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SCAR
FN Herstal Assault Rifle for US Special Forces |
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| Friday
, 13 May 2010, 18:50 |
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Assault
rifle SCAR FN Herstal is brought into operational service
in the American Special forces
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(Herstal,
Belgium) – FN Herstal, S.A. (FN) received notification
from the USSOCOM Program Executive Office—SOF Warrior
(PEO—SW) that the SCAR
Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) was approved and signed
on April 14, 2010, moving this FN program into the Milestone
C phase. This decision authorizes the production and deployment
of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Combat Assault Rifle
(SCAR) MK 16 and MK 17, as well as the Enhanced Grenade
Launcher Module (EGLM)
MK 13.
Following a worldwide solicitation to the military firearms
industry, nine vendors submitted a dozen different designs
for a new modular, multi-caliber weapons system. The FN
SCAR
submission was the only weapons system to pass all of the
Go/No-Go criteria and was unanimously chosen in November
2004 by the selection board composed of senior operators
from every SOF component. The SCAR
is the first new assault rifle procured by the U.S. Military
through a full and open competition since the M16 trials
were held in the mid-1960s. Tests in reliability, accuracy,
safety and ergonomics were administered from August 2005
to September 2008 and were conducted in a variety of environments
including urban, maritime, jungle and winter/mountain operational
test scenarios. The SCAR
weapons system successfully endured more than two million
rounds of ammunition during these trials, therein making
it one of the most heavily tested weapons in the history
of small arms.
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The
FN SCAR
system consists of two highly adaptable modular rifle platforms
and a grenade launcher. Type-designated as the MK 16 MOD
0 5.56mm Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle
and the MK 17 MOD 0 7.62mm Special Operations Forces Combat
Assault Rifle, both weapons are available with three different
barrel lengths optimized for conducting operations in close-quarters
combat, standard infantry and longer-range precision fire
roles. All SCAR
barrels can be easily interchanged by the operator in just
minutes to instantly meet the requirements of virtually
any mission. The MK 13 MOD 0 40mm Enhanced Grenade Launcher
Module (EGLM) quickly mounts under the barrel of either
SCAR
platform, providing additional capability to the individual
warfighter’s firepower, and can be easily configured
for use as a stand-alone weapon as well. Because of the
SCAR
system’s modular design, ergonomic commonality (100%)
and parts commonality (greater than 80%), it represents
a significant reduction in training costs and life-cycle
support. The weapon system’s open architecture is
designed to support future advancements in operational requirements
including ammunition, aiming devices, sighting systems and
other mission critical equipment. |
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FN
Herstal, S.A., a subsidiary of the Herstal Group, is
based in Belgium and is a world leader in the design, development
and manufacture of small caliber weapons, integrated weapon
systems and associated ammunition for Military and Law Enforcement
as well as Special Forces Operators worldwide. FN Herstal
has successfully equipped defense professionals with state-of-the-art
weapons and associated products for more than 120 years.
Its solid reputation can be attributed to its rigorous professional
ethics, its ongoing effort to achieve foremost quality and
its commitment to efficient service and outstanding customer
support. For more information on FN Herstal or the Herstal
Group, visit www.fnherstal.com. |
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