A few questions regarding small arms

[Eeshaan]

Hello,

I have a few questions regarding assault rifles and some reference. They are as follows :

1 : The Indian-made INSAS rifle and its Excalabur variants take the best features from the AK-47, FAL & G3 and combine these into one package.
But nowadays, Germany is using the G36, France has FAMAS, Israel has the TAR-21 ( Also used by indian special forces ). China is also aquiring the QBZ-95 & QBZ-03. While other nations such as these are fielding modern weapons, do you think the INSAS is a good choice for an assault rifle for India, given that it's based on outdated weapons like AK47 & G3 ? In my opinion, a good, reliable and modern alternative with the conventional design, should have been the SIG 550 series of weapons for the Indian army.

2 : USA has been using the M-16 & M-4 series of weapons for quite some time now. While other nations are upgrading their small arms, USA has cancelled its XM8 project. The Special Forces use SCAR & M416 rifles, but will the United States be upgrading the small arms for it's conventional forces from the M4/M16 antytime soon ? If so, then what will be the replacement weapon for it ?

3 : The bullpup design makes weapons more compact & easier to wield. But H&K's G36 and the M16/4 are still in convetional layout. Why do the manufacturers of these types of weapons and the armies that use them still prefer the conventional older design to the new bullpup one ? What are the disadvantages & advantages that both designs have over each other ?

4 : I'm looking for a good small arms website with detailed information on assault rifles/pistols/SMGs etc., but apart from world.guns.ru, I wasnt able to find any other website. Would anyone like to mention any good small arms website if they know of any ?

Will appreciate any answers I can get.

Thanks

 

[winnyfield]

Hello,

I have a few questions regarding assault rifles and some reference. They are as follows :


2 : USA has been using the M-16 & M-4 series of weapons for quite some time now. While other nations are upgrading their small arms, USA has cancelled its XM8 project.

Most countries that have 'upgraded' have done so with the switch from 7.62mm to 5.56mm - Norway best example. I don't think we'll see a mainstream change for the US unless there's a change in calibre. In the short term as had the M4 filtered down, the same could happen with the SOCOM's SCAR.

4 : I'm looking for a good small arms website with detailed information on assault rifles/pistols/SMGs etc., but apart from world.guns.ru, I wasnt able to find any other website. Would anyone like to mention any good small arms website if they know of any ?


Thanks

Resonably good site, ammo gallery is excellent -
http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/miltech.htm

Also try http://www.ar15.com/ , they're the people you want if you're looking to get totally nerdy (who, when, what, how) about firearms.

Keep an eye on the professional defense related publications a well for programs - AvWeek, DefNews, Flight etc.

 

[Eeshaan]

Thanks alot for the info. The sites are very good.

And as for the M16 upgrade, is there any plan for an M16A5 or M4A2 that improve on the reliability issues with these weapons ?

Also, what happened to the 6.8mm assault rifle cartridge that was being developed ? Has it also been cancelled like the XM8 ? I heard that the M4 was going to be chambered for the 6.8mm cartridge, but havent heard any news on this for a long time.

 

[aaaditya]

Hello,

I have a few questions regarding assault rifles and some reference. They are as follows :

1 : The Indian-made INSAS rifle and its Excalabur variants take the best features from the AK-47, FAL & G3 and combine these into one package.
But nowadays, Germany is using the G36, France has FAMAS, Israel has the TAR-21 ( Also used by indian special forces ). China is also aquiring the QBZ-95 & QBZ-03. While other nations such as these are fielding modern weapons, do you think the INSAS is a good choice for an assault rifle for India, given that it's based on outdated weapons like AK47 & G3 ? In my opinion, a good, reliable and modern alternative with the conventional design, should have been the SIG 550 series of weapons for the Indian army.

2 : USA has been using the M-16 & M-4 series of weapons for quite some time now. While other nations are upgrading their small arms, USA has cancelled its XM8 project. The Special Forces use SCAR & M416 rifles, but will the United States be upgrading the small arms for it's conventional forces from the M4/M16 antytime soon ? If so, then what will be the replacement weapon for it ?

3 : The bullpup design makes weapons more compact & easier to wield. But H&K's G36 and the M16/4 are still in convetional layout. Why do the manufacturers of these types of weapons and the armies that use them still prefer the conventional older design to the new bullpup one ? What are the disadvantages & advantages that both designs have over each other ?

4 : I'm looking for a good small arms website with detailed information on assault rifles/pistols/SMGs etc., but apart from world.guns.ru, I wasnt able to find any other website. Would anyone like to mention any good small arms website if they know of any ?

Will appreciate any answers I can get.

Thanks

you had asked wether the insas is a good choice to serve as an assault rifle for the indian army.

you have forgotten that the insas is a combat proven weapon system,having been used during the kargil war,there are 500000+ insas rifles in service with the indian armed forces.

the excalibur is an advanced version of the insas assault rifle,along with the kalantak which is based on the insas.these weapons will replace the current insas rifles with the indian army ,which would be handed over to the paramillitary forces.

the insas rifles are currently being used in the counter insurgency operations in the jammu and kashmir and the north east.most of the earlier problems seem to have been fixed and of late there have been no complaints about the insas rifle from either the indian or the nepali armies which use them.

insas and its variants are here to stay as the standard weapon of the indian army.

 

[Eeshaan]

Thanks alot for the info. I needed to confirm some doubts I had regarding this topic.
I initially heard that despite the problems being fixed, the INSAS does not function well in extremely cold weather. Also, I had the misconception that the Excalibur weapon system was being developed for use by the Special Forces only.

Anyways, does anyone have any info on the 6.8mm cartridge that USA has been developing lately ? The initial weapon that will make use of this ammo is the REC7/M468, which is a modified M4 chambered for the 6.8mm round.

 

[extern]

does anyone have any info on the 6.8mm cartridge that USA has been developing lately ? The initial weapon that will make use of this ammo is the REC7/M468, which is a modified M4 chambered for the 6.8mm round.

I recomend you this article and the ballistic table, thus you could judge by yourself:
small arms ammunition for the 21st century.pdf - 0.20MB

 

[Eeshaan]

Thanks alot for the information, extern. That was very informative.

So, seems like the switch to 6.8mm or 6.5mm Grendel is not going to happen anytime soon, as it is not only a difficult and time consuming effot, but also an extremely expensive one.

But it would be more than worth the money, time & effort spent when the 5.56 mm cartridge is eventually replaced with either 6.5 or 6.8mm.

At the moment, creating a "heavy ball" load 5.56 mm round looks like the most economical solution for an interim 5.56mm replacement.

 

[winnyfield]

So, seems like the switch to 6.8mm or 6.5mm Grendel is not going to happen anytime soon, as it is not only a difficult and time consuming effot, but also an extremely expensive one.

Making a AR15/M16/M4 to shoot a 6.8/6.5mm isn't difficult, it's a very adaptable platform. Infrastructure is where it's most expensive and difficult. It'd probably be in 'peacetime' for a switch to occur.

At the moment, creating a "heavy ball" load 5.56 mm round looks like the most economical solution for an interim 5.56mm replacement.

Agree.