Singapore is rearing SAR-21 bullpup rifle for home and export
requirement
BY Charles Q Cutshaw
Singapore has for many years equipped its military forces with
M16A1 rifles manufactured under license by Chartered Industries of
Singapore, now reorganized and renamed Singapore Technologies
Kinetics (STKinetics) in keeping with the new directions undertaken
by the company.
The M16A1 was a satisfactory infantry rifle for many years, but
licensing prohibitions limited Singapore's ability to market the
rifle overseas and also restricted the types of rifles that could
be produced. These restraints led to the introduction and
production of indigenous designs such as the SAR-80 and
SR-88.
The SAR-80 and the SR-88 saw only limited service with Singapore's
military, as they were intended primarily for export. In the 1990s
the Singapore military was faced with a dilemma. The M16A1 rifles
that formed the backbone of Singapore's military would reach the
end of their effective service life around the turn of the century.
The choice was to either upgrade the M16A1 or produce a new
rifle.
Singapore opted for the latter choice, but rather than produce a
foreign design under license or use a foreign weapon designer, as
was done with weapons such as the SAR-80 and Ultimax 100 light
machine gun, STKinetics' management decided to develop a new rifle
that would be an indigenous project from start to finish.
This new rifle was intended to fully meet Singapore's 21st century
military requirements and at the same time be viable in the highly
competitive international small arms export market. The result of
STKinetics' efforts is the SAR-21 assault rifle, now replacing
Singapore's M16A1 rifles in the military forces.
Unique design Although the SAR-21 bears superficial resemblance to
other bullpup assault rifles, such as the Steyr AUG and IMI Tavor,
it is a unique design that is similar to its cousins only in that
it is of bullpup configuration.
There has been a plethora of bullpup rifle designs in recent years,
starting with the Steyr AUG and continuing with weapons such as the
British SA-80, the French FAMAS, the Chinese Type 95/97, the
Israeli Tavor and the South African CR-21, not to mention the US'
questionable Objective Individual Combat Weapon. The latter is
actually a bullpup semi-automatic grenade launcher with a rifle as
secondary weapon.
Bullpup rifles have the advantage of minimizing a rifle's overall
length by moving the receiver to the rear and integrating it and
the buttstock into a single unit. This allows the use of a
full-length barrel in a rifle with the overall external dimensions
of a short-barreled carbine. The bullpup configuration is
especially advantageous in close combat situations or when soldiers
are mounted in vehicles where the design allows for convenient
ingress/egress from vehicles and more effective tactical
operations.
The disadvantages of the bullpup design include the fact that the
receiver is next to the shooter's face, which causes discomfort in
the event of a ruptured cartridge or magazine explosion.
Also, since the trigger is perforce well forward of the firing
mechanism, any bullpup design must incorporate a long and sometimes
cumbersome linkage between the trigger and the rear-mounted
fire-control unit.
Needless to say, the bullpup configuration places more demands on
small arms design engineers than conventional rifles and it
logically follows that some bullpup designs are better than others.
Moreover, the untraditional appearance of bullpup rifles gives many
shooters an almost 'knee-jerk' adversity to them. Regardless,
military rifle designers have introduced far more bullpup designs
in recent years than conventional types, indicating a trend towards
bullpup configuration. The sole exceptions to the bullpup rule are
the conventionally configured Russian AN-94 and German G36.
Overall, we consider the SAR-21 to be an excellent basic design.
The rifle is manufactured using modern materials and
state-of-the-art facilities. During our visit to STKinetics in
preparation for this article, it was noted that the SAR-21
production machinery was almost fully computer numerically
controlled to enhance overall quality. The receiver halves are
electronically vibration welded together, resulting in an
exceptionally strong and virtually seamless surface.
Although the SAR-21 receiver halves are polymer, they are
reinforced with steel at critical stress points, whilst the barrels
are cold hammer forged. Magazines are polymer, translucent and
indexed so the shooter can readily observe how many rounds are
remaining. Controls of the SAR-21 are fully ambidextrous, although
no provision is made for left-hand ejection of spent cases.
Patented safety system In testing prior to adoption by Singapore's
military, the rifles were repeatedly dropped onto concrete surfaces
from 1m heights without effect. The optical sight and laser aimer
retained their zeros and the rifle functioned flawlessly. Many
shooters are wary of bullpup rifles because the receiver and
chamber are placed close to the cheekbone, but the SAR-21 has a
patented safety system to prevent injuries in the unlikely event of
a burst barrel or chamber explosion.
The first component of the safety system is a molded-in composite
plate directly beneath the cheek rest that protects the shooter's
face. The second element of the safety system is a vent in the
barrel extension to direct any high-pressure gases that might
escape in the event of a ruptured primer or cartridge case away
from the shooter's face. This system should eliminate safety
concerns.
The trigger mechanism is excellent with a relatively light, crisp
release - which we estimate to be around 2.3kg -with little creep
or backlash. This is accomplished via a stiff sliding plate that
links the trigger and fire-control unit, rather than a flexible rod
or similar mechanism used in some bullpup designs that result in a
heavy and sluggish trigger pull.
The SAR-21 uses what might best be described as a modified
Kalashnikov/ Stoner operating system, with a long Kalashnikov-style
operating rod in a gas tube over the barrel and a Stoner-style
unitary bolt carrier with firing pin, retained cam pin and bolt.
This melding of two proven operating systems should be extremely
reliable and robust.
The gas port settings are adjustable without tools to compensate
for heavy use. Adjustment is accomplished by simply lifting the gas
regulator and rotating the adjustment knob to one of its three
settings. The bolt itself is of the conventional rotating type, its
two massive lugs locking into recesses in the barrel extension. The
polymer receiver therefore, receives little stress.
The rifle is select fire, with the selector positioned in the
detachable fire-control unit near the shooter's shoulder. The
safety is a simple push-push device just forward of the trigger
where it can easily be operated by the shooter's trigger finger.
The charging handle is fully ambidextrous and easily reached with
either hand.
Field stripping the SAR-21 is intuitive and can easily be
accomplished without the use of any tools. The upper and lower
receivers separate by pressing two retaining pins, which are
prevented from dropping away by spring loaded ball and socket
mechanisms. Once the upper and lower receivers are separated, the
operating rod and bolt group can be withdrawn from the upper
receiver. A small lever at the rear of the bolt carrier retains the
firing pin, which upon withdrawal releases the bolt cam pin.
Once the cam pin is removed, the bolt can be withdrawn from the
carrier.
For routine maintenance, no further disassembly is required. If the
user needs to remove the fire-control unit, a third retaining pin
just forward of the buttplate can be removed. The fire-control unit
can then be withdrawn by pulling it downward. With no practice, the
author was able to fully disassemble the SAR-21 in approximately
20sec. Singapore soldiers, who are thoroughly familiar with the
rifle, can disassemble and reassemble it even quicker.
Although the data for the rifle states that it is equipped with a
1.5X optical sight with open sight backup, the statistics do not do
justice to the outstanding optical sights of the SAR-21. Most
notably, the rifle does not require zeroing. This may be heresy to
'old soldiers', but we were given a rifle straight from the
production line, handed several magazines of ammunition and offered
the opportunity to engage a series of standard silhouettes of
varying sizes at 300m.
We loaded the rifle, placed the sight reticle on the first target
and dropped the target with the first round. We then proceeded to
rapidly engage the entire series of silhouettes of varying sizes at
300m as quickly as we could fire, switch targets and fire again. We
achieved over 90% hits scored using extremely rapid semi-automatic
fire.
As a former infantry officer who has trained soldiers to zero and
effectively use their rifles, the author is impressed with the fact
that the SAR-21 dispenses with the lengthy zeroing process. This
will save untold training hours as the soldier can take his rifle
directly to the range to learn how to use it.
Since Singapore has universal national service of two and a half
years for all males from 18 years of age, with up to 40 days
mandatory military training annually throughout their adult lives,
the benefit of each soldier being issued a rifle that requires no
zeroing is obvious.
The reticle of the SAR-21 sight is such that it also leads the
shooter's eye naturally to the target, another advantage which will
certainly inspire soldier confidence in the rifle because it
enables him to quickly acquire and hit targets to the limit of the
rifle's effective range.
We were impressed not only with the simplicity of the sighting
system, but with the ability to achieve a high percentage of
rapid-fire hits at 300m without any zeroing whatsoever. After
beginning the day's firing at the 300m line, we moved up to 200 and
then to 100m, where we were able to engage targets with even
greater speed and accuracy.
The SAR-21 is also equipped with an integral laser-aiming device
for use in low-light conditions. The laser operates not only in the
visible spectrum, but can be changed to operate in the infrared
range, as well. The activating switch for the laser is on the
rifle's forearm just beneath the shooter's thumb. Like the optical
sight, the laser is pre-zeroed before leaving the factory. The
laser- aiming device is powered by a single 'AA' battery, available
worldwide.
Throughout the morning's shooting, the functioning of the SAR-21
was flawless. There were no stoppages of any sort, regardless of
whether we fired semi- or fully automatic. The rifle is extremely
controllable under rapid-fire semi-automatic or when firing in full
automatic. This is attributable to its 'straight line' design which
keeps recoil forces in direct line with the shooter's
shoulder.
The rifle also has a natural balance that places the center of
gravity just over the shooter's hand so that the rifle can easily
be pointed and even fired one-handed if desired. Felt recoil is
extremely light. The SAR-21 is among the best handling and easiest
rifles to use that the author has ever experienced.
Several variants of the SAR-21 will be offered for export:
* l SAR-21 Light Machine Gun. The SAR-21 LMG differs from the basic
rifle in that it fires from the open bolt and is equipped with a
heavy barrel and integral folding bipod.
* l SAR-21/40mm Grenade Launcher. The basic SAR-21 equipped with a
short barreled 40¥46mm grenade launcher. The laser-aiming device is
mounted on the launcher mounting quadrant to facilitate quick and
accurate target acquisition.
* l SAR-21 P-Rail. This variant of the SAR-21 is fitted with a
MIL-STD-1913 rail array in place of the forearm and integrated
optical sight.
* l SAR-21 Sharp Shooter. This is intended for designated marksmen
who require increased accuracy and the ability to engage point
targets more reliably. The 1.5X integrated optical sight is
replaced with a 3¥ sight in this variant.
It should be noted that given the standard variants of the SAR-21
listed above, others come to mind for use by military organizations
with specialized requirements. For example, a heavy barreled rifle
could be manufactured using the barrel and bipod of the LMG version
and the 3X sight from the Sharp Shooter variant.
Rifles could easily be made with different barrel lengths for
specialized users. By purchasing different sub-assemblies, users
could easily reconfigure their SAR-21s into any one of several
variants. The flexibility of the SAR-21 in this regard is one of
its strong points.
Based upon our brief testing, we found the SAR-21 to give every
indication of having the potential to be one of the world's best
combat rifles. Although STKinetics makes a point of noting that the
rifle and its controls are sized for Asian men whose bodies are
typically smaller than their western counterparts, we found the
rifle to be extremely comfortable to shoot.
The sole feature of the SAR-21 that we found to be objectionable
was the positioning of the selector switch between the magazine and
buttplate, although STKinetics engineers stated that Singapore's
military had no problem with its positioning. Despite this, in
order to change from one fire mode to another, the SAR-21 shooter
must completely remove one hand from the rifle and grope for the
selector button, which is pressed from one side of the buttstock to
the other to select full or semi- automatic fire.
The author believe the ability to select between full and
semi-automatic fire in combat situations must be virtually
instantaneous without the need to reposition either hand, and that
STKinetics should move the selector switch forward to a location
near the trigger guard for export versions of the SAR-21.
Otherwise, the ergonomics of the SAR-21 are superb.
The competition in world small arms markets is presently intense
and the SAR-21 joins the ranks of several new weapons competing for
essentially limited markets. With the exception of the Heckler
& Koch G36 and Izhmash's AN-94, all recently introduced combat
rifle designs have been bullpups.
We have not had the opportunity to examine all of the SAR-21's
bullpup rivals, but we believe that the SAR-21 will be highly
competitive in the small arms market.
