#C8

Photo Of The Day – We take a detailed look at a group of Operators from Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK) / Norwegian Special Operation Commando.

Heckler & Koch, Germany, have been renaming their weapon systems. It’s been going on for a while and I’ve been trying to decipher this ever since I saw some of the new HK firearms at Enforce Tac 2017, Germany.

It would seem, at least according to Colt Canada, that the United States Marine Corps is a partner (with Canadian & British militaries) in the development of C7 and C8 rifle upgrades. The announcement came from Colt Canada’s General Manager Jeff Macleod at the Royal Canadia Military Institute.

The 43 Commando’s Fleet Protection Group has recently come out in a press briefing that the unit has replaced the L95 service rifle (bullpup SA80) with Colt Canada C8s, which the MoD classifies as L119. This is particularly interesting as this will be the first UK non SF group to be issued the L119 en masse. British Special Forces have never liked the SA80/L95, even going back to the Gulf War. Nowadays they use everything from L119s to LMT Marksman rifles while the rest of the British Forces are still with the L95. The Royal Marines Fleet Protection Group is responsible for guarding British nuclear weapons and submarine bases in the UK, in addition to being the Royal Navy’s special ship boarding unit, similar to the VBSS based units in the U.S. (Vehicle Board, Search and Seizure). This unit appears to be similar to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Security Forces and the FAST platoons currently in use. The commander mentioned that the move was because they were able to use low velocity ammunition, which is important for over penetration qualities, especially when dealing with submarines. Which puzzles me, because the two rifles (L95 & L119) are both chambered in the 5.56x45mm NATO, so it would appear that the round should work in both. I assume this might have something to do with the gas piston system of the L95 not being able to cycle the lower pressures of a low velocity round.

“Requirements”: A military development and procurement term that has leaked out a little into the civilian sphere. Requirements are only as good as the people that make them; sometimes requirements can get out of control, and sometimes they can result in innovative products that have everything you need and nothing you don’t.

Let it not be said the RCMP does not take terrorism seriously. In response to this past summers’ shootings in Moncton, the RCMP’s retired assistant commissioner, Alphonse MacNiel, issued a report recommending the issuance of police carbines, as well as additional police training. The report is linked above, but CBC News has a good summary:

Royal Netherlands Army have given their Colt Canada C7 rifles and C8 carbines a few tacti-cool upgrades.

This video shows helmet camera footage of Dutch Marines boarding a cargo ship. The footage is fantastic.

The Danish Army has just signed a contract with Colt Canada for 5000 Colt C8 IUR carbine. The carbines will be designed the M/10. The guns feature quad rails and a fore grip.

Tanfo, a Norwegian soldier, reports at the ar15.com forum that they have been having problems with their new HK416 rifles.

Earlier this year the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced they will be switching from the G3 7.62mm rifle to the HK416. The Turkish government owned arms and ordnance manufacturer MKEK will be producing the rifle under license from Heckler & Koch.

The M16 has been in service for over 40 years and I did some research to see which governments now use it. I decided to create a map showing who uses the M16/ M4, AR-15 (civilian version)and the C7/ C8 (Canadian version).