FN SCAR 1st generation prototype

FN SCAR 1st generation prototype

Caliber:　5.56 × 45mm NATO / 7.62 × 51mm NATO

In November 2004, USSOCOM officially announced that FN USA won the competition for the SCAR project and had awarded FN USA a contract on November 5 to produce the second batch of SCAR prototypes for further testing and evaluation. In mid-2005, the first batch of SCAR rifles officially entered service with US special forces, and future SCAR rifles will also be produced by FNMI . Since USSOCOM uses the naval naming convention, the FN SCAR rifle is now officially designated as the 5.56mm NATO Mark 16 rifle (SCAR-L) and the 7.62mm NATO Mark 17 rifle (SCAR-H) . It is generally believed that Mk.16 and Mk.17 will gradually replace most of the rifle systems currently used by USSOCOM's forces, such as SCAR-L will replace M4A1 , Mk18 , and Mk12 SPR ; and SCAR-H will replace M14/ Mk.14 and Mk.11 .

In addition, although the US Army Weapon Research, Development and Engineering Center had been supporting HK Defense's XM8 until 2005 , hoping that the US Army would adopt it, in early 2005, other small arms manufacturers asked the Army to give them a chance to compete. They complained that it was unfair not to go through an open tender, so the US Army announced a temporary XM8 development plan in May and started bidding in September. At that time, many people speculated that FN SCAR would become a strong competitor of XM8 (due to the demand for the "Land Warrior" and "Ideal Force Warrior" systems, I personally guessed that the US Army would not easily give in on the weight index. Judging from the weight requirements, no company's SCAR sample gun could threaten XM8 at present) . In addition, although the US Army no longer released any news about XM8 on the surface and announced the tender for modular assault rifles at the end of 2005, according to the information provided in the May-June 2005 issue of " SAR " magazine, the XM8 plan has been secretly carried out and has not stopped. However, in November, the US Army announced the suspension of the XM8 bidding and research plan. That is to say, although the US special forces will adopt SCAR , the US Army will continue to use the M16/M4 series.

Initially, the FN SCAR was believed to be based on the FN FNC assault rifle, which, along with its Swedish cousin the Ak-5, has been in use for years, and has demonstrated excellent reliability in jungle, desert, and polar environments, because both the FN FNC and the Ak-5 are based on the AK -style operating system, which means they are more reliable in extreme environments such as dirt, mud, and sand. The only problem is that the firing pin of the FN FNC is said to break prematurely, but this problem is easily correctable. The FN SCAR inherits the FN FNC 's gas-operated principle, short-stroke piston, AK -style double-locking cam rotary bolt, and fixed ejector, which is less susceptible to harsh environments than the M16 series, especially after sand, dust, and other contaminants enter the receiver. However, as further information becomes available, it can be found that the design of its bolt carrier seems to be based on the XM8 , and the head seems to be a multi-locking cam head similar to the FN Minimi/M249 SAW machine gun.

The first online promotional materials provided by FN , the picture above is the first picture released. The picture below is the second official picture released. The upper rifle in the picture below is the S model of SCAR-L , and the lower rifle is the CQC model of SCAR-H. The data in the table are the data of the S model in the early sample gun .

Exploded view of the early SCAR-L: 1-upper receiver assembly; 2-AMS folding sight; 3-ACOG sight; 4-bolt handle; 5-QD flash suppressor; 6-improved 30-round magazine; 7-front grip; 8-lower receiver assembly; 9-stock assembly

The FN SCAR 's receiver consists of two parts, an upper and lower part, connected by two pins. In the earliest prototypes, both parts were made of metal. Initial speculation was that the lower receiver might be aluminum alloy and the upper receiver was stamped steel plate. The advantage of metal receivers is that they are strong and durable, but the disadvantage is that they are heavy. In order to reduce weight, the improved prototypes used a plastic lower receiver, while the upper receiver was confirmed to be made of extruded aluminum. The upper receivers of the Mk.16 and Mk.17 are basically the same except for the size of the ejection port. Other different parts include the barrel caliber, bolt, and lower receiver including the magazine well. The commonality of parts between the Mk.16 and Mk.17 is an astonishing 90% . As shown in the exploded view, the barrel is fixed in the upper receiver by two locking pins and can be quickly removed. Only a few tools and time are required to replace the barrel, so the conversion between the standard model ( S model), indoor close combat model ( CQC model) and sniper model ( SV model) can be easily completed.

The safety/selector lever can be easily operated by both hands, and the trigger group has two settings, single shot and full automatic, and there is no control mechanism to limit the length of the burst. The bolt handle can be installed on either side of the weapon at will, so there are slots on both sides of the upper receiver to accommodate the bolt handle. The position of the magazine catch is the same as that of the M16 , and it is available on both sides, which can be easily operated by the shooter ( a patent purchased from Ambi-Catch ). There is a full-length integral Picatinny rail on the top of the upper receiver, and other Picatinny rails are installed on the sides and below the handguard. The side-folding polymer stock can be adjusted in length, and the cheek pad can also be adjusted. The FN SCAR rifle is equipped with removable, adjustable, and foldable mechanical sights. The peep sight is installed behind the rail on the top of the receiver, and the front sight is installed on the gas block. Other sighting devices can be installed on the rail. The current prototype of the FN SCAR rifle does not have a bayonet lug, and it may not have one in the future. FN USA has also developed a 40mm under-slung grenade launcher specifically for SCAR based on the grenade launcher of the F2000 weapon system. The EGLM grenade launcher can be used on SCAR-L and SCAR-H , or alone.

The Mk.16 SCAR -L rifle will use an improved steel M16 -style magazine, which is heavier than an aluminum magazine, but stronger and more reliable; the Mk.17 SCAR-H will use a 7.62 mm Nato magazine that can hold 20 rounds . It is not clear whether the FN SCAR system will add other calibers, but there is speculation that the 7.62×39 mm M43 caliber may be added and all AK -style magazines may be used. As for the 6.8mm SPC caliber, there is currently no sign of any planned testing and adoption.

Comparing the FNC bolt (above) with the FN SCAR bolt (below), it turns out that the initial speculation that SCAR uses the FNC bolt system was wrong.

1-return spring assembly; 2-bolt frame; 3-firing pin positioning pin; 4-firing pin; 5-bolt locking guide post; 6-bolt

Advanced Armament Corp (AAC) silencer for SCAR

The Grip Pod System developed for SCAR is an accessory that integrates a front grip and bipod. It can be installed on any M1913 interface, so GPS is promoting it to other users.

The telescopic stock lock on the early prototype gun

The EGLM sample gun provided by FN is actually an improvement on the grenade launcher of the F2000 system, and its competitor is HK's AG-C/XM320.

CQC type of SCAR-H and SCAR-L

The steel lower receiver of the first prototype gun

The SCAR-L standard prototype is being tested. In the left picture, you can see that there is a small bipod stored inside the front grip.

CQC models of SCAR-H and SCAR-L undergoing shooting tests.

The SACR is undergoing a carry test, with participants fully armed and carrying SCAR prototypes while getting on and off vehicles or climbing to examine the impact of the rifle on soldiers' mobility.