Sorry..me no ammo junkie..me armt junkie.
Anyway, before we can even convince the US Army to adopt the SAR21,
even in field trials, ST must really convince our local operators
that they can solve three main issues.
First issue, the scope fogging problem.This is very intriguing
because scopes have fogged up, been replaced with new ones, and yet
the same problem occurs time and time again, often within months.An
Infantryman cannot be told his weapon cannot even take moisture or
water occasionally, and the downtime caused by this problem is
pretty bad.
Second issue, the LAD.Granted, it is integrated and poses less
chance of this item falling off due to vibration from intense
firing, however, in-field replacement is a pain and nightmare.You
cannot do such a replacement in battle, and to take this weapon and
send it back to rear lines is something that cannot be allowed in
battle.
If you have detachable ACOG or Trijcon sights or floating red-dot
reflex(which incidentally is better than a visible laser) on your
MIL 1913 rail, repair or maintenance issue will be much easier and
roving maintenance teams can reach the frontlines and find that
they do make a difference.
Third issue is the magazine release catch.This is a niggling design
flaw that operators have often feedback to DSTA that it poses a
barrier to combat reloading.And seconds are lost when you have to
transfer one hand to steady the gun while the other depresses the
button to release the magazine and viceversa to load a fresh
magazine.
These issues aside, the great thing going for the SAR21 is the
center of gravity.I do not know if these flaws will be addressed
for the next batch of rifles.However, I had the chance to handle
the SAR21 MMS Rail version at Asian Aerospace last year and this
enhanced model, though vastly heavier, seems like a better
compromise.
I do know that STK has offered a version of the SAR21 with no
LAD,but with a front grip.This version was used by the SAF
peacekeepers in Timor Leste.Another export version has the MIL 1913
rail on the upper handguard.Perhaps these might stand a chance in
the US market, however I thnk they would have solved the three
issues before they decide to enter into the fray.
