Ultimax 100

Last updated
Ultimax 100
Cis-ultimax-100.jpg
Ultimax 100 Section Automatic Weapon (SAW)
Type Light machine gun, Squad automatic weapon
Place of origin Singapore
Service history
In service1982–present [1]
Used bySee Users
Wars Bougainville Civil War
Yugoslav Wars
Anti-guerrilla operations in Indonesia & the Philippines
2006 Fijian coup d'état
Solomon Islands coup
War in Afghanistan
Sri Lankan Civil War
Production history
Designer L. James Sullivan for Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics)
Designed1978 [1]
Manufacturer
  • CIS: 1982–2000 [1]
  • ST Kinetics: 2000–present [1]
Produced1982–present [1]
No. built~80,000 [1]
VariantsSee variants
Specifications
Mass
  • Mark 2: 4.75 kg (10.47 lb) [1]
  • Mark 3: 4.90 kg (10.8 lb) [1]
  • 6.8 kg (15 lb) when loaded 100 rounds
Length
  • Mark 2: 1,030 mm (40.6 in) with buttstock, 800 mm (31.5 in) w/o buttstock [1]
  • Mark 3: 1,024 mm (40.3 in) with buttstock, 810 mm (31.9 in) w/o buttstock [1]
Barrel  length
  • Standard: 508 mm (20.0 in) [1]
  • Ultimax 100 para: 330 mm (13.0 in) [1]
Cartridge 5.56×45mm NATO [1]
Caliber 5.56 mm (0.22 in) [1]
BarrelsSingle barrel (progressive RH parabolic twist, 6 grooves) [1]
Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt [1]
Rate of fire 400–600 rounds/min [1]
Muzzle velocity 970 m/s (3,182 ft/s) (M193 cartridge)
945 m/s (3,100.4 ft/s) (SS109/M855 cartridge)
Effective firing range100–1,200 m sight adjustments [1]
Maximum firing range460 m (M193 cartridge)
1,300 m (SS109/M855 cartridge)
Feed system100-round drum magazine or 30-round STANAG M16 box magazine [1]
SightsRear aperture sight and front post
472 mm (18.6 in) sight radius [1]

The Ultimax 100 is a Singapore-made 5.56mm light machine gun, developed by the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) by a team of engineers under the guidance of American firearms designer L. James Sullivan. [1] The weapon is extremely accurate due to its constant-recoil operating system [2] and is one of the lightest machine guns in the world. [3]

Contents

Work on a new light support weapon for the Singapore Army began in 1978. The weapon is produced by CIS (presently STK—Singapore Technologies Kinetics), initially in the Mark 1 version, later—the Mark 2, and currently, in the Mark 3 and Mark 4 variant. The Ultimax 100 (also called the U 100) is used in significant numbers by the armed forces of Singapore, Croatia and the Philippines. [1] The Mark 3 variant is currently used in the Singapore Armed Forces primarily as a support arm, and is both classified and known by soldiers as the SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon). [4]

Design details

The Ultimax 100 is a gas-operated automatic weapon (capable of fully automatic fire only) with a short-stroke gas piston operating system powered by ignited powder gases diverted from the barrel through a port in the gas block. The Ultimax 100 is a locked breech weapon with a rotating bolt that contains seven locking lugs. It fires from an open bolt position. The bolt contains both a spring extractor and a casing ejector. The weapon's non-reciprocating cocking handle is located on the left side of the receiver and occupies the forward position during firing. The Ultimax 100 is striker-fired.

The feature that grants the weapon its low recoil (compared to similar light machine guns) is the "constant recoil" principle. The overall design allows the bolt carrier group to travel all the way back without ever impacting the rear, instead stopping gradually along the axis of movement against the resistance of the return springs. [1] [5] Jane's International Defence Review correspondent—Andrew Tillman, in an exclusive invitation from ST Kinetics to participate in the Product Improvement Program (PIP, initiated in 1989) to test fire the gun, elaborated: [6]

This article began by praising the Ultimax for its ease of control, which allows accurate fire. A comment to the author by an experienced SEAL team leader aptly underlines the importance of having an accurate light machine gun: "Men react one of two ways when they are shot at. If you just shoot at them, they will take cover and return fire, but if you start hitting them, they withdraw."

The magazine catch consists of two tapered pins on a bar, controlled by the magazine release button. The machine gun feeds from a proprietary 100-round synthetic drum magazine (early models also used 60-round drum magazines), or from a modified 20 or 30-round STANAG 4179 magazine (from the M16 rifle). [1] An unusual feature among modern machine guns is the fact the Ultimax was purposely designed to feed from magazines as opposed to belts.

The Ultimax 100 uses a manual safety mechanism that consists of a lever installed on the left side of the receiver (just behind the trigger) with two possible settings: "S", indicating the weapon is safe, and "F", continuous fire. An internal safety achieved through the proper arrangement of parts and mechanisms secures against premature detonation. The light machine gun was also designed to mount an M16-type bayonet [7] and either day or night-time optics. The Ultimax 100's ergonomics are similar to that of the Thompson submachine gun, specifically the forward grip. [1]

Widespread adoption of the design might have been compromised by its feed system. The original Ultimax 100 was meant to be used with a drum magazine holding 100 rounds. The drum magazine was bulky and difficult to reload without a special mechanism. The shape of the drum magazine also occupied more space compared to M16 magazines or the FN Minimi box holding a belt of 200 rounds. The machine gunner also could not take magazines from other squad members who were equipped with M16s. [1]

M16 magazines were subsequently modified to allow them to be used with the production model Ultimax 100. This was done by drilling two holes right at the left feeding lip of the magazine. This improved the handiness of the weapon and allowed magazines to be loaded in the field. [1]

The system was modified to use only STANAG compatible magazines in the Mk 4 version of the design, which was submitted for the USMC Infantry Automatic Rifle competition. This meant the original drum could no longer be used, making the design closer to the IAR than a light machine gun. This has been rectified in the latest Mk 5 variant which allows the usage of the Beta C-Mag. [1]

Variants

Users

Non-state users

See also

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References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Richard J, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 Andrew, 1989
  3. 1 2 3 4 Capie, David (2004). Under the Gun: The Small Arms Challenge in the Pacific. Wellington: Victoria University Press. pp. 70–71. ISBN   978-0864734532.
  4. ↑ "Small and Deadly". Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  5. ↑ L. James Sullivan (9 October 1984). "(United States Patent: 4,475,438) Gas operated, automatic or semi-automatic guns". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  6. ↑ Andrew, pp. 1095.
  7. 1 2 3 "STK Ultimax 100". Modern Firearms. October 27, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 "Ultimax 100 History". Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  9. 1 2 "Ultimax 100 MK3". Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  10. 1 2 "Ultimax 100 Brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  11. ↑ Crane, David (December 4, 2009). "U.S. Marine Corps Selects Heckler & Koch Infantry Automatic Rifle (HK IAR) Candidate as Replacement for FN M249 SAW/LMG". defensereview.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  12. ↑ ""Newsweek" Attempts to Rebrand Gun Control Scheme as "Gun Safety" Cause: Tina Brown Gets Cute, Right Out of the Gate". Defense Review. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  13. ↑ Christopher F Foss (2000-06-20). "New All Terrain Vehicle Makes Tracks For Eurosatory". Jane's Daily (subscription required to access). Archived from the original on 2009-12-27. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  14. ↑ "Spider Light Strike Vehicle, Singapore". Army-Technology.Com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  15. ↑ "STK Ultimax 100 MK 8". 21 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  16. ↑ "Bosnia Herzegovina Land Forces military equipment, armament and vehicles Army". armyrecognition.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2014-10-16.
  17. ↑ "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE SIGNS CONTRACT FOR THE ULTIMAX-100 LIGHT MACHINE GUN". Brunei Ministry of Defence. 2007-06-07. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  18. ↑ García, Nicolás (1 July 2017). "The Chilean Marine Infantry exhibits its most modern rifles and machine guns in Concón". Infodefensa.com. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "Kopassus & Kopaska - Specijalne Postrojbe Republike Indonezije" (in Croatian). Hrvatski Vojnik Magazine. Archived from the original on 2010-08-22. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Richard J, 2009/2010.
  21. ↑ "Specijalne-jedinice.com | Special Anti-terrorist Unit-SAU". Archived from the original on 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  22. ↑ "Maximum Firepower: The Machine Guns of the SAF". Singaporean Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  23. ↑ YeoCorrespondent, Mike (2024-05-21). "New light machine gun for Singapore Army enters service". The Straits Times. ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 2024-09-01.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. ↑ "Specijalne-jedinice.com | Special Police Unit of the Republic of Slovenia". Archived from the original on 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  25. ↑ "US Special Forces Ultimax LMG -". The Firearm Blog. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  26. ↑ "Trade Update 2019: Transfers, Transparency, and South-east Asia Spotlight" (PDF). 2019-12-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  27. ↑ "Army seize machine gun after a clash in Bukidnon". Mindanao Gold Star Daily. 2020-05-18. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  28. ↑ "Chinese Arms in LTTE Hands—Sri Lanka Guardian". 2018-08-12. Archived from the original on 2018-08-12. Retrieved 2021-02-27.

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