Squad automatic weapon

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the weapon known in British Forces service as the LSW, see
L86. For the weapon known in American service as the SAW, see M249 light machine gun
.
Bren is an example of a British Army squad automatic weapon from World War II
.
A Romanian soldier instructs a U.S. marine in clearing an RPK, a squad automatic weapon variant of the AKM.

A squad automatic weapon (SAW), also known as a section automatic weapon or light support weapon (LSW), is a man-portable

belt/drum
-fed design.

Squad automatic weapons usually fire the same

mounting platform
to be operable.

Overview

Madsen machine gun

One of the first weapons used in this role was the Madsen machine gun. Although limited in today's terms, the Madsen was introduced in an era when the standard infantry rifle was a bolt-action repeater with fixed magazines reloaded with single rounds or chargers; sustained rapid fire with these weapons could be maintained only for very short periods of time. The Madsen was capable of fully automatic fire; despite having only limited magazine capacity, this was still more than that of the infantry rifle, and it was of the quick change detachable box magazine type. Though over 100 years old, the Madsen is still in limited use today. The standard machine guns of this era were of the Maxim type. Used by the British, Germans, and the Russians, these weapons were bulky, heavy, tripod-based, and water-cooled, they required a team of four men and, although excellent in the defence, were not suited to manoeuvre warfare.

M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle

Another pioneering weapon in this role was the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). Introduced late in World War I, it remained in front-line service into the Vietnam War. Intended originally as an automatic rifle capable of delivering suppressing "walking fire" in the advance, the BAR came to be used in the light machine gun role. During World War II, as the importance of having a source of mobile automatic fire increased, the number of BARs in a unit also increased, until in some units it represented 1 in 4 of the weapons present in a squad. During its long service in the US military, it was pivotal in the evolution of U.S. fireteam tactics and doctrine that continues to the present day.

Austrian MG74

Modern squad automatic weapons (such as the RPK and L86) are modified assault rifles or battle rifles (e.g. FN FAL 50.41 and M14A1) that may have increased ammunition capacity and heavier barrels to withstand continued fire and will almost always have a bipod. In the case of some assault rifles, such as the H&K G36 or Steyr AUG, the SAW is simply the standard rifle with a few parts replaced. However, the Austrian Army, though issuing the Steyr AUG rifle, does not issue the HBAR (heavy barrel) variant. Instead, the 7.62mm caliber MG74, a derivative of WW2-era German MG 42, is issued.

FN Mag-derived L7. The most common squad automatic weapons in use today are derived from two basic patterns: the Kalashnikov-based RPK or the purpose-designed FN Minimi
.

National examples

Belgium

FN Minimi

China

QJB-95

The People's Liberation Army initially used the Type 56 LMG as the primary light machine gun to replace all of its obsolete WW2 LMGs. After the Sino-Vietnamese War, the PLA adopted the drum-fed Type 81 LMG for high mobility, which was later replaced by QJB-95 since the adoption of QBZ-95. However, the PLA changed back to belt-fed QJB-201 light machine guns since 2021.

Germany

HK MG4

West Germany's original plan in the late 1980s was to adopt the new 5.56mm

MG5
resembles the MG4 and is the new general-purpose machine gun of the German Army, adopted in 2015.

Italy

In the 1980s the Italian military considered the idea of adopting a heavy-barrelled magazine-fed 5.56mm automatic rifle. It was to accompany the 5.56mm

MG 42/59
general purpose machine gun. A rethinking of the concept led to their adoption of the belt-fed FN Minimi instead.

Netherlands

The

Colt Canada Light Support Weapon) as their squad automatic weapon. All other branches use the FN Minimi
for this role.

Soviet Union/Russian Federation

RPK-74

The Russian support weapon concept was designed around providing

one standard cartridge that could be used by the clip-fed rifle (SKS), magazine-fed assault rifle (AK-47) and belt-fed light machine gun (RPD
). The SKS and RPD were dropped as being less effective than hoped. The RPK, with its magazine and parts commonality with the base AK-47, was more effective. It replaced the RPD as soon as manufacturing techniques allowed it to be mass-produced.

  • RPK
  • RPKS
    : A version with a side-folding wooden stock (S for -skladnoi).
  • RPK-74
    : A version chambered for the new 5.45x39mm cartridge.
  • RPK-74M
    : An improved version (M for modernizirovanniy) of the RPK-74 with polymer furniture.
    • RPK-201
      : An export model of the RPK-74M chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO.
    • RPK-203
      : An export model of the RPK-74M chambered in 7.62x39mm.
  • RPK-16: The RPK-16 squad automatic weapon is a new light support weapon which is expected to take over the role of its predecessor, the RPK-74, in the Russian Armed Forces.[1]
  • RPL-20: The belt-fed LMG designed to fill the gap between RPK and PK machine gun.

United Kingdom

L86A2

The

L2 Sterling SMG and 7.62mm L1A1 SLR Rifle. The L86 LSW (Light Support Weapon) was the automatic rifle version and was intended to replace the L4 BREN gun and supplement the FN MAG general-purpose machine gun, replacing it at section level. Teething problems, low quality parts, poor ergonomic design and an inability to be wielded left-handed made the SA80 suite unpopular. The magazine-fed L86 was found to not be as capable of sustained fire as a belt-fed system so it was initially supplemented by the L110A1 FN Minimi and then replaced by it. The L86's role was then changed to that of a designated marksman rifle
.

United States

M249 Para

In United States usage, the M249 light machine gun is commonly referred to as the Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).[2][3]

In the 1970s the United States began realizing that it might have to fight a conflict in the deserts and mountains of the Middle East or Near East rather than the jungles of Asia or forests of Europe and Eurasia. The Squad Automatic Weapon program was designed to create an intermediate weapon between the M16 rifle and

Heckler & Koch HK 23
(XM262) chambered for the improved 5.56mm SS109 round. The FN Minimi was adopted as the M249 because it could optionally fire from magazines from an integral magazine port rather than requiring an exchange of parts in the field like the HK23.

The

M249 was the modified HK416, later designated the M27 IAR. The M249 SAW is still in use as a squad automatic weapon by the US Army
.

In 2019, US Army launched

Next Generation Squad Weapon Program to find replacement for M249 SAW and replacement for 5.56×45mm NATO
round. There are three competitors:

See also

References

  1. ^ "TASS: Military & Defense - Kalashnikov signs contract to supply Defense Ministry with newest RPK-16 machine guns". 2018-02-08. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  2. ^ Boe, David (August 1, 1997). "Mission Continues" (PDF). The Talon. Vol. 3, no. 31. Eagle Base, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1st Infantry Division (Task Force Eagle) Public Affairs Office. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2000. Retrieved November 27, 2013. Sitting atop the platoon leader's HMMWV, the 20-year-old soldier mans a Squad Assault Weapon and monitors traffic at the crossroads.
  3. ISBN 978-1-4402-2652-6
    . Retrieved November 27, 2013. When it comes to machine guns, FNH USA is turning out copies of the M249 Squad Assault Weapon (SAW) that has been in the US military inventory for several decades.
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