The Republic of Korea’s Army Special Warfare Command has selected the Dasan Machineries DSAR-15PC as its new service carbine to replace the current K1A carbine and K2 rifle. The piston-driven DSAR-15PC was the preferred bidder for the tender reported to be worth KRW3.8 billion or $3.1 million.

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced the tender to replace the RoKA’s Special Warfare Command’s Daewoo Precision Industries K1A carbines back in March. Testing was carried out in April and May with both the DASAN DSAR-15PC and S&T Motiv (formerly Daewoo)’s STC-16 carbine in the running. The winner of the trials was announced on 3 June.

‘K1A Sub Machine Gun’ which entered service in 1982 (S&T Motiv)

A South Korean military official has reportedly told Jane’s that the 707th Special Mission Group and the 13th Special Mission Brigade of the Special Warfare Command are set to be the first to receive the DSAR-15PC in its current form. After evaluating the first 1,000 carbines delivered the design will be improved and tweaked based on user feedback, with an order for around 15,000 improved carbines to follow. These will then be issued to all the units within the RoKA’s Special Warfare Command by 2023.

The DSAR-15PC’s main competitor, the S&T Motiv STC-16, was recently displayed at the 2019 ADEX exhibition. The STC-16 is also a piston-driven AR-patterned carbine, available in various configurations.

The S&T Motiv STC-16 displayed at 2019 ADEX exhibition (Bemil)

Our friends at South Korea’s Bemil got an exclusive look at the new carbine, sharing some photos and a video of the weapon in action.

The DSAR-15PC (Bemil)

The rifle has a short-stroke gas piston and an 11.5-inch barrel. Overall, the rifle is said to be just under 30 inches long and weighs around 3kg, comparable to an HK416 A5/HK416C, a SIG MCX VIRTUS or the piston variant LMT MLC in size, weight and operation.

Left side of the DSAR-15PC ( Bemil)

Check out Dasan’s website for more information on their range of small arms including the CAR816 and DSAR-15P which the new carbine evolved from.