U.S. Special Forces choose Sig Sauer

 

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The United States Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) on May 19 announced its intention to buy Sig MCX Rattler short rifles in 300 Blackout and 5.56x45mm NATO as personal defense weapons under a five-year contract with a single supplier.

Currently, the US Special Forces are among the largest in the world, both in numbers and in the number of different units. At the same time, the American special forces are distinguished by a fairly branched structure; their special forces exist in all types of the American armed forces. In short, the US Special Operations Command provides unified operational control of special forces in all branches of the US armed forces: in the Army (army), air force and navy, including the Marine Corps.

PDW or Personal Defens Weapon (personal defense weapon) is the name of a whole class of weapons according to Western classification. It is designed to arm the "second line" troops: the crews of combat vehicles, artillery crews, sappers, etc. The main feature of the PDW is special ammunition. The most widely used cartridges are 4.6x30 and 5.7x28 millimeters for the Heckler & Koch MP7 and FN P90, respectively. These types of weapons have found their niche in the police, special forces and security services, as well as personal defense weapons.

Previously, before the advent of special ammunition, “second line” weapons were presented mainly in 9x19 mm caliber, which turned out to be not so effective against the increasingly common means of individual armor protection.

The small-caliber high-velocity bullet 5.7x28 showed significantly better penetration performance than the 9x19 mm, while having less recoil. The smaller diameter of the sleeve made it possible to place 50 rounds of ammunition in a standard P90 submachine gun magazine.

A small, easily controlled recoil during automatic firing, a high-speed cartridge with good ballistics and a capacious magazine fully fit into the concept of weapons for the rear. Thus, in close combat, a soldier with a P90 got good chances. Already in 1999, the first FN P90 was purchased by the Houston Police Department (Texas) for its SWAT team.

FN P90 (Project 1990 PDWS) caliber 5.7x28 mm

The 4.6x30 mm ammunition, together with the weapon, was originally developed as a competitor to the Belgian submachine gun for a place in the standard weapons system of the NATO bloc.

Since 2001, the cartridge, together with the Heckler & Koch MP7A1 submachine gun, began to enter service with the German special forces, in 2005 it was adopted by the British military police, and since 2006 by the German armed forces. The main type of equipment for this cartridge is an armor-piercing bullet with a carbide core.

Heckler & Koch MP7 A1 caliber 4.6x30 mm

In 2017, SOCOM began searching for a lightweight and compact weapon that would "allow operators to have maximum firepower in a compact weapon." Since then, SOCOM has continuously tested various weapon systems as a PDW.

As a result, the choice was reduced to the most easily accessible weapons in terms of production speed, because SOCOM had been demanding new weapons for a really long time and simply did not want to wait an extra year or more.

Ultimately, according to the statements made, "due to the software requirements for weapons," Sig was the only supplier that could provide the weapons needed by SOCOM in a timely manner.

The official contract is still pending, but the SOCOM release represents another victory for the Swiss firearms manufacturer. The company also recently won a major contract to supply regular army units with a new infantry rifle and light machine gun, both based on the Sig MCX.

It is curious that the German police of Schleswig-Holstein in 2017 preferred SIG products, despite the HK 416 adopted in 2005.

Options for Sig MCX Virtus version chambered in 5.56 mm and 300 BLK

The Sig Sauer MCX Rattler will be supplied complete with mufflers, cleaning kits, magazines, quick change barrel kits. The 5.56mm version uses ammunition compatible with the larger M4A1 carbine and other standard US infantry rifles.

Both MCX Rattler calibers have a 14cm barrel and receiver mounted on an AR15 bottom receiver. The total length of the rifle is 60 centimeters, taking into account the extended aluminum folding stock. The 300 Blackout version is 1.3 cm longer than the 5.56 mm rifle. Both models weigh about 2.7 kg excluding ammunition.

The rifles are equipped with Sig's patented M-LOK free-floating handguard, which is its own accessory mounting system, equipped with a Picatinny rail for accessories, with an ambidextrous reload handle. SOCOM will also purchase SL series Sig silencers for both versions of the rifle.

MCX Rattler in 5.56 NATO caliber

SOCOM was particularly looking for a rifle chambered in 300 Blackout (7.62x35mm metric), developed by Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC) in collaboration with Remington in 2009 and primarily available in two variants, 300 Whisper and 300 AAC Blackout.

300 AAC Blackout was supposed to roughly match the ballistic performance of the Soviet-designed 7.62x39mm cartridge, while maintaining accuracy and power when fired from weapons with a very short barrel.

300 Whisper includes a heavier bullet that is subsonic and ideal for suppression and close combat. In most cases, 300 AAC Blackout and 300 Whisper cartridges can be considered interchangeable, but manufacturers recommend, for safety reasons, that only those types of cartridges that are specified in the specification be used in a particular weapon.

300 AAC Blackout instantly gained popularity not only among the military, but also in the US civilian and hunting weapons market. It has excellent ballistics, accuracy and does not lose its characteristics even when using devices for silent shooting. The recoil of the weapon when using this ammunition is very soft and allows you to work with high accuracy even in fully automatic mode.

The dimensions of the cartridge (total length and diameter of the bottom) made it possible to use it in re-barreled weapons, originally designed for .223 Remington / 5.56x45 mm caliber cartridges.

What about PDW in other countries?

1. Russia.

First of all, it was the AKS-74U, which was put into service in 1979 in caliber 5.45x39 mm. The workhorse of the "second line" and the police. Due to its dimensions of 490 mm with a folded butt and a weight of 2.7 kg without cartridges, it was often used as a spare weapon. In 1993, it was replaced by the AK-105 in caliber 5.45x39 mm and found application in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB. There are also options in NATO calibers and our 7.62x39 mm, but mainly for export.

AK-105 of an employee of the Central Security Service of the FSB "Alfa"

2. China.

The East is a delicate matter, the People's Liberation Army of China practically does not participate in the global small arms race. In 1997, they re-armed themselves with automatic weapons of their own design in caliber 5.8x42 mm, abandoning the AK. The PDW niche was occupied by the QBZ-95B model with a total length of 609 mm and a weight of 2.9 kg without cartridges. Used in support troops and special forces.

Women's special forces unit of the PLA.

3. Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces has developed two short versions of the TAR-21 in service. The first "CTAR-21" was made for special forces, the second "MTAR-21" is also suitable for arming drivers and crews of armored vehicles. MTAR-21 is the shortest version for two calibers: 5.56x45 mm NATO and 9x19 mm Para. Micro Tavor has a weight of 2.95 kg excluding cartridges and an overall length of 590 mm.

Soldier of the 933rd Nahal Infantry Brigade with CTAR-21.

Against the backdrop of the adoption of the MCX Rattler, the history of the British Knight's Armament Company looks especially interesting. KAC has been releasing its version of the PDW rifle chambered in the original 6x35mm TSWG cartridge since 2008. At distances up to 200–300 m, the 6x35 mm TSWG cartridge is not inferior to the standard NATO 5.56x45 mm intermediate ammunition in a number of characteristics. KAC PDW (254 mm barrel) without ammunition weighs only 1.95 kg and has a length of 495 mm with the butt folded.

However, to date, KAC has not been adopted even in theory, unlike Sig products. Whether the contract for the supply of the MCX Rattler will be concluded, we will find out later.

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