SOPMOD M4
SOPMOD M4
Caliber: 5.56 × 45mm M855
In view of the fact that many manufacturers that provide various sights, lights and other tactical accessories for carbines have not had a mounting interface mark for a long time, USSOCOM (U.S. Special Operations Command ) began to try to develop a set of close-combat carbines in September 1989 . The accessory interface standard was adopted, and the project name SOPMOD was officially proposed on May 15, 1992. SOPMOD means "Special Operations Peculiar Modification". This is the collective name for a series of equipment with the M4A1 rifle as the core. The derivative models such as Mk.18 CQBR and Mk.12 SPR that were later developed on this basis are actually part of SOPMOD. However, when the types of guns equipped increased, in some special forces, everyone used to use the abbreviation SOPMOD. Represents the M4A1 with a 14.5-inch barrel in this set.
As shown in the figure below, the SOPMOD plan was jointly proposed by USSOCOM, Naval Special Operations Forces, Air Force, Army Navy and other special forces, and was entrusted to NSWC (Naval Weapons Research Center) to be responsible for the research. In May 1999, the Navy and Air Force began to provide SOPMOD with the M4A1 carbine as the weapon platform for testing. Note that this system, called SOPMOD M4, is simply called SOPMOD B lock 1 in the NSWC plan . SOPMOD B lock 2 was launched in 2001.
According to several former Tier 1 unit (Delta and DEVGRU, later collectively known as SMU ) veterans, their units had their own modified CAR-15s (referring to the various M16A1 and M16A2 carbines that preceded the M4) in the 1990s. ) had an important influence on the subsequent development of the M4 series (mainly SOPMOD or M4 MWS) . ,
Although the XM177 series has been provided to many units for trial in the late Vietnam War, due to problems such as too fast rate of fire and reduced efficiency after continuous firing of the flash suppressor, the US Army gave up the continued improvement of this series after the war. During the same period, the GSG-9 anti-hijacking operation in Somalia in 1977 and the SAS hostage rescue operation at the Iranian Embassy in 1980 made the MP5 famous. The U.S. Army and Navy special forces, which were deeply influenced by the ideas of the British special forces, also began to use MP5 in large quantities as the main weapon of CQB. Therefore, throughout the 1980s, the U.S. special forces basically used MP5 in conjunction with the standard size M16.
However, some units have studied and analyzed many cases from the Vietnam War to the Iranian Embassy Incident and believe that even in a CQB environment, weapons that fire rifle bullets are needed. Delta was the first to recognize the need for a weapon to fill the gap between the submachine gun and the M16 rifle, and resurrected the carbine at its inception. Although Delta had already used the CAR-15 with the M16 during Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 . According to the self-report of retired Delta player Larry Vickers , when he entered Delta for OTC training in 1988 , he was issued a Colt 723 . In the missions in Panama in 1989 and Somalia in 1993, both Tier 1 Delta and SEAL Team 6 used their own modified CAR-15 . Practice has proved that this short-barreled carbine that fires rifle rounds is an efficient and deadly weapon. . Later, other special forces followed suit and adopted carbines as their main weapons. When the military's XM4 plan was rejected by Congress, their actions promoted SOCOM's determination to continue developing the M4 series to a certain extent, and eventually made the M4A1 the standard weapon of SOCOM. After the Tier 1 units adopted the CAR-15 , they made various personalized modifications due to tactical needs, and these modifications also greatly affected the development and improvement direction of the subsequent M4 series. It can be said that whether it is the emergence of SOPMOD or the emergence of various dazzling personalized accessories on the market today, the Tier 1 unit has a share of the credit.
For example, when installing a non-magnifying close combat sight on the CAR-15 , the first was the OEG sight , then the Aimpoint , and later various auxiliary sighting devices (see AR sighting devices ). In order to facilitate the installation of different types of sighting devices, the M4A1, which was positioned as a special forces weapon from the beginning, already adopted a flat-top receiver design when it was finalized. However , the M4 equipped with conventional troops at the same time still had a fixed handle.
Another example is tactical flashlights. When other units were still using simple plastic handguards, Delta tried to use pipe clamps to fix diving flashlights painted black. When SureFire appeared later, the CAR-15s in the hands of Delta troops were replaced overnight. Equipped with the more lightweight and reliable 6P. Another example is that the telescopic stock of the early CAR-15 only had two positions, but in order to have better ergonomics, Delta's armorers drilled a third positioning hole on the buffer tube of the stock of the CAR-15 . The position is determined by the team members themselves. The purpose is to allow the team members to have the most comfortable shooting posture after putting on the body armor. This was also the predecessor of the four-speed and six-speed telescopic brackets that later appeared. In addition, there is the use of the front grip, etc., and because everyone has their own usage habits, the installation position is also different. It is precisely because of these personalized requirements for the installation of accessories that the later design of the four-sided rail handguard was produced.
The core of the SOPMOD M4 is the M4A1 equipped with a KAC RIS handguard equipped with four-sided rails .
The main contractor of the first-generation SOPMOD M4 is KAC Company . The main module includes an RIS handguard with four sections of M1913 standard rails, upper, lower, left and right , installed on the heavy barrel M4A1 produced by Colt Company . Other components include the M203A2 quick-release grenade launcher with truncated barrel and its sight, a KAC quick-detachable (QD) silencer, KAC backup rear sight, a tactical light, and an AN/PEQ-2 visible/infrared Laser designators, as well as Trijicon's ACOG and reflex sights and a night vision scope, but many soldiers have replaced the Trijicon reflex sights with M68 CCO or EOTech holographic sights.
The M4A1 equipped with RIS handguard is the rifle module of SOPMOD M4/ CQBW M4     Main accessories for the SOPMOD M4 system .jpg) Comparison between a heavy barrel (top) and an ordinary barrel commonly known as a "pencil barrel" (bottom). The difference lies in the part wrapped in the handguard. The M4A1 ordered by SOCOM has always had a heavy barrel.  The commercial name of the M4 A1 produced by KAC is SR-15 M4 , but in fact, M4 produced by other manufacturers can be replaced with a full set of SOPMOD accessories, but the real SOPMOD M4 is the Colt M4A1 purchased by NSWC Several configuration options are provided for reference only, and the combination method can be completely determined according to the user's own preferences and habits.       KAC RIS handguard  Basic composition of R I S handguard For melee combat, a foregrip can be installed. |
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This tactical light that emits visible light is one of the kits of SOPMOD B lock 1 and is often called VLI (Visible Light Illuminator).
Quick detachable M203 and aiming device
How to hang M203 under SOPMOD M4 and the M203 sight it is equipped with
Delta team member Tom Spooner in Iraq in 2003, his M4 was also equipped with a KAC MRE RAS handguard. |
M4 replaced with KAC MRE RAS handguard
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