weapons | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for the ‘weapons’ Category

NSWC-Crane Mid-Length Gas System Testing Shows Increased Performance & Service Life For M4 Carbines

Monday, May 14th, 2018

Last week’s NDIA Armaments Forum ended with a briefing by Naval Surface Warfare Center – Crane, of what is this year’s most applicable topic, for both the US military as well as manufacturers of commercial AR variants. Last year Crane unveiled their findings regarding KeyMod vs M-Lok. This year it’s the performance of a mid-gas system on an M4 carbine.

NSWC-Crane, or Crane as it is commonly known, is located in rural Indiana. In addition to providing a wide range of acquisition services for the US Navy, they are also responsible for the test, evaluation, procurement and life-cycle management of SOF weapons. It’s in this role that they evaluated the mid-length gas system for United States Army Special Operations Command M4A1 carbines.

Gas System History

The M16 Rifle and variants use a 20” barrel and gas system. This rifle length gas system uses a gas tube 15” in length with gas port at 13”. The well distance is approximately 7”.

When the M4 was developed, research concluded the Army should utilize a 14.5” barrel for the M4 & M4A1 carbines

This necessitated redesign of the M16 gas system because a 14.5” barrel with a rifle length gas system had only 1.3” dwell distance. Consequently, they gas port was moved to 7.8” from bolt face on M4 offering 6.7” dwell distance.

This decrease in distance from the bolt face to the gas port resulted in an increased port pressure in the M4 carbine when compared to M16 rifle. The port pressure of the M4 at 7.8” from the bolt face is 17,000 psi, while port pressure at 13” from bolt face of the M16 is 10,000 psi.

Mid-Gas Testing included:

– Endurance
– Reliability
– Precision
– Muzzle Velocity
– Terminal Velocity (@100 yards)
– Bolt Speed
– Low Temperature (-60F)
– High Temperature (160F)
– Barrel Erosion

However, the briefing did not address every area of testing.

Endurance & Reliability

So far, Crane has put 30,400 rounds of M855A1 through three M4A1s equipped with 14.5″ cold hammer forged barrels and a mid-gas system with a gas block approximately 9.8″ from the bolt face.

They stated SOF M4A1s normally start to see accuracy degradation at around 6,000 rounds. But during testing of the mid-gas system, they’d hit 12,600 and still hadn’t seen any changes.

They also have only broken one bolt so far in testing, although I don’t think they’re ready to attribute the improved bolt performance to the mid-gas system.

The Crane team will finish testing up with 34,000 rounds per upper. It’s not that they don’t think the barrels can’t take more, but rather that they had to use the same lot of M855A1 to satisfy the accuracy portions of testing.

USSOCOM Accuracy Testing & Protocol

With this mid-gas system they are getting 5 MOA groups while the standard is 7 MOA. One of the three uppers was shooting 1 MOA, except for the tenth round which was still within limits.

Interestingly, USSOCOM tests accuracy differently than most others. They fire 10 rounds suppressed and another 10 rounds unsuppressed. They measure the extremes of the spread of impacts, rather than their closest points. Then, they do it again two more times and average the results to determine accuracy.

Muzzle Velocity

These measurements are averaged and validate what we know about the use of suppressors increasing muzzle velocity.

Terminal Velocity

The velocity at 100 yards for mid-length weapons is 32.6 fps or 1.2%, higher for suppressed fire and 41.7 fps or 1.6%, higher for unsuppressed fire.

Cyclic Rate

Mid-length cyclic rate of automatic fire was 62.7 rounds per minute (rpm), or 7%, lower than carbine-length for suppressed fire and 127.2 rpm, or 16%, lower for unsuppressed fire.

Temperature High & Low

960 rounds were fired at 160F for Reliability at High Temp and another at -60F for Reliability at Low Temp.

For carbine-length weapons, 5 out of 65 malfunctions occurred during high temperature testing. For mid-length weapons, 1 out of 30 malfunctions occurred during high temperature testing. For high temperature testing, carbine-length weapons had 576.0 mean rounds between failures (MRBF) compared to 836.1 MRBF for ambient temperature testing and mid-length weapons had 2800 MRBF compared to 1993.8 MRBF for ambient temperature testing.

For carbine-length weapons, 27 out of 65 malfunctions occurred during low temperature testing. For mid-length weapons, 16 out of 30 malfunctions occurred during low temperature testing. For low temperature testing, carbine-length weapons had 333.3 mean rounds between failures (MRBF) compared to 836.1 MRBF for ambient temperature testing and mid-length weapons had 562.5 MRBF compared to 1993.8 MRBF for ambient temperature testing. Approximately half of the total malfunctions recorded for both carbine-length and mid-length weapons occurred during low temperature testing, so the relative rate of malfunctions between carbine-length and mid-length remained similar to that of ambient temperature testing.

Conclusion

Although testing to 34,000 rounds isn’t yet complete, the conclusion is simple. Use of a mid-gas system significantly extends the life of the overall weapon system. It also offers increased performance over a carbine-length gas system.

Implications

This information is particularly important for the US Air Force’s Improved Modular Rifle – Blue program which templates off of upper receiver group improvements adopted by USASOC (Brownells is offering a similar package for reference). While USASOC will upgrade up to 15,000 carbines, the AF wants to modify around 50,000 guns. That could be enough to force a major Technical Data Package update applicable to all services and creation of a GOTS upgrade for all M4s, regardless of service.

This government testing also validates what many commercial vendors have been offering for years.

Tags: NSWC-Crane
Posted in SOF, weapons | 60 Comments »

Savage Introduced New MSR and Rascal Rifles at 2018 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits Show

Sunday, May 13th, 2018

WESTFIELD, Massachusetts – May 10, 2018 –Savage unleashed a flurry of new high-performance firearms at the 2018 NRA Meetings and Exhibits Show in Dallas, Texas. The new models unveiled include the MSR 15 Long Range and MSR 15 300 Blackout Pistol, along with the Rascal FV-SR, Rascal Target and Rascal Target XP.

The MSR 15 Long Range is built to with a 22-inch stainless steel barrel deliver pinpoint precision at any distance. Savage engineers tuned barrel length specifically for the 224 Valkyrie cartridge to achieve peak accuracy at extreme range. The MSR 15 Long Range barrel is also topped with a two-port muzzle brake mounted with Savage’s proprietary taper-lock interface. The brake allows shooters to adjust recoil impulse and stabilize the muzzle for faster, more accurate follow-up shots.

The MSR 15 Long Range also features a custom-length gas system, paired with a low-profile adjustable gas block, that is enclosed by a true free-float handguard. The gas block can be adjusted for optimum cycling of the full range of bullet weights and tuned for use with a suppressor.

For its part, the MSR 15 Blackout Pistol, equipped with KAK Shockwave Brace, takes full advantage of the 300 Blackout’s adaptability to a wide range of hunting, self-defense and tactical situations. The AR Pistol uses a pistol-length gas system so shooters can utilize suppressors and reliably cycle subsonic ammunition without adding length and weight. Plus, its 10.5-inch melonite QPQ coated barrel’s 5R button rifling provides both accuracy and maneuverability, while a full suite of accessory upgrades make it easier and more comfortable to shoot.

Savage’s new Rascals are pint-sized powerhouses designed to take the industry’s safest micro rimfire to new heights. The new rifles can shoot 22 Short, 22 Long or 22 Long Rifle ammunition. These single-shot rifles feature Savage’s user-adjustable Accu-Trigger system. Like the original Rascal, they cock by lifting the bolt and unload easily—without pulling the trigger. The design also builds superior shooting skills thanks to full-size rifle features.

The Rascal FV-SR enhances accuracy with a heavy barrel with a threaded (1/2-28) muzzle and sports a tough synthetic stock. The Rascal Target features a precision hardwood stock, heavy 16 1/8-inch barrel, one-piece Picatinny rail and is also threaded muzzle for accuracy and adaptability.

The Rascal Target XP offers all the Rascal Target amenities in a ready-to-shoot package that comes with a mounted and bore-sighted 4x32mm scope, as well as a bipod sling swivel stud mount.

Part No. / Description / MSRP

22947 / MSR 15 Long Range, 224 Valkyrie, 22-inch barrel / $1,849

22933 / MSR 15 Blackout, 300 Blackout, 10.5-inch barrel / $1,099

13834 / Rascal FV-SR Black, 22 S, L, LR, 16.125-inch barrel / $219

13835 / Rascal FV-SR Pink, 22 S, L, LR, 16.125-inch barrel / $219

13823 / Rascal Target, 22 S, L, LR, 16.125-inch barrel / $314

13824 / Rascal Target XP, 22 S, L, LR, 16.125-inch barrel / $399

13836 / Rascal Target XP LH, 22 S, L, LR, 16.125-inch barrel / $399

To learn more about Savage, visit www.savagearms.com.

Tags: Savage Arms
Posted in Press Release, weapons | 1 Comment »

US Air Force Small Arms Update

Friday, May 11th, 2018

During the recent NDIA Armaments Forum in Indianapolis, the Air Force Security Force Center’s Col Enrico Vendetti addressed the audience on the USAF’s small arms program.

Essentially, the Air Force follows the lead of other services for many small arms programs. For instance, they are participating in both Modular Handgun System and Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle.

However, there are times when the Air Force will develop unique capabilities. Col Vendetti briefed these three examples.

Remotely Operated Weapons

As the Air Force adapts to new ways of projecting Air Power, its Security Forces must develop new ways to protect aircraft and other critical assets in austere environments just as well as it does at fixed bases. Additionally, those long established facilities continue to face new threats. These operational concepts are known as Distributed Operations and Adaptive Basing.

Security Force’s goal with this program is limit exposure to enemy fire and provide effects they’ve never had before.

Based on the US Army’s Common Remote Operating System (CROWS), the plan is to incorporate the M134 and FGM-138 Javelin missile. They’ll get 3,000 rpm and a range of around 1 km from the mini-gun and 2.5 km with the Javelin, which will also allow effective engagement of armored targets.

The capability must be self-contained. The plan is to employ the systems, preconfigured in containers as well as mounted on MRAPs. Containerized systems allow for simplified transport and set up.

They are interested in weapon stabilization technologies for this system. The Air Force also wants adaptability, having considered incorporating ground launched Hellfire missiles into the capability.

Improved Modular Rifle – Blue

The Security Forces Center worked with USSOCOM and USMC to investigate improvements to the M4 carbine. During the evaluation, three different configurations were developed, Improved Modular Rifle – White for SOF, Red for the Marines and Blue for the Air Force. US Army Special Operations Command has adopted individual weapon components to extend the service life and improve their M4A1s. The Marine Corps selected a different path, choosing to purchase additional M27s Infantry Automatic Rifles. But the Air Force has chosen to move forward with the concept.

The systems evaluated under the effort are said to have included components from Geissele Automatics and Daniel Defense. Although the final configuration of IMR – Blue has not been disclosed, it will include an Upper Receiver Group, 1-8 Variable Power Optic and improved trigger group.

During the evaluation, Security Forces found that their shooters were accurate within 20 MOA of targets using the current M4 and M68 Close Combat Optic configuration. This measurement was based on the average capability of the shooters and not just the capability of the firearm, optic, and ammunition. With an IMR-Blue configured carbine, that improved to 3.7 MOA. That is a significant improvement that would get any commander’s attention. I applaud the USAFSFC for being open about this and working to address it.

This is my take on this initiative. If IMR-Blue is adopted in anything close to its developmental configuration, it will be a significant improvement for the M4 carbine. Not only will there be a modular rail with enough real estate for modern weapon enablers such as night vision and thermal optics as well as lasers, but it will make room for that rail by removing the traditional front sight post in favor of a low profile gas block. If they fully follow USASOC’s lead, it will be a Mid-Gas System. Considering the Air Force has a requirement for 50,000 carbines (40,000 for Security Forces and 10,000 for Battlefield Airmen and OSI), that’s something the other services should take note of, and consider upgrading their M4 fleets. Whether or not NGSAR is adopted, M4s will be in service at least until 2040.

GAU-5/A Aircrew Self Defense Weapon

The GAU-5/A Aircrew Self Defense Weapon was created in response to a requirement from Air Combat Command for a collapsible carbine which could be packed in an ejection seat.

So far, over 3,000 M4 carbines have been shipped to the Air Force Gunsmith Shop for modification which includes installation of a folding pistol grip and a quick barrel connector. Each weapon will be packed with 120 rounds of ammunition.

Air Force Global Strike Command is receiving the first quantities.

Posted in Air Force, weapons | 43 Comments »

USMC Small Arms Modernization Update

Thursday, May 10th, 2018

During NDIA’s Annual Armaments Meeting, Lt Col Christopher Woodburn (USMC, Ret), the Deputy, Maneuver Branch, Capabilities Development Directorate, discussed Marine Corps modernization efforts. He began by reiterating that Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Robert Neller’s priority remains the Infantry regarding small arms.

U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment fire the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle during a live-fire weapons exercise at range F-18 on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in 2017. (Lance Cpl. Michaela R. Gregory/ Marine Corps)

Next, he mentioned the recent M27 contract and clarified that the M27 Infantry Automatics Rifle would be fielded to the entire Rifle Platoon from the Platoon Commander on down. Fielding will begin in FY18 and continue through FY20.

The M4s displaced by the M27 fielding will be used to replace remaining M16A4s in the Ground Combat Element.

Additionally, he explained that the M38 Designated Marksman Rifle variant of the M27 was a Squad element weapon and that the Squad leader would assign it to his best marksman. Marines have also begun receiving the Squad Range Finder to improve target acquisition and engagement.

Woodburn stated that the Marines continue to evaluate suppressors for use with the M27 and M4 as well as Medium Machine Guns.

Next year, the Marine Corps will begin fielding the M320A1 40mm Grenade Launcher as a replacement for the M203. It will be used in standalone mode only, and not mounted to the IAR.

The Marine Corps has also adopted the Mk 13 Mod 7, sniper rifle which has been used for many years by USSOCOM. The Marines consider it an interim capability until they can field the Advanced Sniper Rifle in 7.62mm, 300 and 348 Norma Mag in the early 20s. They will also begin to see the 84mm M3E1 Carl Gustaf. The Marines will leverage the seven different rounds SOCOM has developed for the recoilless rifle.

In other joint projects with SOCOM, the Marines continue their support of the 338 NM Lightweight Medium Machine Gun. They are also participating in the Army-led development of the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle.

Woodburn finished up by relating that the Marine Corps will begin fielding of the Modular Handgun System in FY19 to replace their legacy pistols.

Posted in USMC, weapons | 16 Comments »

USSOCOM Small Arms Modernization Update

Thursday, May 10th, 2018

Yesterday, LTC Mark Owens, USSOCOM’s PM for Ammo, Weapons and Visual Augmentation Systems, briefed SOF Small Arms modernization efforts at NDIA’s annual Armaments Conference. Unfortunately, he only had 10 minutes on the schedule to brief his programs. Consequently, like LTC Owens, I’m going to hit the wave tops and not go over everything on the slides.

The most significant thing he briefed was the Precision Intermediate Caliber Effort which resulted in the adoption of 6.5 Creedmoor, something we’ve covered several times. A lot of effort is being put into producing the Technical Data Package for that ammunition which tells industry how to produce it. He also mentioned that its adoption is cost neutral as it will cost about the same per round as the accurized 7.62 rounds they already procure. Although LTC Owens didn’t discuss it, 6.5 CM machine gun ammo (i.e. linked) is also under development in the event they decide to procure a lightweight assault machine gun in that caliber. One thing he cleared up is that SOCOM considers the 6.5 CM conversion for USASOC’s M110s as a SOF unique program and will pay for their rebarreling.

Additionally, LTC Owens explained the different Upper Receiver options available for the M4A1 Carbine, including the Suppressed Upper Reciever Group which is still in source selection, Personal Defense Weapon which is a .300 BLK Upper, and Upper Receiver enhancements (a similar item is commercially available from Geissele as the URG-I). He also briefly mentioned the Advanced Sniper Rifle, a recently released solicitation. He went in to clarify that development of the ammunition for the 338 Norma Mag Lightweight Medium Machine Gun had begun ahead of the weapon because reducing its weight is the bigger challenge and the weapon can’t be fully developed until the ammo is ready. He finished up this slide with mention of the enhancements for the GLOCK 19s in the command including suppressor, red dot optics and 9mm Speer Gold Dot G2 ammo.

This slide amplifies the ammunition issues already covered, but two other items are of particular interest. First, is the Scalable Offensive Hand Grenade which allows the user to select the charge. Second, is the 9 Bang Flashbang which fires nine times in rapid succession.

Finally, is the Visual Augmentation System update. As you can see, SOCOM is working to adopt a wide variety of new optics.

Posted in SOF, weapons | 9 Comments »

US Army Seeks Sub Compact Weapons

Wednesday, May 9th, 2018

Project Manager Soldier Weapons (PM SW), has issued an Request for Information (RFI) to obtain information and feedback from industry regarding Sub Compact Weapons (SCW), which they describe as full/semi-automatic selectable in 9×19 mm and with a MIL-STD 1913 rail (Picatinny Rail).

They are not only interested in a weapon, but also accessories including: magazines, cleaning kits, suppressors, specialized tool kit (if required), spare parts, slings, carrying cases, manuals.

PM SW wants industry’s feedback on:

1. Given the conditions above, how many proposals (SCW systems) would you consider submitting?

2. Given the possible submissions that the vendor may decide to submit please provide technical information for each sub compact weapon.

a) Will your sub compact weapon be ambidextrous?

b) What safety testing has been conducted on your sub compact weapon system?

c) What is the price of your sub compact weapon and do you provide economy of scale?

3. Where are your production facility location(s)?

4. Please elaborate on each of these areas:

a) Past repair/refurbishment experiences with other state or federal Government agencies

b) Technical manual development experience

5. What is your warranty coverage?

This RFI will help inform the formal requirement for SCW. Responses are due 18 May 2018. See www.fbo.gov for full details.

Posted in Contracts, weapons | 22 Comments »

Crane Issues Intent To Extend Sole Source 5 Year Contract For Combat Assault Rifle

Tuesday, May 8th, 2018

Late last month, Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, issued an intent to extend a sole source contract to FN Herstal, to procure the Combat Assault Rifle (CAR), engineering services and PIO Spares and data in accordance with the Performance Specification and the Statement of Work. Once known as the SOF Combat Assault Rifle, this Modular weapon system lost the SOF designator (at least funding-wise) a few years back. The program goes back 15 years, it known in Acquisition circles as CAR and is comprised of the Mk 16, Mk 17 and Mk 20 Sniper Support Rifle.

The contract currently in place runs out this month. An extension will keep the guns running which are already in service and offer the ability to buy more if the need arises. But most interestingly, this contract can be used to modify the Mk 20 SSRs used by Naval Special Warfare from 7.62 NATO to the newly adopted 6.5 Creedmoor round.

USSOCOM plans to convert their fleet of Sniper Support Rifles to 6.5 CM. For NSW, that means the Mk 20. With this contract, the process is pretty straight forward. They are weapons acquired under Major Force Program 11, USSOCOM’s procurement budget. The move to 6.5 CM is also a SOF requirement. However, Army SOF uses the M110, the US Army’s version of the Knights Armament Corp’s SR25 which also currently fires the 7.62 NATO cartridge. As the USASOC M110s are provided by the Army, but the move to 6.5 CM is a SOF unique requirement, there is question as to who will pay for the 6.5 CM conversion and what role the US Army might play in the conversion. It’s an Army rifle, but the caliber is a SOF requirement. A similar situation may face Marine Special Operations Command for their M110s which SOCOM recently modified to the K-1 configuration. Having said that, Knight’s, Geissele Automatics and CGS have all demonstrated complete 6.5 CM upper receiver groups compatible with the M110.

In other 6.5 CM news, word is that we should expect the Advanced Sniper Rifle to undergo an Engineering Change Proposal once a weapon is selected. Current requirements include 7.62 NATO along with 300 Norma Magnum and 338 NM. The 7.62 NATO requirement facilitates shorter training ranges and ensures the weapon is compatible with the Sniper Support Rifle. But with the SSRs converting to 6.5 CM, it doesn’t make any sense to have a 7.62 capability with ASR. Luckily, the conversion to 6.5 CM is simple.

Finally, an as-yet-unnamed federal agency has also committed to 6.5 CM for its rifles. We expect more to follow suit.

Tags: FN Herstal, Knights Armament Co
Posted in Ammo, Contracts, SOF, weapons | 11 Comments »

NRAAM 18 – B&T APC308

Monday, May 7th, 2018

We decided to wrap up our NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits coverage with a new offering from Switzerland’s B&T, the Advanced Police Carbine 308. The APC line already includes 9mm, .45, .223, 5.56mm and .300 versions, but the APC 308 model required some engineering to scale the design up.

Currently, they plan to introduce an Assault Rifle (Full Auto), Carbine (Semi Auto), Pistol (Semi Auto) and PDWs in both Semi and Full Auto. It features a locked rotating bolt, gas piston operating system. The barrel on the example we looked at was 14.5” with a pinned flash hider, designed to accept B&T suppressors. It has an overall length of 874 mm (611 mm with stock folded). The APC308 weighs 3.9 kg and has ambidextrous controls, including charging handle. The APC308 accepts SR25 pattern magazines.

There is a full length Mil STD 1913 rail down the top of the upper receiver and handguard as well as at the bottom of the handguard. Additionally, there are removable Picatinny rail sections for either side of the handguard. In addition to the side folder stock, B&T offers a collapsible stock as well as end cap. Here, you can see the buffer and spring.

An interesting feature on the bolt carrier is the insert seen at the side of the carrier in the photo below, which is found on the full auto variants of other APC models. For the APC308, it is standard and is used to slow the bolt carrier down.

They also use dual ejectors.

www.bt-ag.ch

Posted in NRA, weapons | 3 Comments »