Special operators setting pace for new small arms.

• Author: Kennedy, Harold
• Position: URBAN WARFARE

The U.S. Special Operations Command is accelerating efforts to develop a new generation of small arms, asserted Donald P. Schulte, director of ordnance engineering at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind.

Schulte's department manages the design, testing and fielding of small arms for special operations forces.

At the Firepower 2005 conference in Washington, D.C., he provided an update on several initiatives to provide special operators with an array of next-generation weapons.

Commandos and technicians from Crane in August journeyed to FN Herstal headquarters in Belgium to help test fire the new special operation forces combat assault rifle, Schulte noted. This weapon, known as the SCAR, is intended to replace the operators' current favorite, the M4A1 carbine. The M4A1 is a shorter and lighter version of the M16A2 assault rifle that is issued to most conventional troops. Operators prefer the M4A1 over the M16A2 for dose-quarters combat.

SCAR is designed specifically to meet special operations' needs even more closely, Schulte said. For example, "it gives the SEALs [sea, air and land teams] over-the-beach deployability," he said. "They can come right out of the surf and fire immediately."

It is actually a family of infantry weapons. Variants include a 5.56 mm light model and a 7.62 mm heavy one. The two weapons share 90 percent of the same parts. Both can accommodate a 40 mm enhanced grenade launcher module with programmable fire control. Shooters can change their rifles' barrels. Choices include one with a standard length for most operations, a shorter one for close-quarters combat and a longer one for snipers.

SCAR has a much simpler design than the Army's futuristic objective individual combat weapon, Schulte said. The OICW, which combined a rifle and a grenade launcher in a single weapon, was supposed to replace the M-16A2, but fielding has been delayed because of design complexities. With SCAR, "we wanted to field what is practical--not a dream," he said. "This had to succeed."

And it had to happen quickly, Schulte said, pointing out that the SCAR is on a fast track for fielding. A joint operational requirements document that specified the need for it was approved in January 2004. Just 10 months later, in November, FN won the contract to design and build the weapon. The size of the contract has not been announced.

Designed, developed and tested in Belgium, SCAR is to be built in Columbia, S.C., where FN's U.S. subsidiary--FN...