The SIG 516

Markings indicate manufacture at the Sig Sauer plant in Exeter, NH, USA

I do not know if Sig plan on a civilian carbine version. If they did it would compete directly with their Sig 550 line of full length and short barreled rifles.

UPDATE: jcmiller points out that the lower receiver is semi-automatic. A production PDW would have to be fully automatic. Maybe Sig are thinking of civilian sales.

UPDATE:

The SIG516 Tactical Rifle line has three different models:

• SIG516 PDW : 7" barrel. A personal defense weapon (pictured above).
• SIG516 CQB : 10" barrel. A Colt M4 Commando equvelent.
• SIG516 BASELINE CARBINE : 14.5" barrel. A M4 Carbine equvelent.
• SIG516 Patrol. 16" barrel.
• SIG516 Tactical Marksman: 16" barrel A squad level sniper / designated marksmen rifle.
• SIG516 Precision Marksman: 20" barrel. Possibly a true sniper rifle, or designated marksmen rifle.

They are all piston operated and feature an adjustable gas regulator like the Ruger SR-556.

Specifications
Caliber	5.56mm NATO
Fire modes	single shot, 3 round burst and fully automatic (except marksmen models which are semi only)
Controls	Ambidextrous
Gas system	piston system with 3 or 4 position gas regulator
Upper Receiver	Flat top with picatinny rail
Lower Receiver	forged 7075-T6 aluminum
Trigger	Milspec for all models except the Marksmen which have 2-stage match trigger
Capacity	Takes standard AR-15 magazines
Finish	black hard coat finish
Barrel	chrome lined, cold hammer forged, nitrate finish
Barrel Twist	1:7" right hand
Stock	collapsible SOPMOD buttstock
Weight	6 lbs. (PDW) - 7.28 lbs (Patrol) - 8 lbs (Precision Marksman)
Rails	Free floating aluminum alloy M1913 picatinny quad rails
Sights	flip-up BUIS (backup iron sights)
Magazine	Ships with 30 round AR-15 magazine. Marksmen models ship with 10 or 20 round magazine.
Other Features	0.5x28TPI threaded muzzle
MSRP (Price)	not known

Upper receiver assemblies will be sold. Just before anyone gets their hopes up, while it is likely that Sig will sell civilians models, this has not been confirmed.

Big thank you to Lusaka for the information and photos.

SIG 556 Short Barreled Rifle

Although the price is steep at $3,495, Sig 556 Reviews notes that SBRs conversions are popular with the Sig crowd:

The P556 has definitely been popular with the SBR crowd so its good too see that Sig Sauer is paying attention and grabbing some of this pie by jumping into the NFA market. There have been a few post’s on the SigArms556 forum about people with P556 SBR’s that have had customer service issues (Sig basically coming back saying theiy voided they’re warranty)

Gun writer and SBR enthusiast Bob Boyd is currently building his own Sig SBR and modeling it after the Sig 552 Commando Carbine. The Commando is probably better classified as a PDW (Personal Defense Weapon), than a Short Barrel Rifle.

8.9″ barrel Swiss Army Stgw 90 kurz aka. Sig 552 Commando Carbine.

I am looking forward to seeing Bob’s rifle when it is completed.

ATI is importing 5.56mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition from Turkey. It is manufactured by Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKEK), the Turkish state owned arms and munitions manufacturer.

Click to expand. Photo ⓒ Adamicz. Used with Permission.

The model pictured above, the CZ S805A, is the standard assault rifle/carbine model and interestingly enough has a 14.5″ barrel compared to the 16″ or 18″ barrels of similar rifles. Although it has been designed so it can be converted into a light machine gun or designated/squad marksmen rifle.

While it appears to be another plastic fantastic, it in fact has an aluminum receiver. The rifle is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO but by changing the bolt head, magazine, magazine well and barrel it can also be chambered in 7.62×39mm and 6.8 mm Remington SPC (6.8×43mm). The trigger group, as you can see below, allows the selection of fully automatic, two round burst, and single shot modes.

Click to expand. Photo ⓒ Adamicz. Used with Permission.

Like all modern military rifles it is out fitted with a folding/adjustable stock and quad rails. The transparent magazine is a nice touch but is not STANAG (M16) compatible.

According to REMOV CZ plan on producing a semi-automatic model for the US and European civilian market Hopefully legalities and politics do not prevent it from showing up in a store near you.

Many thanks to Adamicz for providing me with photos and credit for the information goes to REMOV

.

So far they have a 5.56mm NATO and 7.62×39mm model.

5.56mm NATO model


7.62×39mm model

Compare the sound and recoil of the 5.56 and 7.62 models in these videos:

5.56mm NATO model


7.62×39mm model

A very sexy firearm that will be available in July. This video shows a 5.56mm semi-automatic model being shot:

Also from Robarms is a new two stage trigger for the XCR called the Enhanced Trigger.

This trigger is two-stage with a 3.5 pound pull. We’re calling it an “Enhanced Trigger” rather than a match trigger for several reasons. First, match triggers usually have very small tight control surfaces and/or small screws or springs that cannot hold up under tough use. Our Enhanced Trigger is a very light two-stage trigger that is very controllable whether shooting paper at a distance or at moving targets. We are taking orders for the Enhanced Trigger now. The parts consist of a a new trigger, hammer, and disconnect. They can be added to existing XCRs without modification to the rifle.

UPDATE: 6.8 SPC is now also offered. Two models are available: the Mini (9″ barrel) and Micro (7.5″ barrel). The basic models cost $1500.

Soldiers may have been sick of the military’s new rifle

Army turns the alarm after a number of officers and soldiers have health problems after the shooting with the military’s new standard rifle, “HK 416″.

Gun are heirs to AG3, and is about to be phased in for all Armed Forces branches. Some departments, including the Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan, has had the gun in about a year, writes Dagbladet.no.

Hærstaben have been in three different concern from messages incidents where about 40 skyttere have experienced various health problems. It has been reported that strong discomfort in the chest, neck and munnhule after the shooting, unpleasant cough for several hours after the shooting, nausea, fever, headache, joint and cold svetting after the shooting.

Chief of Staff in hærstaben, Brigadier Rune Jakobsen, have now initiated full investigation to find out what it evokes the most serious problems. It has already been initiated medical examinations of the involved personnel.

One of the main theories in the military is now working on the basis that it is the gunpowder gas from the ammo, and not the weapon, which causes problems. HK 416 uses a smaller caliber, and thus a different type than the old munitions AG3.

Norway has been using the H&K G3 which is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. The HK416 that is being adopted is an AR-15 derivative and chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.

H&K G3 rifle. Photo from Wikipedia.

It is not uncommon for an ammunition producing country to develop a new powder specifically optimized for the a new cartridge / rifle combination when it is adopted by the nations’ armed forces. It is possible that this powder used in the Norwegian 5.56mm ammunition is toxic. Maybe the lubricant they are using reacts badly with the gas from the powder? Maybe plastic parts are melting and releasing a toxic vapor? It will be interesting to see how this story develops.

Thanks to Mauken for the link.

I finally got my TangoDown Combat Bipod in on Friday after an almost 4 week wait. I put it on my Sig 556 SWAT the same day and took it out on Saturday. I have to say, the wait was definitely worth it.

As a bonus Florian has included a bunch of photos of his Sig 556 rifle.

More here.

From Sig:

The Look and Feel of the Classic SIG556 ™ in Affordable .22 Rifle SIG SAUER, Inc., the leading manufacturer of commercial, law enforcement, and military firearms fuels the demand for the legendary SIG556 performance but in an affordable .22 LR caliber with the new SIG522 semi-automatic rifle. Featuring SIG556 parts including a Swiss type folding stock and polymer forend on a durable metal receiver with integral Picatinny rail, and a Mini Red Dot sight. The SIG522 provides the avid sport shooter plenty of action on a classic military style platform that give the look, feel and dependability of our full size SIG556.

Specs:
Overall Length: 29.8 in
length w/Stock Collapsed: 29.1
Barrel Length: 17 in
Rifling: 1 in 7 in
Sight Radius: 14.4 in

The MSRP is $515.

Sig P556

Apart from the 10″ barrel and lack of a stock, it has all the same features of the SIG 556 rifle: Flash suppressor, picatinny rails, two stage trigger, weather resistant Nitron finish. It also comes with a Sig branded mini red dot sight.

Specs:

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO
Overall Length: 21.5”
Barrel Length: 10”
Rifling: 1 in 7”
Weight (w/o Magazine): 6 lbs 7 oz
Magazine: 30 Round STANAH (AR-15)

The MSRP is $1875.

It also comes in a SWAT variant which has a alloy quad rail in place of the standard handguard. No word on pricing for this model.

P556 SWAT model

5.56×45mm MR 556

From HK:

A direct descendent of the HK416, the MR556 is a semi-automatic rifle developed by Heckler & Koch as a premium level commercial/civilian firearm. Like the HK416, the MR556 is a major product improvement of conventional AR-type carbines and rifles.

Using the HK-proprietary gas piston system found on the HK416 and G36, the MR556 does not introduce propellant gases and carbon fouling back into the rifle’s interior, making it the most reliable of any AR-type firearm.

The MR556 will be produced at Heckler & Koch’s new manufacturing facility at Newington, New Hampshire from American and German made components. To conform to German export regulations, certain design changes made in the MR556 prevents the rifle’s upper receiver from being used on other AR-style firearms.

So in other words this is not an AR-15 and in theory would not be banned as a named rifle on AWB 2.0.

Specs for the MR 556

Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm NATO
Length, maximum (stock extended): 37.68″
Length, minimum (stock retracted): 33.90″
Overall width: 3.07″
Height: 9.45″
Barrel Length : 16.5″
weight (without magazine): 8.60 lb
Trigger pull : 7.64 lb
Barrel Profile: 6 lands & grooves, right twist, 1 in 7 in
Sight radius : 14.60″

Oddly enough both models are being shipping with 10 round magazines … AWB 2.0 fears?

7.62×51mm MR 762

Specs for the MR 762
Length, maximum (stock extended) : 39.10″
Length, minimum (stock retracted) : 35.94″
Overall width: 3.23″
Height : 8.36″
Barrel Length: 16.6″
Weight (without magazine): 9.60 lb
Trigger pull: 7.64 lb
Barrel Profile: 6 lands & grooves, right twist, 1 in 12 in
Sight radius: 16.14″

I will update this page as more information becomes available.

by Sven Ortmann, lastdingo@gmx.de, 2008-01-05

Caliber: 9×19 mm and .45ACP (= 11.43×23mm)

This is the standard NATO caliber for pistols and a popular caliber for submachineguns. The only ones who seem to have a strong dislike for this caliber seem to be those U.S. Americans who continue to compare it with .45ACP.

The U.S. American problems with the 9×19mm caliber seem to include a mix of emotions (a Colt M1911 in .45ACP feels much more powerful) and poor quality of the U.S. standard issue 9mm pistols. The latter is as far as I know more a magazine production quality problem than a pistol design problem. The origin of .45ACP is said to lie in combat experience around 1900 in the Philippines where determined Philippinos weren’t stopped reliably by smaller revolver calibers. Tests on live animals in 1904 showed better effects for heavier bullets, but little improvement with velocity. Bullet design has improved a lot since then, and hollowpoint bullets that flatten their nose in soft tissue to increase their diameter are much more effective than simple soft lead bullets. A good 9mm bullet enjoys a similar advantage over a .45ACP soft lead bullet than the latter over a 9mm soft lead bullet. There’s a fundamental problem, though: There’s not much difference in effect on the target if you hit the wrong places and the permanent cavities of pistol bullets are all relatively small. Many body parts are simply not essential enough – their destruction doesn’t stop a determined opponent immediately; no matter whether you hit with .45ACP or 9×19mm.
A new procurement of pistols could easily be a significant improvement over existing 9×19mm service pistols, though. A new pistol could be designed to use reliably both standard 9×19mm and “hot” 9×19mm loadings (higher pressure). The latter would give some extra punch, especially extra penetration. A further improvement is possible by procurement of better bullets. The Russians have a 9mm semi-jacketed exposed steel core bullet that combines AP effect (hard core) with a hollow-point effect (outer parts of the bullets deform and effectively increase the bullet diameter in soft tissue). Such a bullet has enough penetration capability against a combination of a full pouch and a light kevlar vest. An improvement of pistol accuracy is probably more pressing than the caliber; some sort of shoulder stock and easily visible sights (large iron sights as usual on revolvers, for example) could help.

Caliber: 5.56×45mm NATO

This caliber is at the center of a great and long-lasting controversy. Its opponents call it a varmint caliber and report firefights with multiple hits on the same opponent without satisfactory effect. They compare this caliber very often to the supposedly more effective 7.62×51mm caliber. More about that in the 7.62 chapter. Another problem with 5.56×45mm is its rather unsatisfactory ability to penetrate wooden or wall covers. A dissatisfaction with the standard service rifles/carbines of both the USA and the UK (the British solved their problems with an extensive upgrade) and the use of rather short barrels in the U.S. M4 carbine add to the problems with 5.56×45mm.

The defenders of the caliber remind us that even mutilating wounds by much larger calibers and even explosive warheads cannot reliably stop a determined opponent.

The most terrible problem in the 5.56×45mm caliber discussion is the use of anecdotes. Different barrels, ranges and hit locations produce very different effects, so you will always find anecdotes to support your position on this caliber – no matter what’s your position.

There’s (apparently especially in Germany) a stupid rumor about 5.56×45mm and rifle calibers in general that tells about a nervous shock that can kill even with only small injuries. It’s nonsense. A short primer on rifle/carbine bullets; they behave differently in soft tissue than most pistol bullets. They don’t move straight through the tissue all the way. Instead, they begin to turn and usually exit bottom forward. Some bullets break up under the stress of this turn, and the fragmentation increases the destruction of soft tissue very much. A turning bullet doesn’t create a permanent cavity of much greater diameter than its own length; a disintegrating bullet can create a much, much larger permanent cavity.

The ideal rifle/carbine bullet looks like this; it’s able to penetrate cover/armor, it begins to turn in soft tissue immediately and it disintegrates into fragments with devastating effect in soft tissue (terminal ballistics). Good sectional density and ballistic coefficient are important for a good effective range (external ballistics). Finally, some people want it to be lead-free to protect the environment and save costs on shooting range maintenance.

So what does a 5.56×45mm bullet really do? Answer; it depends.

The differences between 5.56mm bullets are noteworthy in terms of cover penetration (heavier is better), but all seem to share a rather disappointing “performance” in soft tissue. The bullet begins to turn later than desired. This means that frontal hits on skinny opponents are often not very effective because the most destructive part – the turning and possible fragmentation – happens too late (the 180° turn isn’t completed before exit).

The other problem in soft tissue is fragmentation. Fragmentation is necessary to achieve a good deal of damage with the small bullet. This requires a good impact velocity and appropriate bullet design. Short-barrelled weapons don’t accelerate the bullet to the originally intended velocity, and the velocity drops rapidly with the distance. 5.56×45mm fired from carbines like the M4 carbine produce very little if any fragmentation in soft tissue at distances greater than about 50-100m.

Carbines and assault rifles should be effective to at least 300m, squad sharpshooters (also known as Designated Marksmen) and light machinegunners should be highly effective out to 400m with good effect. 5.56×45mm doesn’t offer much effect in soft tissue at many relevant ranges unless fired from long barrelled weapons. Barrel lengths of at least 18″ or at the very least 16″ are often recommended. The original M16 assault rifle and many other assault rifle with this caliber have a barrel length of 20″ while the M4 carbine has only a 14.5″ barrel.

There’s apparently not much potential for improvement in the 5.56×45mm caliber: Heavy bullets for improved cover penetration and long barrels for reliable fragmentation seem to be somewhat successful approaches.

Caliber: PDW cartridges (5.7×28mm and 4.6×30mm)

These calibers share the same problems as 5.56×45mm, just even more so (they don’t seem to break up at all).

The short story is like this: Weapons in these calibers are easily controlled in full auto fire due to the low impulse of the cartridges (light bullets). The individual bullets don’t do much to soft tissue (but more than you would tolerate in your own soft tissue).

The strength of these calibers is the higher hit probability (especially for ill-trained support troops) in comparison to 9×19mm and .45ACP. The higher hit count might make up for the lesser effect of individual bullets. A one-vs-one comparison of the wound ballistic effects is therefore misleading. More hits also add to the chance of hitting something really vital.

There are other, less well-known calibers for PDWs (personal defence weapons) than these two. Some use larger calibers, but they’re likely all either similar to my description of pistol or PDW caliber wound ballistics.

Caliber: 7.62×51mm NATO

This is another NATO standard caliber (forced on NATO by the USA against a clearly superior British design). It has been replaced as assault rifle caliber by 5.56×45mm almost completely and was never a carbine caliber. 7.62×51mm is still very widespread as machinegun caliber in NATO armies and is also in use with some sniper/sharpshooter rifles.

The caliber was too powerful for controllable assault rifle full auto fire (well, controllability in bursts was OK within hand grenade range). The cartridges are quite heavy and it’s difficult to carry many of them into action; a major disadvantage for suppressive fires unless you need to suppress enemies who are behind light cover.

The penetration of cover is usually satisfactory, but armor penetration isn’t very good for the simple reason that almost all gunshields, armored vehicles and even some heavy body armor were designed to withstand this caliber and its Russian counterpart, 7.62×54mmR. Only expensive SLAP cartridges (saboted light armor penetrating, performance in soft tissue) have a very good penetration capability at short and medium range.

The external ballistics are under criticism for sniping and more powerful calibers (.300WinMag, .338LapuaMag, 9.3×64mm and even .50BMG, for example) with less bullet drop and less wind sensitivity have become important in sniper rifle procurement since the 90’s.

7.62×51mm is often being attributed with a huge and rarely questioned power against soft targets; knockdown power, manstopping power – no matter how they call it. 7.62×51mm is usually presented as the good example in comparison to 5.56mm. This is – at least for U.S.-made 7.62×51mm standard service cartridges – not fully justified. There are significant differences in penetration till the turning movement begins and in fragmentation. The U.S.-made (standard issue) 7.62 bullets aren’t that much better than 5.56mm bullets (if better at all). They penetrate deeply before turning and don’t fragment much.

There have been much superior (at least in fragmentation) bullets in service (like the German ones) and there’s also a 7.62×51mm cartridge/bullet design that fulfills all expectations for soft tissue damage; it begins to turn and fragment very quickly and has a reliable and devastating effect on soft tissue.

Again; you won’t necessarily stop a determined enemy from firing at you if you don’t hit the right spots – no matter what rifle ammunition you use.

Caliber: .50BMG (= 12,7×99mm NATO)

This caliber is widespread and has loyal fans in the USA and also elsewhere, but it wasn’t adopted in some NATO forces and has some drawbacks.

It was originally a tank-penetrating caliber for machine guns (M2 Browning, later M2HB). Similar cartridges were used during the World Wars by anti-tank rifles (which were only able to penetrate light armor plates). Tanks got thicker armor plating by the mid-1930’s, leaving only light armored vehicles and certain vulnerable spots on heavier armored vehicles as vulnerable to .50BMG. This application has been revived in the 1980’s for long-range and “anti-material” sniping.

There’s no very lively discussion about this caliber in the public. Attempts to replace it focused on intermediate sniping cartridges for long-range and armor-penetrating sniping (like .338LapuaMag), 40×54mm HE cartridges for automatic grenade launchers that replaced many M2HB (.50BMG) machine guns on vehicles and finally a high-tech 25mm air-burst HE cartridge in the failed OCSW program.

The primary problems of .50BMG are weight and volume. Both ammunition and weapon are much bigger than their 7.62×51mm counterparts. The ammunition supply for a .50BMG is usually very small in comparison to the 7.62×51mm alternative. .50BMG is also too heavy for dismounted machine gun use on the move; it can be done (with a tripod), but the effort isn’t justified in most situations.

This caliber is probably only justified if the extra penetration is really necessary. One example: Reconnaissance vehicles need to be able to take on enemy reconnaissance vehicles which are usually armored against 7.62×51mm AP, so something heavier is desirable even for the lightest recce vehicles.

An intermediate machine gun caliber close to the .338LapuaMag sniper cartridge could match the utility of .50BMG in most situations with significantly more ammunition for the same weight and volume.

Both .50BMG and 7.62×51mm are quite well-established and not much under criticism, so there’s no good reason to expect a new, intermediate caliber standard for machine guns.

Ideal caliber discussions

The “ideal” infantry rifle caliber needs to be suitable for rifle, carbine, light machine gun and possibly even squad sharpshooter and medium machine gun applications. Penetration is important, bullet drop and effect at ranges like 400 or 500m is important, soft tissue damage needs to be good and consistent at all ranges and both weight and volume need to allow for a good ammunition load.

Historical and recent conclusions about an ideal infantry caliber almost always agreed on a calibre in the range from 6 to 7 mm. The larger ones tend to have better effect and to be heavier while the smaller calibers in that range tend to offer superior external ballistics (flatter trajectory, more useful at long range).

The optimum is probably close the the center; a 6 or 6.25mm caliber would probably be too close to 5.56mm to convince the 5.56mm critics (maybe for good reasons).

The 6.5mm Grendel and 6.8mm SPC calibers have become famous in the last few years as optimal caliber candidates. Both use conventional cartridge technology – it may be that confidential details from plastic case technology development would favor something like a 6.5-6.8mm plastic cased cartridge instead.

Links for additional reading (and graphics)

There are thousands of possible links, but most would lead you to misleading information.

http://www.rayguncharlie.net/sr/basics/pmrb.html

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf

http://www.firearmstactical.com/wound.htm

http://www.recguns.com/Sources/IVF1.html

http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/PDWdebunk.html

Keep in mind at this link that bullet technology has advanced significantly since 1904:
http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/1904trial.html

http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/pigboard.html

Bullet categories:
http://world.guns.ru/ammo/bullets-e.htm#sjesc

An overview over PDWs:
http://www.personaldefenceweapons.com

Ammoland has the info:

The Desert Digital Special Edition is a matched set featuring the SIG556 ER folding stock rifle and P226 pistol in 9mm. Both rifle and pistol share unique matching serial numbers and ship in a custom tactical hard carry case by Pelican.

The set includes (1) double 30 round magazine set for the rifle and (3) 15 round magazines for the pistol. A certificate of authenticity is included. This collectors edition is limited to 1500 units total.

Pretty cool. No word on price.

More info at Ammoland.

SIG 556 Classic

SIG 550 (Photo from Wikipedia)

I am surprised they did not duplicate the “classic” 550 handguard exactly since the main selling point of this rifle is the look. It does not include the 550 integral bipod.

Specs:

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO
Overall Length: 37.1”
With stock collapsed: 34.3”
With stock folded: 28.1”
Barrel Length: 17”
Rifling: 1 in 7”
Weight (w/o magazine): 8 lbs. 2 oz.
MSRP: $1998.00

I like the lines on the Classic. Very sleek looking, at a price.

Hat Tip: Police One

The H&K G3 battle rifle has been phased out in many countries and replaced with assault rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges. Along with the H&K G3, MKEK also produces the a variety of H&K MP5 models so the move to another H&K rifle is not surprising. Norway is also replacing the G3 with the HK416.

An important Turkish guy holding the Mehmetçik-1.Photo from worldaffairsboard.com

The pistol grip and stock look different to most of the HK416 photos on the internet. The wikipedia page has a photo with “HK416N” markings and the same configuration. The photo is marked for deletion from Wikipedia and there are few other references to the “HK416N” on google.

HK416N markings. Photo from Wikipedia.

Mehmetçik-1 markings

I cannot see any other differences between the Mehmetçik-1 and the HK416N other than the MKEK markings. The only different I have read about on a couple of forums is that MKEK are using different manufacturing techniques and different metals than H&K, which I take to mean a slightly different aluminum and steel alloys, which is not surprising.

The scope pictured above is the Elcan SpecterOS34x scope which well known for its use on the Canadian Diemaco C7/C8. The grenade launcher is the H&K AG416.

The Turkish Wikipedia page says the rifle will be manufactured in four different models. A Sub-carbine (10.5″ barrel), Carbine (14.5″ barrel), Rifle (16.5″ barrel) and “Distance” (Sniper/Marksmen, 20″ barrel).

Below is a video of a press conference with that important Turkish guy showing off the weapons and looking out of his depth:

By all accounts the HK416 is a great rifle combining the best of the AR-15 platform with the benefits of a gas piston system.

Turkey has also adopted a new sniper rifle that I cannot identify. Anyone know what it is? See the below photo.

UPDATE: Alcibiades, correctly identified it as the 7.62×51mm JNG 90, also made by MKEK.

Mehmetçik-1 and JNG 90 sniper rifle. Photo from worldaffairsboard.com

Hat Tip: GunPundit

Both versions will be available: the .223/5.56mm SCAR 16S (civilian equivalent of the SCAR-Light) and the .308/7.62×51mm (civilian equivalent of the SCAR-Heavy).

SCAR-Light carbine (14″ barrel). The civilian model will have a longer barrel.

I have emailed FNH USA for pricing details but they have not yet got back to me.

From the press release:

Experience the civilian-legal semi-auto only version of the rifle chosen by U.S. Special Operations Command as its first new rifle since the early 1960’s. The SCAR 16S is chambered in 5.56X45mm NATO (223 Rem.) while the SCAR 17S fires the 7.62X51mm NATO (308 Win.) cartridge. The innovative gas-operated, short stroke piston system reduces fouling for greater reliability. The side folding polymer stock is fully adjustable for comb height and length of pull and is colored authentic USSOCOM Flat Dark Earth. Both 10 and 30-round detachable box magazines(DBM) are available, and the ambidextrous operating controls instantly adapt the SCAR S-Series to any user.

Unfortunately they will not come with this …

UPDATE:

Photo of SCAR 16S:

Photos by SMGLee. Click to expand

Under the barrel you can see a hefty heatsink. This is used to prevent cook-offs (when the primer of a chambered round is ignited by a hot chamber). It weights 9.5 lbs and has a 16″ barrel.

It looks like the barrel may be be changed by simply removing the bolt you can see just in front of the magazine well.

Surprisingly the rifle/machine gun does not use a gas piston and uses the AR-15/M16 direct gas impingement system.

The above photo does show a Magpul PMAG but the Marines have specified that the IAR must be compatible with 30 USGI magazines, so it is unlikely the military will be adopting PMAGs, even in a limited role with the IAR.

Other IAR entries can operate with either an open bolt, in automatic fire, or closed bolt in semi automatic mode. This allows the accuracy benefits of a closed bolt with the heat reduction and reduced chance of a cook off of a closed bolt. I am not sure if this weapon has this feature.

Colt already have a lightweight automatic rifle, the Colt Automatic Rifle (CAR), which itself may meet the Marines requirements. I do not know if the Colt IAR has anything in common with the CAR, other than the shared AR-15 heritage.

Colt Automatic Rifle

UPDATE: Defense Review has more info.

The only photo I could find.

UPDATE: prion @ MP.net posted this photo:

The compact version of the 7.62mm NATO machine gun features a telescopic stock, foregrip with bipod, picatinny rail and gas regulator. The gun is 150mm (6″) shorter and 2 kg (4.4 lbs) lighter than the full sized SS77.

The full size SS77 can be converted to the 5.56mm Mini SS and presumably the compact version can be as well.

Developed in the 1970s during the arms embargo which forced the South Africa to develop its own arms industry. The machine gun is used by South Africa, Philippines, Malaysia and Jordan. It was pulled from Service by the South African Defense Force during the 90s due to reliability problems. The problems were fixed in part by reducing the rate of fire from 900 rpm to 800 rpm and the gun reentered service in 2003.

Mini SS 5.56mm. Click to expand.

SIG 556 rifles/carbines at SHOT Show 2006 (photos accompanying this article), and found them interesting. We’ve always been fans of the SIG 550-series weapons, particularly after we test-fired a Gemtech-supressed (sound-suppressed) SIG 552 SBR/Subcarbine at SWAT Round-Up 2002. The SIG 550-series assault rifles / tactical rifles utilize an AKM / Kalashnikov-type gas-piston/op-rod system for operation, and you can’t really go wrong with that with regard to weapon reliability.

While the SIG 556 series weapons are currently only availale in 5.56mm NATO, 6.8×43mm SPC (a.k.a. 6.8mm SPC a.k.a. 6.8 SPC), 7.62×39mm, and possibly even 7.62×39mm NATO (7.62mm NATO)/.308 Win. (unconfirmed/unverified) versions are on the way. DefenseReview doesn’t know at present whether the select-fire variant of the SIG 556 SWAT is available in true semi-auto/full-auto configuration, or only in semi-auto/three-round burst config, or semi-auto/3-round burst/full-auto config. Unfortunately, Mr. Poole’s article does not make that clear. Defense Review prefers a straight semi-auto/full-auto selector switch. We like our trigger finger to determine how many rounds we put down range on full-auto, not an artificial limiter. In any case, the SIG 556’s trigger action in the 3-round-burst-capable variant appears from what Mr. Poole wrote to be superior to the Colt M4 Carbine trigger with regard to smoothness and consistency.

I like their caliber offering. It looks like they will be competing with the Magpul Masada.

More here.

I brought home a new baby. A brand new Sig 556 rifle. Forward grip, stream light tactical light, HALO sight. What a wonderful piece of engineering! I have as of yet not done any formal accuracy testing, but during the basic sight in session, the rifle was easy to shoot, minimal recoil, very steady, and shot well.

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More info on the Sig 556 can be found at the Sig Sauer website

The SIG 556 features the same high-performance two position adjustable gas piston operating rod system engineered by SIG’s sister company Swiss Arms and marries it to a trigger housing that not only cuts the rifle’s weight by a pound but is designed to accept standard AR magazines. The SIG 556 features a 16″ military grade cold hammer forged barrel, chambered in 5.56mm NATO, with a twist rate of 1 in 7″. The flash suppressor uses a standard .5 x 28 TPI thread pattern, ensuring compatibility with after-market accessories. The forearm housing the gas operating system is a vented non-slip polymer featuring the SIG TriRail design with three integrated Picatinny rails for mounting accessories. The optional flip up front combat sight is adjustable for windage and elevation.

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