Squad automatic weapon

For the weapon known in British Forces service as the LSW, seeL86.For the weapon known in American service as the SAW, seeM249 light machine gun.

TheBrenis an example of aBritish Armysquad automatic weapon fromWorld War II.

ARomanian soldierinstructs aU.S. marinein clearing anRPK,a squad automatic weapon variant of theAKM.

Asquad automatic weapon(SAW), also known as asection automatic weaponorlight support weapon(LSW), is a man-portableautomatic firearmattached toinfantrysquadsorsectionsas a source of rapiddirect firepower.Weapons fulfilling this role can belight machine guns,or modifiedselective-firerifles fitted with a heavierbarrel,bipodand abelt/drum-fed design.

Squad automatic weapons usually fire the samecartridge(though heavier-bulletvariants are preferred) as theassault riflesorbattle riflescarried by other members of the unit. This reduceslogisticalrequirements by making it only necessary to supply one type of service ammunition to a unit. These weapons are light enough to be carried and operated by one infantryman, unlikemedium machine guns(such as theM1919 Browning) that requirea crewto operate at full effectiveness; orheavy machine guns(such as theM2 Browningor theDShK) which fire morepowerfulcartridges but are also crew-served and typically also require amounting platformto be operable.

Overview

Madsen machine gun

One of the first weapons used in this role was theMadsen machine gun.Although limited in today's terms, the Madsen was introduced in an era when the standard infantry rifle was abolt-actionrepeater with fixed magazines reloaded with single rounds orchargers;sustained rapid fire with these weapons could be maintained only for very short periods of time. The Madsen was capable of fully automatic fire; despite having only limited magazine capacity, this was still more than that of the infantry rifle, and it was of the quick changedetachable box magazinetype. Though over 100 years old, the Madsen is still in limited use today. The standard machine guns of this era were of theMaximtype. Used by the British, Germans, and the Russians, these weapons were bulky, heavy, tripod-based, and water-cooled, they required a team of four men and, although excellent in the defence, were not suited to manoeuvre warfare.

M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle

Another pioneering weapon in this role was theBrowning Automatic Rifle(BAR). Introduced late inWorld War I,it remained in front-line service into theVietnam War.Intended originally as an automatic rifle capable of delivering suppressing "walking fire"in the advance, the BAR came to be used in the light machine gun role. DuringWorld War II,as the importance of having a source of mobile automatic fire increased, the number of BARs in a unit also increased, until in some units it represented 1 in 4 of the weapons present in a squad. During its long service in the US military, it was pivotal in the evolution of U.S.fireteamtactics and doctrine that continues to the present day.

Austrian MG74

Modern squad automatic weapons (such as theRPKandL86) are modifiedassault riflesorbattle rifles(e.g.FN FAL 50.41andM14A1) that may have increased ammunition capacity and heavier barrels to withstand continued fire and will almost always have a bipod. In the case of some assault rifles, such as theH&K G36orSteyr AUG,the SAW is simply the standard rifle with a few parts replaced. However, the Austrian Army, though issuing the Steyr AUG rifle, does not issue the HBAR (heavy barrel) variant. Instead, the 7.62mm caliber MG74, a derivative of WW2-era GermanMG 42,is issued.

Light machine guns,either belt-fed or magazine-fed, may be used as squad automatic weapons, as maygeneral-purpose machine guns;for example, during most of theCold Warperiod, the standard squad automatic weapon in the British Army was theFN Mag-derived L7. The most common squad automatic weapons in use today are derived from two basic patterns: the Kalashnikov-basedRPKor the purpose-designedFN Minimi.

National examples

Belgium

FN Minimi

• FN Minimi
• FN SCAR(HAMR)

China

QJB-95

ThePeople's Liberation Armyinitially used theType 56 LMGas the primary light machine gun to replace all of its obsolete WW2 LMGs. After theSino-Vietnamese War,the PLA adopted the drum-fedType 81 LMGfor high mobility, which was later replaced byQJB-95since the adoption of QBZ-95. However, the PLA changed back to belt-fedQJB-201light machine guns since 2021.

Germany

HK MG4

West Germany's original plan in the late 1980s was to adopt the new 5.56mmHeckler & Koch G41assault rifle (a variant of the HK33) to replace the 7.62mmHeckler & Koch G3battle rifle and the 4.7mmHeckler & Koch G11carbine to replace the 9mmIMI MP2 UziandHeckler & Koch MP5.The end of theCold Warand thereunification of Germany in 1990forced everyone to scramble for a cheap alternative. TheG36family was created from a proof-of-concept prototype rechambered to fire the 5.56mm NATO cartridge. It is composed of an assault rifle (G36), light machine gun (MG36), assault carbine (G36K), and PDW (G36C). Though produced, presented and ordered, theMG36was never adopted by the German Army as the differences and benefits to the G36 were seen as marginal, resulting in the order being cancelled. The 5.56mm NATOMG4is the standard platoon-level support weapon of the German Army, adopted in 2005. The 7.62mm NATOMG5resembles the MG4 and is the new general-purpose machine gun of the German Army, adopted in 2015.

Italy

In the 1980s the Italian military considered the idea of adopting a heavy-barrelled magazine-fed 5.56mm automatic rifle. It was to accompany the 5.56mmBeretta AR70/90assault rifle and supplement the 7.62mmMG 42/59general purpose machine gun. A rethinking of the concept led to their adoption of the belt-fed FN Minimi instead.

Netherlands

TheNetherlands Marine Corpsis the only part of the Dutch military to use theLOAWNLD(an updated version of theColt Canada Light Support Weapon) as their squad automatic weapon. All other branches use theFN Minimifor this role.

Soviet Union/Russian Federation

RPK-74

The Russian support weapon concept was designed around providingone standard cartridgethat could be used by the clip-fed rifle (SKS), magazine-fed assault rifle (AK-47) and belt-fed light machine gun (RPD). The SKS and RPD were dropped as being less effective than hoped. The RPK, with its magazine and parts commonality with the base AK-47, was more effective. It replaced the RPD as soon as manufacturing techniques allowed it to be mass-produced.

• RPK
• RPKS:A version with a side-folding wooden stock (S for-skladnoi).
• RPK-74:A version chambered for the new 5.45×39mm cartridge.
• RPK-74M:An improved version (M formodernizirovanniy) of the RPK-74 with polymer furniture.
  • RPK-201:An export model of the RPK-74M chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.
  • RPK-203:An export model of the RPK-74M chambered in 7.62×39mm.
• RPK-16:The RPK-16 squad automatic weapon is a new light support weapon which is expected to take over the role of its predecessor, theRPK-74,in the Russian Armed Forces.
• RPL-20:The belt-fed LMG designed to fill the gap between RPK andPK machine gun.

United Kingdom

L86A2

TheSA80program was designed to create a family of light assault weapons that had a commonality of parts, could use the same ammunition and magazines, and would replace the UK military's collection of submachine guns, rifles, and light machine guns. Originally designed around a lighter experimental4.85mmcartridge, they were forced to redesign the weapon to take the 5.56mm NATO cartridge. The L85 IW (Individual Weapon) was the rifle version and was designed to replace the 9mmL2 Sterling SMGand 7.62mmL1A1 SLR Rifle.TheL86 LSW (Light Support Weapon)was the automatic rifle version and was intended to replace theL4 BREN gunand supplement theFN MAGgeneral-purpose machine gun,replacing it at section level. Teething problems, low quality parts, poor ergonomic design and an inability to be wielded left-handed made the SA80 suite unpopular. The magazine-fed L86 was found to not be as capable of sustained fire as a belt-fed system so it was initially supplemented by theL110A1 FN Minimiand then replaced by it. The L86's role was then changed to that of adesignated marksman rifle.

United States

M249 Para

In United States usage, theM249 light machine gunis commonly referred to as the Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).

In the 1970s the United States began realizing that it might have to fight a conflict in the deserts and mountains of the Middle East or Near East rather than the jungles of Asia or forests of Europe and Eurasia. TheSquad Automatic Weaponprogram was designed to create an intermediate weapon between the M16 rifle andM60 machine gun.It would have to fire tracer ammunition out to a visible range of 800 meters or more, be capable of accurate high-volume sustained fire, and be lighter and more reliable than the M60. Initially the contenders were built around a new intermediate cartridge, but the problems with approval for a new third American-backed standard NATO cartridge forced its abandonment. The program then selected between the control group weapons: theFN Minimi(XM249) andHeckler & Koch HK 23(XM262) chambered for the improved 5.56mm SS109 round. The FN Minimi was adopted as the M249 because it could optionally fire from magazines from an integral magazine port rather than requiring an exchange of parts in the field like the HK23.

TheInfantry Automatic Rifleprogram was launched by theUnited States Marine Corpsin 2005. Its task was to find a replacement for the heavy and cumbersome M249 SAW that was serving as the Squad Automatic weapon in a fireteam at the time. Two of the weapons in the competition were theFN SCAR HAMRand a slightly modifiedHK416.The weapon chosen to replace theM249was the modified HK416, later designated theM27 IAR.The M249 SAW is still in use as a squad automatic weapon by theUS Army.

In 2019, US Army launchedNext Generation Squad Weapon Programto find replacement for M249 SAW and replacement for5.56×45mm NATOround. There are three competitors:

• Sig Sauer MG-6.8with 6.8 Sig hybrid round, declared winner of the program as theXM250
• General Dynamics RM277-ARwith.277 TVCM polymer cased round manufactured byTrue Velocity
• AAIandTextronAR with 6.8mm CT cased telescoped round manufactured byOlin Winchester

See also

• Crew-served weapon
• Heavy machine gun
• Heavy weapons platoon
• Medium machine gun