SCAR Overview

 SCAR Overview

On October 15, 2003, the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) formally proposed a tender for the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR). The project required the use of a completely new modular weapon to replace the M16/M4, which could replace three barrel lengths and change calibers in a short time according to different purposes. Since the research work of SCAR was very low-key, and HK and the US Army had made a lot of fanfare to promote many of the performance of the XM8 project, it just happened to coincide with the concept of SCAR. Therefore, many people speculated that if the XM8 was adopted by the US Army, it would also be adopted by the special forces as SCAR. However, when USSOCOM suddenly announced in November 2004 that FN won the competition for SCAR, it showed that the SCAR project was not affected by the XM8 project at all.

According to the concept, there will be two main types of SCAR, one is the light SCAR (SCAR-L) with a caliber of 5.56×45mm, and the other is the heavy SCAR (SCAR-H) with a caliber of 7.62×51mm, of which SCAR-L will be developed first. Both SCAR-L and SCAR-H will use modular barrels, and there will be the following models: standard (S type), indoor close combat (CQC type) and sniper (SV type). The SV type may be an upgraded module or an independently designed weapon. Barrel modularity can be achieved by replacing the upper receiver or only the barrel. SCAR-L will use improved 5.56×45mm ammunition and improved 5.56mm magazines. SCAR-H was originally intended to use 7.62×39mm, but was later adjusted to 7.62×51mm NATO caliber.

In future plans, there will still be a requirement to be able to convert and fire other calibers, for example, the SCAR-L can fire 7.62 × 39mm , 5.45 × 39mm and 6.8 × 43mm SPC , while the SCAR-H can fire .300WSM .

There should be maximum commonality of parts between SCAR-L and SCAR-H to form a family of guns. Such commonality will reduce training time, improve mission effectiveness, and enhance the ability of special forces members to respond to emergencies. The SCAR system requires ruggedness, high reliability, easy control of fully automatic shooting, low failure rate, excellent ergonomics, corrosion resistance, ability to shoot without lubrication (ideal requirement) or at least with minimal lubrication (minimum requirement), and requires only low maintenance workload.

The SCAR family of guns are all required to use telescopic or folding stocks. When using a standard barrel, the total length of the SCAR-L with the stock retracted/folded cannot exceed 29.9 inches (about 76cm), and when the stock is unfolded, it cannot exceed 33.6 inches (about 85cm), and the empty gun weight cannot exceed 7.25 pounds (about 3.3kg ). The length of the SCAR-H cannot exceed that of the existing 7.62mm combat rifles. When using a standard barrel, the corresponding length is 30.3 inches (about 77cm) and 40.2 inches (about 102cm), and the empty gun weight cannot exceed 9 pounds.

The minimum requirement for changing the barrel is 20 minutes, and the ideal requirement is 5 minutes.

The minimum requirement for break of fire failure (MRBF) is 2,000 rounds, and the ideal requirement is 8,000 rounds.

A fixed caliber is the minimum requirement, and being able to switch calibers between SCAR-L and SCAR-H at will is an ideal requirement.

The minimum requirement for the weapon's fully functional service life is 15,000 rounds, and the ideal requirement is 90,000 rounds; the minimum requirement for barrel life is 15,000 rounds, and the ideal requirement is 35,000 rounds.

My initial understanding of the accuracy requirements of SCAR was wrong. According to the reminder of Aimushiliu year , I thought that the minimum requirement was that the dispersion at 300 meters should not exceed 1MOA. In fact, it means that the dispersion is greater than 1MOA than the benchmark ammunition. The benchmark ammunition refers to the standard for acceptance testing of ammunition accuracy through ballistic verification guns. In other words, the dispersion when firing MK262 should be 1MOA greater than the accuracy of MK262 itself; and when firing M855, it should be 1MOA greater than the accuracy of M855 itself. Similarly, the ideal requirement is that the dispersion at a distance of 300 meters is 0.25MOA greater than the benchmark ammunition.

SCAR uses M1913 rails and all common SOPMOD accessories. The SCAR weapon accessories include a shoulder strap, bipod, front grip, blank recoil assist device and an operator's manual.

During the initial evaluation, the tenderer needs to provide samples including: 3 SCAR-L S models, 1 SCAR-L CQC model and 1 SCAR-H technical verification gun. After the initial evaluation, the government will flexibly issue contracts to purchase more sample guns for testing and evaluation. The minimum number is estimated to be 12 sets of SCAR-L engineering test sample guns and standard barrels, 6 SCAR-L CQC models, 1 SCAR-L SV model and 1 SCAR-H standard model.

The government will determine future purchase orders based on the results of the evaluation. The maximum order is estimated at 84,000 SCAR-L S; 28,000 SCAR-L CQC; 12,000 SCAR-L SV; 15,000 SCAR-H S; 7,000 SCAR-H CQC; and 12,000 SCAR-H SV. The total contract value for all SCAR-L and SCAR-H rifles is $10,000,000 and will include an engineering services contract for product improvement/caliber module development in an amount not to exceed $4,000,000. The contract also includes magazines, tools, and spare parts for all SCAR-L and SCAR-H models. The first delivery date for the SCAR model is 180 days after the order is placed, but subsequent deliveries will be within 90 days of the order. The monthly delivery rate is 2,000 SCAR-L or 500 SCAR-H.

In 2005, USSOCOM proposed another light weapons project EGLM (Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module) to be merged with the SCAR program. EGLM became an under-slung grenade launcher for the SCAR rifle , so all companies participating in the SCAR bidding had to attach EGLM.