Singaporean Option: Ultimax 100 MK4 by ST
The 5.56x45mm Ultimax 100 LMG/SAW (Light Machine Gun/Squad
Automatic Weapon) was originally designed and developed (along with
its 100-shot drum magazine) from scratch in the late 1970's/early
1980's by Jim Sullivan (L. James Sullivan) and his
design/development partner Bob Waterfield for then Chartered
Industries of Singapore, a.k.a. CIS (now Singapore Technologies
Kinetics Land Systems, a.k.a. ST Kinetics Land Systems). It is
considered by many small arms experts to be the best 5.56mm light
machine gun/squad automatic weapon (LMG/SAW) in the history of the
world. DefenseReview has been writing about the Ultimax 100 LMG/SAW
virtually since our inception. And, in the last year or so, we've
discussed the Ultimax quite a bit. In our article on Noveske
Rifleworks Weapons packages, we discussed not only what's important
about he Ultimax, but also how and why it's superior to the U.S.
Army's current light machine gun/squad automatic weapon (LMG/SAW),
the problematic/subpar FN M249 SAW. We also mentoned the Ultimax
100 SAW in two of our articles on the Auto-Assault-12 Shotgun
(AA-12 Shotgun): our first-ever blurb on the AA-12, and our more
extensive article on the AA-12 and FRAG-12 12-gauge armor-piercing
grenade family, published subsequently.
The reason we bring all this up is because Vincent L. Deniro (CEO)
and Brian Vuksanovich (Chief Engineer) at American Defense
Management, Inc. (ADM) have developed a bunch of modifications to
the Ultimax 100 MK3 for VT Kinetics/Vision Technologies Systems,
Inc. (VT Systems, Inc.) to create the...
Ultimax 100 MK4 LMG/SAW (5.56mm). One of these modifications is a
4179 STANAG AR-15/M16 magazine adapter that allows the Ultimax MK4
to accept both 30-round AR-15/M16 mags and 100-shot Beta
C-MAGs.
A Note on the C-MAG: The original C-MAG was also designed and
developed by Jim Sullivan. Before The BETA Company (a.k.a. BETA
Co.) changed the TDP (technical data package) on the C-MAG, the
original design's double-drum magazine body was made from a type of
nylon, and the center feed portion (box mag portion) was made of
steel and didn't rise above the double-drum portion like it does
now. Both of these material aspects were on purpose. Because the
double-drum portion was made of nylon, the original C-MAG worked
reliably without the need for any type of lubricant. In other
words, it didn't require graphite powder lubrication to move the
ammo/cartridges around the drums reliably. BETA Co. changed the
nylon double-drum portion to a different material (a type of
plastic/polymer) and changed the center feed portion to
polymer/plastic, in the process making the center feed portion
taller (due to the need to reinforce this part to prevent
cracking/sheering during firing). One good thing the BETA Co. has
done to the BETA C-MAG recently is to make the back plate of the
C-MAG clear (Lexan), just like the latest factory Ultimax 100 drum
mag (also 100-shots) back plate, so the operator can keep track of
his ammo supply visually, during the fight.
The Ultimax 100 MK4 fires from the open-bolt, fires at a cyclic
rate/rate-of-fire (ROF) of 400-600 RPM (Rounds-Per-Minute), and can
be adjusted between these two rates by the operator. The MK4 can be
had with a 13-inch barrel, side-folding buttstock, and Mil-Std-1913
rail system on top of the receiver (for mounting optics, lasers,
etc.) and on the forend at the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions for
mounting additional accessories (tactical white lights, lasers,
vertical foregrips, etc.). Just like all versions of the Ultimax
before it, the Ultimax MK4 utilizes the "Constant-Recoil" principle
(invented by Jim Sullivan specifically for the Ultimax) to control
recoil, instead of relying on receiver weight, like other machine
guns. Constant-Recoil is what allows the Ultimax to outhit heavier
machine guns (chambered in the same caliber) on full-auto. By
greatly reducing felt-recoil and muzzle rise, weapon
controllability on full-auto is greatly increased. The result is
more hits on target. This recoil attenuation/mitigation aspect
makes the Ultimax the most contollable LMG/SAW in the world, even
though it's also the lightest-weight LMG/SAW in the world.
So, how does Constant-Recoil actually work? In a sentence, it
spreads the weapon's recoil impulse out over time. So, instead of
the shooter receiving a sudden jolt to his shoulder, he receives a
slow, constant push. The Ultimax utilizes a relatively long
receiver length to accomplish this. The long receiver combined with
recoil spring weight keeps the bolt carrier group from impacting
the rear of the receiver when the weapon is fired. It's this impact
that normally transfers most of the recoil impulse to the shooter,
especially since it happens so quickly (over a very short period of
time). In contrast, when the Ultimax is fired, the bolt carrier
group runs out on the recoil spring, never making contact with the
rear of the receiver. Then, as the bolt carrier group runs back
forward, it impacts the barrel extension, knocking the weapon
forward and causing the muzzle to dip, whereupon the next round is
fired (We're firing on full-auto, remember?). So, as the weapon
goes into recoil again, it has to overcome the weapon's forward
momentum, as well as the barrel's downward movement, so half of the
weapon's recoil forces are spent fighting against this forward
movement, and then the bolt carrier group has to make the long trek
towards the rear of the receiver, again. This whole process spreads
the recoil force on the operator out over a greater period of time,
making the weapon feel like its steadily pushing on the operator,
instead of pounding against him. So, the weapon just sits there,
staying on target during full-auto fire, even though it weighs so
little.
The practical benefits of all this are huge. Believe it or not,
Ultimax offers an 8:1 hit-ratio advantage over the M16 rifle when
both are fired offhand on full-auto side by side against multiple
targets, including moving targets. When both weapons are fired from
the bi-pod, the Ultimax offers a 2.5:1 hit ratio advantage over the
M16. The box/drum mag-fed Ultimax 100 LMG/SAW will outhit the
belt-fed FN M249 SAW and MK46 MOD 0/1 at 3-times the range, on
full-auto, even though it weighs considerably less (9-10.1 lbs,
depending on the configuration vs. a listed 16.75 lbs for the M249
SAW).
The box-magazine/drum-magazine/double-drum magazine-fed Ultimax 100
MK4 is also much faster and easier to reload in a fight than the
M249 SAW, especially in a dynamic, fluid situation like a running
gun battle/firefight while the infantryman is firing on-the-move.
In this situation, it's nice to be able to reload quickly and
relatively easily on the move as well, which the Ultimax allows an
operator to do. You can reload the Ultimax on the move in a few
seconds. Try that with an M249. Good luck to you.
The Ultimax can be reloaded as quickly and easily as an assault
rifle, since it's magazine-fed, rather than belt-fed. As it
happens, the Ultimax 100 series is also significantly more reliable
under adverse/combat conditions and high-round-count than the FN
M249.
In fact, the Ultimax is so good that noted gunwriter Charlie
Cutshaw, in his article on the Ultimax 100 MK4 for the latest issue
of Special Weapons for Military & Police (SWMP), states that
the Ultimax 100 MK3/MK4 makes for the best existing answer to the
U.S. Marine Corps' (USMC) stated requirements for a
"Non-developmental, 5.56mm, Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR)".
Defense Review wholeheartedly agrees. The Marines could certainly
do a lot worse. Incidentally, the Ultimax 100 MK4 is the cover gun
of this issue (#42).
http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=853
