This weapon was designed in the late 1980s to provide a rugged weapon for Italian special forces and the San Marcos Marines that also has a good punch. The Italian government decided to concentrate on the AR-70/90 series instead. The AR-832/FS Assault Rifle is considered heavy for an assault rifle, but this also has the effect of fighting recoil and barrel climb. It has the novel feature of a special gas regulator that allows the firing of rifle grenades with normal ammunition that can normally only be fired using ballistite cartridges. It is also a simple weapon to strip and maintain, and is very tolerant to dirt and abuse. Socimi withdrew the weapon from the market after a few years, and it was never heard from again. A number of these weapons were obtained by their intended users and could be encountered in their hands during the Twilight War; the San Marcos Marines were said to be especially fond of the AR-832/FS Assault Rifle.
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| Socimi 113-12 - Beretta SK 70/90C 113-13 - AR 871 113-14 - Franchi mod. 641 113-15 - SOCIMI mod. 832/FS 113-16 - SOCIMI AR 831 |
Socimi AR-871 Assault Rifle
This Socimi AR-871 Assault Rifle was another competing entry to the AR-70/90, and despite its good qualities, also lost that competition. The AR-871 is able to take a modular sight mount to use the array of optics that were becoming available at the time. It is basically a scaled-down AR-832/FS, fitted with a Picatinny rail that could be replaced with a conventional carrying handle/rear sight combination. In addition to the light alloy construction of the AR-832/FS base, plastics are used for the stock and pistol grip. Like the AR-832/FS, it basically disappeared from the market after the Italian military chose the AR-70/90. Italian special operations personnel liked the punch of the AR-832/FS, but soon requested a smaller version using the 5.56N cartridge. Socimi’s response was the AR-871. Like the AR-832/FS, it was a favorite of Italian special ops units, and the San Marcos Marines.
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