otis Technology continues literally “on a roll” with a bunch of different compact weapons cleaning kits built around a flexible, coiled-up cleaning rod. Uncle Sam and most everybody else dealing with anything dirty from pistols to grenade launchers are using Otis kits – now available in stylishly practical desert tan. www.otisgun.com
• Brownells nifty 3-way combo cleaning head for 40mm blooper barrels and plenty of other stuff from their indispensable catalog. Don’t go to war without it! www.brownells.com
• MEI’s Hellhound and Draco 40mm enhanced effect ammunition (www.martin-electronics.com), perfect companions to Milkor USA’s MGL-140 six-shooter 40mm blooper.
• McNett’s “Camo Form” stretch material for guns and gear in all the favorite disruptive patterns including USMC MARPAT and the new Army ACU digital. www.mcnett.com
• Cobb Manufacturing’s FA50(T) bolt action sniper rifle in .50 BMG caliber. www.cobb50.com
• RUAG Ammotec’s button-tipped, high energy transfer 9mm “green” ammo that is reputed to be in widespread SOF use including Germany’s famed GSG9. www.ruag.com
• Metal Storm is continuing development of its unique stacked caseless ammo/launcher technology on several fronts including the planned live fire demonstration featuring an unmanned helicopter equipped with a cluster of downward-blasting MS tubes. www.metalstorm.com

Range Time

Atlantic City has just about everything one might expect in an oceanside vacation playground with the glaring exception of a suitable military multipurpose range. So attendees climbed aboard chartered busses late Thursday morning for a pleasant hour-long drive up the Garden State Parkway to the US Army’s Fort Dix.

HK’s Sal Fanelli once again did most of the hard work in coordinating and emceeing the Small Arms Symposium’s traditional government and industry live fire demonstrations on good old Range 59C. With its sweepingly panoramic vista of Dix’s enormous impact area, the range’s “safety fan” allows everything from popguns to air strikes so collateral damage wasn’t an issue.

What was a big issue arose from New Jersey’s draconian and punitive gun laws, discouraging all but the most determined commercial firms from bringing in weapons and ammunition for the event’s demos. While a suitable subject for a full page rant, suffice to say that the NJ State Police’s petty prohibitions and absurd obstacles to law-abiding defense contractors contribute nothing to national security. If half the attention NDIA got was directed at Newark, all of the Garden State would be a safer place to live.

Fortunately, the US military doesn’t face such harassment so planned demonstrations by some of Picatinny Arsenal’s better-known organizations could proceed. The buzz among attendees centered on plans by JSSAP and Program Manager Soldier Weapons to show and shoot most of the lineup of experimental weaponry so it made sense to drive out early to cover setup and test firings.

Sure enough, ARDEC and contractor technicians soon rolled in with truckloads of hardware and plenty of ammo for all the promised XMs. Apparently because SAR works hard to stay on the “good guy list,” we were allowed to not only stick around but also get in close for detailed photos.

The pictures accompanying this feature document the extraordinary first “public” firing of a HEAB (high explosive airburst) round from ATK’s 25mm XM25 airburst weapon, the newly-selected 40mm XM320 grenade launcher from HK, and General Dynamics’ cleverly convertible XM307/XM312 in 25mm and .50 caliber respectively. Additional Picatinny demos included the Barrett .50 cal. M107 Long Range Sniper Rifle and its astonishing big brother, the 25mm XM109 “Payload Rifle.”

The final government demo was PMSW’s CROWS (common remotely operated weapon station) fitted for the occasion with the delightfully anachronistic M2HB, John M. Browning’s 85 year old design that’s still going strong worldwide. CROWS, usually mounted atop an up-armored HMMWV, is a remotely aimed and fired techno marvel that allows a gunner seated at a computer station inside in relative safety and comfort to find and fire on enemies in all light and weather situations.

Industry Demonstrations

More homage to the influence and importance of NDIA Small Arms Symposium attendees came from a determined firearms industry cadre with the strength and fortitude to jump through New Jersey’s flaming hoops.

HK Defense led the way by unveiling its innovative HK416 Enhanced Carbine. This complete rework of the Stoner/Colt M4 features a short stroke gas piston, simplified bolt assembly, no-rebound buffer, and free-floating barrel inside a four quadrant rail forearm. A slightly modified version of its underbarrel mounted 40mm side-opening grenade launcher was recently selected by the Army’s PMSW as the XM320.

HK is always savvy to what makes demonstrations impressive and memorable. HK’s Rob Tarter completely submerged the carbine in a barrel of water then immediately fired a thirty round burst. Similarly, Phil de Garis’ grenade blooping was done with some special 40mm tracer rounds that arrest the eye as they lazily arc to the impact point then smash open to release a cloud of orange powder. www.hkdefense.us

Armalite’s president Mark Westrom got some help from Kathy Roa, PMSW’s public affairs officer, for a suppressor muffled demo of his firm’s entry in the Army’s hotly-contested XM110 SASS (Semiauto Sniper System) trials. www.armalite.com

Lietner-Wise Rifle Company’s petite Marianne Rosato showed there was nothing to fear from recoil in firing the LW15 .499 in semi and full auto. This M16 type rifle is cleverly modified to reliably feed and fire L-W’s astonishing 300-grain .499 caliber cartridges, delivering a stunning 1,875 foot pounds of energy at 200 yards. www.leitner-wise.com

Grenade blooping reached epic proportions as Milkor USA’s Richard Solberg Jr. repeatedly popped 40mm target practice rounds from his firm’s MGL-140 six-shooter at a menacing lineup of silhouettes. Reloading is fast and easy with the launcher’s swing open design and all six rounds can be squeezed off in about three seconds. Sadly, safety nannies had previously ruled out any firing of MEI’s spectacular new DRACO and HELLHOUND grenades. www.martin-electronics.com

Remington is aggressively in there for some PMSW competitions including the XM26 Modular Shotgun and the XM110 SASS. Mike Haugen showed how his firm’s 12 gauge 870 based Modular Combat Shotgun could be quickly customized in four versions from high capacity conventional to underbarrel accessory.

Haugen used the shorty Breaching version to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of Remington’s no-lead and frangible Disintegrator Number 4 buckshot ammo by blowing open a door without skipping a beat in his narration. www.remingtonmilitary.com

Once the last round had been fired in formal demonstrations the line opened up for event attendees to come forward and put a few rounds downrange. Regulations kept all but active duty military and government program personnel from firing the JSSAP and PMSW weapons but all were welcome by the industry presenters.

Want bragging rights from full auto with a .499? Line up at Leitner-Wise. Curious about how HK made the troubled M4 workable for special operators? Slam a High Reliability mag into a 416 and pump it dry. Always hated to reload after every round from your M203? Thump out six 40 mike-mikes from an MGL-140. Worth the price of admission all by itself….