#Knights

In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 and visit the Knight’s Armament booth.

On the heels of the re-naming of their Stoner LMG as the Lightweight Assault Machine Gun (LAMG), Knight’s Armament company has introduced a scaled-up version of the same weapon in the 7.62x51mm caliber, with provision for other calibers should they be requested. The new machine gun is patterned after the Stoner LMG/LAMG, and features the same short top cover and fixed receiver rail of its smaller cousin. The other components, such as the barrel, feed tray, etc, are all scaled up to fit the larger caliber, resulting in a heavier unloaded weight of approximately 12.5lbs – still far, far lighter than an M240 or other traditional Western 7.62mm belt fed machine guns. According to KAC representatives, the new weapon does not yet have an official name, but “Medium Assault Machine Gun sounds as good as anything.”

The US Army’s Program Manager for Individual Weapons has issued a new Request for Information (RFI) to the industry for a new 7.62x51mm Interim Combat Service Rifle, which seeks to bring out the best battle rifles the market has to offer. The RFI, posted at FBO,gov, reads:

The 6x35mm TSWG, also commonly called the 6x35mm KAC, is a round shrouded in mystery. Apparently designed by Knight’s Armament Company for the interagency counterterrorist program cryptically named the “Technical Support Working Group” alongside the PDW with which it is popularly associated, the round was apparently never adopted. However, it is interesting primarily as an example of a round with shorter overall length than the standard 2.2-2.3″ (56-58mm) OAL that has become ubiquitous for modern intermediate rounds. The 6x35mm TSWG was designed solely for the unique KAC PDW, but a more traditional AR-15 type rifle called the SR-635 was also chambered for it. Like the .300 Blackout, the 6x35mm was also designed explicitly for 10″ or shorter barrel lengths; KAC has advertised their PDW as being available with 8″ or 10″ barrels. To properly compare the round with both the .300 Blackout and 5.56mm, we will be looking at estimated velocity figures from both 9″ and 14.5″ barrels, although it should be noted that so far as I know, no weapons chambered for the 6x35mm cartridge actually exist with barrels of either of these lengths:

The KAC Light Machine Gun is a weapon that appears in media often, but has so far existed in the real world as a prototype only. Knight’s Armament Company announced at the 2016 SHOT Show that the thirty-year development of the weapon was nearing its conclusion and the LMG would soon be offered on the military market. Larry Vickers covers the new machine gun via his YouTube Channel:

Ballistic Radio has been diligently doing what most of us could not – torture testing an AR-15 through the end of its life. Now past 15,000 rounds of cleaning-free operation, they moved on to the “fun” part of testing, now using sand (on a closed dust cover).