The newest weapon from South Korea is the K11, basically a combined 5.56 mm assault rifle with overbarrel 20 mm grenade launcher, utilising programmable high explosive airburst grenades and fire control system (ballistic computer with laser rangefinder). The bolt-action grenade launcher is created in bullpup design and fed from a six round, translucent magazine.The assault rifle is just a variant of the wellknown Daewoo K2 service rifle of ROKA (Republic of Korea Army). The K11 was developed from 2000 and in 2008 was officially adopted by the South Korean armed forces and will be introduced to the Army in 2009. Two K11s will be assigned to each infantry squad as a supplement not as replacement to the K2 assault rifle with 40- mm underbarrel K201 grenade launcher.
When this happens, South Korea will be the first nation to use an airburst weapon as standard issue. The overall length of the K11 is 860 mm, weighs 6.1 kg empty and will be produced by Daewoo. The idea of such weapon comes directly fromabandoned American XM29 OICWprogramme, but where the Americans failed, South Korea took a risk.
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| K2 assault Rifle |
in the same place under the same conditions is reduced because hand reload is inherently slower and far less precise. Korea took a risk based on the belief that their fire control system can very accurately place the 20mm round in a lethal radius. If they succeed there will be a lot of followers. If not, their solution minimises the risk to the K11 grenadier, because the second part of the weapon is a standard assault rifle, with which the soldier can save the day and correct the situation if the 20mm grenade fails.
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| South Korean soldiers shoot with K11 Exercises |
The K11 assault rifle with an integrated grenade launcher is an impressive weapon system that combines a 5.56 mm assault rifle with a 20 mm grenade launcher, utilizing programmable high explosive airburst grenades and fire control system. It is interesting to see how this weapon system performs with Sig Sauer Optics. The combination of the K11's advanced features and Sig Sauer's precision optics could result in an even more exceptional shooting experience, especially for those who value accuracy and reliability in their firearms.
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