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Assault Rifles

Assault Rifles are selective fire weapons designed to fire intermediate rifle cartridges.

Intermediate "Assault" rounds are generally classified as having around 1300-2600 joules, and being rifle rounds. While the distinction between rifle and pistol rounds are relatively vague, rifle rounds are generally designed for longer barrels and longer range use, while possessing much smaller bullets and much higher velocities comparatively to pistol rounds.

The need for assault rifles was found in WWII, a concept engineered by German users late in the war. While the weapon entered the war too late to make a significant difference in the outcome of the war, it none the less was the first mass produced weapon of it's kind, known as the StG 44.

The rifle was chambered for the 7.92x33 Kurz cartridge, also known as 8 mm Kurz. This shorter version of the German standard (8x57mm IS) rifle round, in combination with the weapon's selective-fire design, provided a compromise between the controllable firepower of a submachine gun at close quarters with the accuracy and power of a Karabiner 98k bolt action rifle at intermediate ranges.

Despite having less power and a shorter range than the more powerful rifle rounds of the era, Wehrmacht studies had shown that most combat engagements occurred at less than 300 m with the majority within 200 m. Full-power rifle cartridges were deemed excessive for the vast majority of uses for the average soldier. Not surprisingly, the same results were generated from both NATO and United States Studies.

Seeing the success of the sub-machine guns in the close quarters combat environment of WWII, the Assault Rifle sought to expand on this concept. While sub-machine guns were capable of being lightweight, relatively small fully automatic weapons, they had a limited range of roughly 100 meters in most models. While rifles were capable of accurate fire out to, in many cases, 1000 yards, their high powered rounds made it relatively difficult to sustain automatic fire, and often times rifles were limited to single or semi-automatic fire.

A maximum effective range of 300 meters was decided upon as the maximum necessary distance for an infantry unit to be required to engage an enemy at, with emphasis on the weapon preforming at 100-200 meter engagements. While the weapon saw limited use, it was determined to be relatively effective in most engagements it saw action in.

While the Stg. 44 was the first weapon of it's type, many more weapons attempted to full-fill a similar roles. Many Sub-machine guns were initially thought capable of full-filling this role, such as the Thomspon M1 and the Mp40.

Other weapons designed to full-fill similar roles were the BAR and the M1 carbine, the BAR being more in the role of the light machine gun while the M1 was closer to the role of an assault rifle. The M1, astonishingly, represented a nearly identical set of parameters as the Stg 44. The requirement for the new firearm called for a defensive weapon with an effective range of 300 yards, to be much lighter and handier than the rifle, with greater range, firepower, and accuracy than a pistol, while weighing half as much as a submachine gun. In both weapons, 15 and 30 round magazines were standard, allowing the weapon to have a somewhat enlarged rate of fire in between magazine changes.

Despite these advancements, many more improvements were made before the assault rifle became the leading type of small arm weapon used by infantry. Most notably, the Ak-47 was a Russian redesigned version of the StG 44, becoming one of the most popular firearms in the world.



Assault Rifles Are generally classified as-

• Having an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
  
• Being capable of selective fire;
  
• Possessing an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle;
  
• Ammunition is supplied from a detachable magazine.
  
• Should at least have a firing range of 300 meters (984 feet)
  

The Infantry Combat Rifle

It is therefore, in my own mind, as a result of information gathered from various studies and the required capabilities of units in modern warfare, that the standard Infantry Combat Rifle needs to be modified, in both theory and practice. Infantry are no longer the standard unit designed to engage the enemy in mass warfare. Open, conventional warfare leads to an increased use of vehicular units, possessing weapons and devices capable of inflicting mass causalities well beyond the usual limitations of infantry units. While the need for infantry still exists, and most likely will never go away, the changing arena of warfare has nearly dictated that the role of infantry will need to be changed, or already has.

The new requirements of the said weapon would place more emphasis on semi-automatic fire than fully automatic fire, extend the effective range of the weapon from 300 meters to 500-600 meters, provide adequate barrier penetration, increase the neutralization speed and effect of the rounds, and still hopefully provide a relatively light weight, small, and ergonomic weapon capable of effective close quarters combat.

Many weapons claim the capability of the required ability of the new infantry combat rifle, however few live up to the expectation. While many claim that the 5.56mm x 45mm NATO can be capable of such a performance, information and facts on the 5.56mm round suggest otherwise. The 5.56mm x 45mm NATO round was designed, as intended, to be effective at 300 meters. The weapon focused on relatively close quarters combat scenarios, in which most small arms engagements were thought to occur, and designed to have the capability of engaging enemies slightly out of the range of this zone. Despite the best intentions, the 5.56mm was never designed to be effective past 300 meters, and as such performance resulting from it is rather lacking.

While it is possible to engage enemies and targets out to these distances, it is relatively difficult and, many times ineffective or inefficient. At ranges even of 600 meters, the weapon in many cases fails to provide adequate firepower to remove an enemy from the fight or effectively neutralize them. While death can result from the injuries, these effects are usually relatively slow, and sometimes completely negated all together. The inconsistent nature of the 5.56mm and it's inability to break past many common barriers and obstacles also reduce it's effectiveness in this role, making the weapon more or less ineffective from the role all together.

Another issue with the 5.56mm is the related "hype" surrounding it's existence. While many claim increased accuracy, armor penetration and incapacitating wound effects from the 5.56mm, the effects of these individual attributes can be attributed to various individual types of 5.56mm rounds.

While the armor piercing qualities of the standard M855 are considered high, the "hyped" armor piercing capabilities of this round are relatively minor, and less when compared to standard rounds of 7.62mm x 51mm NATO rounds (the round it was intended to replace in the standard infantry combat role). The attributes M995 round can be attributed to much of the stigma surrounding the armor piercing qualities of the 5.56mm round, as the weapon possess an armor piercing tungsten tip designed to penetrate hard targets, and is lighter weight and smaller, designed to increase the velocity and therefore the penetration capabilities of the round. Despite this, the M995 is relatively expensive, at 1.15 dollars per round, and relatively underpowered when compared to the M855. The round is lighter weight, being roughly 3.4 grams compared to the 4.02 grams of the M855, and is also more stable in soft tissue, reducing the wound capacity of the smaller bullet. The accuracy of the 5.56mm round is relatively normal, being around 3-4 MOA when fired from a standard rifle. 2-3 MOA is achievable from a standard military 5.56mm weapon, although this requires a different barrel twist, disallowing the weapon to use various types of rounds offered to the weapon (such as tracers, armor piercing rounds etc.). Some rounds are more accurate than this. The Swiss "5.6mm GPW" round is known to be able to achieve roughly .72 MOA out to 300 yards. Despite this, the very low barrel twist of weapons designed to use this cartridge (1:12 inch compared to 1:7 inch) disallow the weapon to be accurate at the long ranges claimed by some of the 5.56m round, as the bullet becomes destabilized at ranges past 300 meters, and is generally considered ineffective at 500 meters. The fragmenting and tumbling capabilities, and otherwise wounding capabilities, of the 5.56mm round are often exaggerated, mostly due to the fact that 5.56mm rounds do not reliably fragment or tumble through tissue as seen by many tests. As such, a 5.56mm round that has a reputation for reliable wounding effects would be the Mk. 262 match grade 5 gram sniper and marksmen round. The round is heavier, thus making it more powerful, and is designed to fragment reliability, vastly increasing the wound potential. The round is also inherently more accurate than most standard 5.56mm rounds, being around .5-1.5 MOA on average from most rifles. While the Mk. 262 is a rather effective round, it's poor capabilities in qualities concerning armor piercing, barrier penetration, and the inherent low reliability of a low powered round all reduce the effectiveness of the round.

Essentially, what can be drawn from the conclusion of all this data is that, while certain 5.56mm rounds can usually somewhat adequately full-fill certain niche roles, most 5.56mm rounds are rather poor in some other aspect required by them, and as such cannot be determined as a single, effective round against most targets.

A new type of round is therefore required from the modern Standard Infantry Combat Rifle. Many types of rounds can be seen that could potentially full-fill this roll, that include, but are not limited to: 7.62mm x 51mm NATO, 7mm x 43mm British, 6.8mm Remington, 6.5mm Grendel, 7x46mm UIAC, and the 7.62mm x 39mm Russian.

Out of the potential candidates, the 7.62mm x 39mm and the 7mm x 45mm British can quickly be out ruled. This is mostly due to the fact that both of these rounds exhibit somewhat "inferior" qualities, mostly as a result of weaker and more corrosive powders, requiring a larger over-all case and more recoil compared the other suggested rounds. It is possible that improvements in powder can reduce the over-all case size and powder amount necessary, while also reducing the recoil, making these rounds more effective. This can also be the case for the 7.62mm x 51mm NATO round, that, while using improved powders compared to the .30-06 it was originally designed from, can benefit from even more improved powders that the more modern rounds can provide.

Which round to choose from the current list of potential candidates is a matter of debate, and deciding which one to use will potentially require more research and study. It is also possible for adoption and use of caseless rounds, this drastically effecting the choice of round.

MM-kay. Pretty cool.

That doesn't really look like a P90 though xd

Cool.

Well, the only issue with your design is that, the 5.45mm round is about 2.25 inches long, so, that magazine is going to be a lot big comparatively, or, your gun is going to be huge.

Not bad, though.


What's the firing mechanism?