The South Korean Army K2C1 new assault rifle, a new "reformed" rifle

For a long time from the end of World War II to the 1970s, the South Korean army's light weapons have been provided by the United States, and the rifles are mainly equipped with M1-type 7.62mm Garand semi-automatic rifles produced by the United States. It was not until 1982, after consultation between the two countries, that the United States authorized South Korea's Daewoo Precision (Weapon) Industrial Company to introduce the M16A1 rifle production line and authorized the production of M16A1 rifles for the South Korean army. Then I decided to develop it myself. Finally, it passed the military appraisal in 1984, and it was put into production and finalized the design of the famous guns from all over the world. Recently, South Korea has further improved the K2. At the 2019 Australia International Tactical Shooting Competition held in May 2019, South Korean players showed the new South Korean K2C1 assault rifle designed and manufactured by South Korea's S&T Motiv for the first time to the outside world. and extensive attention from firearms technologists.

Korea's earliest assault rifle, which started from the production of the American Colt M16A1

New gun structure and technical features

K2C1 is the current Korean light weapon from Cold War consumables to modern man-machines The biggest achievement of engineering consideration, it retains the excellent structure of the original K2 rifle, not only adds the popular Picatinny rails in the world today, but also absorbs and equips the advanced sights produced in Korea, and can also add laser pointers , Adjustable distance front butt grip. In addition, there are telescopic and folding buttstocks, cage cooling devices, etc., which make this new Korean rifle closer to the appearance of contemporary famous guns.

The domestic K2-style rifle currently in service with the Korean Army

As far as the internal structure of the K2C1-style rifle is concerned, it is in the same vein as the structure of the South Korean K2-style 5.56mm assault rifle. Reliable, low cost, durable" design ideas,It has absorbed the mature technology of many world-class famous guns. Specifically:

First, the air-guided working principle and the long-stroke piston method are used, and the mechanism is stable. The biggest advantage of the gas-guided working principle is that the bolt has good reliability and low failure rate when completing actions such as feeding, locking, firing, and shelling. At this point, the Korean K2C1 rifle is exactly the same as the K2.

South Korea's new generation K2C1 assault rifle

Second, the bolt and receiver components are closely combined, and the material selection is exquisite. The bolt (machine frame) components of the K2 rifle are improved by imitating the American M16 rifle, including: loading handle, bolt locking guide column, bolt frame, bolt body, shell ejection, etc., all of which are similar to the American M16 type. Same as the rifle. However, the upper and lower receivers of the K2-type 5.56mm assault rifle are forged from aluminum alloy. The materials are exquisite in workmanship and lighter in weight. South Korea's new K2C1 rifle still inherits the design technology of the K2.

The third is locking mechanism is improved with reference to the FNC-type 5.56mm rifle produced by Belgian FN Company, and the locking mechanism is reliable. A well-designed, uniform and consistent locking mechanism can ensure the normal and continuous movement of the weapon. South Korea took the machine-closing mechanism of the world famous Belgian FNC-type 5.56mm rifle to the K2-type and new K2C1-type rifles, which ensured the stable operation of the weapon and the firm locking.

In the Australian competition, he held a new Korean K2C1 assault rifle for fixed target shooting. The American M16 rifle is a retractable butt, but the South Korean military believes that in the Vietnam War, the American M16 rifle is not as fast as the Soviet AK47, which is why it is too troublesome to adjust the retractable butt, so South Korea The K2 rifle uses a plastic folding stock (folded to the right). The new Korean K2C1 type refers to the design style of the M4 carbine, and simply uses the stock styles of the M16 rifle and the AK47 rifle.Changed to a foldable telescopic stock. When operating the K2C1 rifle, when the shooter needs to fold the butt, press the folding connecting shaft to form a right fold; when the shooter needs to adjust the length of the shoulder, the butt can be extended to five distances for the shooter to adjust.

Fifth, the handguard of the new K2C1 rifle is made of aluminum alloy, which is closely combined with the guide rail. In order to ensure that the pickup rail and the pendant used are more compact and firm, the handguard of the new K2C1 rifle is different from the polymer material used by the K2 rifle. The handguard is made of aluminum alloy material, and four short Picatins are installed around the handguard. There is also a long Picatinny rail on the top of the gun, which can not only improve the combat performance of the weapon by replacing accessories, but also improve the solidity and stability of the weapon.

Sixth, it emphasizes the design concept that is close to "practical" and reflects the purpose of "people-oriented". The design of the new K2C1 rifle is in line with the concept of "combat" in many places. For example, the basic rifle is equipped with two tripods to improve the shooting stability of the rifle. Knowing that doing so will increase the weight of the weapon, but the designer believes that this A sacrifice worth it. At the same time, the purpose of "people-oriented" runs through the entire gun. For example: in order to shorten the time for the shooter to load and unload the magazine, a quick-release button is specially designed on the magazine; in order to improve the personal combat ability, the rifle is equipped with a multi-functional bayonet.

K2C1 assault rifles use rails to attach accessories

In addition, the data shows that the caliber of the new South Korean K2C1 rifle is still 5.56 mm, which can be divided into long barrel (465 mm) basic assault rifles and short barrels ( 305mm) Carbine short assault rifles are available in two styles. The basic assault rifle weighs 3.6kg and is equipped with 20-round and 30-round magazines.

Shooting with a small grip of a K2C1 assault rifle

Problems

In recent years, with the improvement of South Korea's economy, military enterprises have increased their investment in new weapons and technologies, such as: The new K2C1 rifle has been injected with a large amount of contemporary high-tech, with great emphasis on ergonomics improvement, and the weapon design strives to be close to the actual combat needs and so on.However, the South Korean military is not too satisfied with the K2C1 rifle. The outstanding problem is: after the K2C1 handguard is replaced with aluminum alloy material, the heat of the barrel will be directly conducted to the handguard. When soldiers are shooting, they usually feel that the handguard is hot after firing two or three magazines in a row. S&T Motiv explained: A detachable small grip is specially provided for shooters, so holding the grip to shoot will not be hot! But the South Korean soldiers retorted: using the small grip is not hot, but it will affect the bayonet! In addition, the K2C1 is also 350 grams heavier than the K2, which also caused dissatisfaction with the South Korean military. It seems that with the existing technical indicators of the new K2C1 rifle, it is not an easy task to completely change the equipment in the South Korean army. It is estimated that S&T Motiv will eventually continue to improve or upgrade the K2C1 rifle in accordance with the requirements of the military.

Shoot with a K2C1 assault rifle bipod