#Mod

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) showcased the Japan Ground Self Defense Force’s (JGSDF) latest standard-issue rifle, the Type 20 Howa at the DSEI Japan expo held in Chiba from 15 to 17 March. Overt Defense was able to speak with Howa’s Firearms and Ammunitions Department Deputy General Manager Kazuhiro Kimura, JGSDF light weapons instructor Master Sgt. Kentaro Ota, and with Engineer Yuichi Omote from Asahi-Seki’s Ammunition & Precision Engineering Division about the rifle. Asahi-Seiki is the company responsible for the new 5.56x45mm J3 cartridge which is fired by the rifle.

It has emerged that the UK’s Ministry of Defence Police have failed to meet firearms training standards. The specialist non-military police force is tasked with protecting sites of national importance such as the Royal Navy’s base at Faslane, Scotland – the home of Britain’s Trident nuclear arsenal.

The Indian Ministry of Defense has reissued an RFI for 44,000 5.56x45mm rifles due by July 15th, and to be completed by this August. We say “reissued” because this is actually based on a previous tender for a similar amount of rifles that has received negative public attention since December 2016 because of severe bureaucratic hurdles between the Ministry of Defense and the Government itself (similar to issues surrounding the INSAS debacle). Specifically, the Indian Army is looking for a Close Quarters Battle rifle, chambered in 5.56x45mm, weighing less than 3 Kg, have an effective range of 200 meters, and outfitted with MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rails. The overall objective of this is to replace the 9x19mm Sterling submachine gun that much of the Indian Army is still using today, especially in the Kashmir area of operations.

What do you get when you combine what’s widely regarded as one of the best rifle operating mechanisms ever invented, an innovative and promising concept, and a factory with over 150 years of history making some of the finest small arms in the world? If you said “the best rifle ever made”, you’d be out of luck, because today we’re talking about the L85A1, and how a weapon that seemed to have everything going for it ended up being possibly the worst modern infantry rifle developed by a major party.

“Beneath this mask of a failed bullpup there is more than double feeds and malfunctions. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof, especially when they jam!”, in other words, the SA80/L85 bullpup rifle platform probably wouldn’t be too good at being in anti-establishment movies, considering that the platform itself is a product of the establishment. In all fairness, the L85A2 has come leaps and bounds since its problem years in the 1990s and early in the British involvement of OIF, or Op Telic.

Tyrant Designs, a small company that is putting form and function together in some novel ways, has entered the modular grip game with their MOD AR-15 grip. The grip is lightweight at 4 ounces assembled, which is about an ounce less than the popular Magpul MOE grip that typifies a large swath of rifles.

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.

According to a recent document published by the German popular parliament (Bundestag), the German government has authorized a relaxation of the accuracy requirements for the new MG5 machine gun. Both the original and machine translated versions of the document are embedded below, but first the relevant quote (edited for clarity):

According to the Daily Mail the SAS are looking at switching from the 5.56x45mm NATO round to a 7.62mm round. They seem unimpressed that their US counterparts have access to 7.62mm FN SCAR-H rifles and they are stuck with the M4-like 5.56mm Colt Canada/Diemaco C8 Carbine. An “insider” said …

This is a very clever idea. The rifle is a Mossberg 144LSB Target rifle that is currently listed on gunbroker.