From the firearms design point of view, one of the most innovative nations is Singapore. The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has introduced the SAR21 (Singapore Assault Rifle 21st Century), designed and made specifically for ease of use by the SAF conscript soldiers. The external design is similar to the father of all polymer receiver bullpup rifles, the Steyr AUG.
The SAR21 uses a long stroke gas piston, translucent magazine and 1.5x scope as part of the carrying handle. It can be fed, depending on magazine well, from SAR-21 and standard M16 magazines. The rifle has an ambidexterious cocking handle, but unfortunately it cannot, unlike the AUG, be configured for left handed shooters.
The location of the fire selector is also unergonomic, because is situated to the rear of the rifle, near the butt plate. On the other hand, the SAR21 was one of the first weapons with an integrated laser aiming device. In the pre-Picatinny rail era, this was an important feature, but nowadays, the universal rail system is a far better solution. It enables the easy attachment every piece of opto-electronic and optic equipment as well as hand grips, bipods and similar attachments.
SAR21 Assault Rifle |
There are eight versions of the rifle: including the recent SAR21 MMS (Modular Mounting System) with system of Picatinny rails in place of a handguard, SAR21 LWC (Light-Weight Carbine) and the newest, the SAR21A. The last was shown in prototype form at the Singapore Air Show in February 2010. The new model has ambidextrious selectors located under the thumb, but it is still unclear if the rifle is adapted for left
handed shooters or not. The barrel length remains unchanged although the overall length has been reduced to 790mm and the weight down to 3.2Kg.
SAR21A and SAR LWC Assault Rifle
The SAR21A has a bit higher rate of fire 600 to 900rpm instead of 450 to 650rpm. The new rifle will be introduced in 2011. During the Singapore Air Show it also presented a new model of the SAR21 LWC, developed for the Indian tender with a new hand guard with fixed hand grip as well as cocking handle relocated from the top to the side of the weapon.
ST Kinetics has also developed the CPW (Compact Personal Weapon) submachine gun, a multi-caliber family of weapons starting with the 9x19 mm cartridge. Most probably this is another Singaporean design prepared for Indian requirements. The CPW is truly lightweight, weighing only 1.5 kg and is a compact weapon with low recoil, using a delayed blow back operation.
The submachine gun’s has magazine is partially translucent and located in the pistol grip for easy round check. The weapon is fully adapted to the left- and right handed users with every selector as well as cocking handle is doubled. The CPWalso has a sturdy built-in retractable buttstock, providing a good support during aimed fire. When retracted it is compact enough to be holstered without obstructing.
SAR21 LCW |
SAR21 LWC |
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