Project Sword
At the recent Shot Show, Ohio Ordnance Works Inc. (OOW)The introduced Reapr machine gun attracted a lot of attention.
At the 2022 Shot Show, Ohio Russian Ordnance Factory Corporation showcased a design phase of the company. A light medium machine gun of the 338 Norma Magnum caliber, but its performance parameters were not disclosed for reasons of secrecy. At this year's show, the machine gun was finally unveiled in its entirety, and the gun was named the "Recoiled Enhanced Automatic Rifle" or simply "Reapr". The gun caliber. 338 Norma Magnum, which can be converted to 762 51mm caliber. In the U.S. ** team, automatic rifles are squad machine guns, so it can be seen that REAPR can be equipped to the squad level.
This article is "Armourer's bench)" and I translated it to share with you.
The gun was developed by OOW in order to participate in the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the US Marine Corps. 338 Norma Magnum (..)338 nm) caliber light medium machine gun (LWMMG, Lightweight Medium Machine Gun) tender. The tender dates back to 2012, with the first call for expressions of interest launched in May 2017. The specific bidding requirements are as follows:
The LWMMG should be able to fire polymer cartridges. 338 nm cartridge chain ammunition, the empty gun weighs less than 24 pounds (10.).9 kg), the barrel length was 24 inches (610mm), the theoretical rate of fire was 500 600 rounds. **Should be compatible with current sighting systems that use rails and be able to use more advanced fire control techniques. The system should include a barrel with and without a silencer that can be quickly replaced. The LWMMG should include a lightweight tripod that provides the stability and accuracy of fire required to attack targets at the extreme range. The LWMMG should be able to be mounted on an existing machine gun mount designed for the M240B C machine gun. The ** should have sufficient accuracy to shoot at cluster targets and vehicles at a distance of 2000 meters. ”
General Dynamics is in development. The 338 nm caliber machine gun was at the forefront, but the design was later transferred to True Velocity. Subsequently, the Sig Sauer company also introduced the MG338 SL Mag machine gun. The 2017 LWMMG tender (again: this refers to the relevant tender projects of the US Special Operations Command and the US Marine Corps) was stopped, however, in 2021 SOCOM (through the PEO SOF "Samurai" office, PM "Lethality" project manager) began to seek "Light Machine Gun - Medium (LMG-M)". The LMG-M project sought a machine gun with an effective firing range of up to 2500 meters, similar in dimensions and weight to the M240B. It was hoped that the contract would be signed before the end of 2022, but then postponed to 2025, and now it may be in 2026.
Machine guns of 338 nm caliber were used to fill 762 universal machine guns of 51mm caliber and 127 99mm caliber heavy machine guns between the gap, while providing a decomposable, lighter **, can have 127 performance of a 99mm caliber heavy machine gun.
OOW began working on this machine gun in 2020 and has applied for several patents for its design. The REAPR is a selectable shooting mode (semi-automatic and fully automatic)** Small grip assembly with fast and slow machines and cross-type manual safety on both sides. The small grip itself can be replaced with any AR-15 grip part. Robert W. Landis, president of OOW and one of the designers of the gunLandies) told me that with REAPR they solved many of the troubles of traditional machine gun design, and in the design ** "took many features and incorporated the best of them".
Interestingly, the gun uses a roller delay locking system, similar to the MG42 machine gun, meaning that the bolt unlocking speed is delayed by the rollers, but not completely. After World War II, the design had some influence on a range of firearms, including the Sig Sauer MG 710-3 machine gun and many Heckler-Koch firearms. The gun used a pair of springs on a double guide rod and had a theoretical rate of fire of 600 minutes. The gun can be disassembled in the field without tools, only one pin at the rear of the receiver needs to be removed, so that the stock and rear of the receiver can be removed, and the gun unit, reentry spring and guide rod can be removed from the receiver.
The Reapr machine gun was equipped with a side-folding butt, which was designed together with the B5 company, which had a shoulder plate and an adjustable cheek plate. The B5 company also supplied the Reapr machine gun with a P23 small grip and an M-Lok handguard. According to OOW, REAPR weighs 122 kg, with the butt open, the full length of the gun is 1380mm when fully pulled, 1310mm when fully retracted, and the full length of the gun is 1120mm when the stock is folded (optionally left or backward). When mounted on vehicles and aircraft, the butt can be removed and a D-grip kit can be installed, as well as a detachable handle mounted on a Picatinny rail.
A key feature of the REAPR machine gun is the quick-change barrel system, which allows the shooter to change the barrel with one hand. During operation, the barrel can be changed regardless of whether the bolt is located in front or behind. The REAPR machine gun quick-change barrel system has been patented, employing two sets of opposing tenons, each with five intermittent threads, which require only 90° rotation to unlock the barrel. To remove the barrel, the shooter needs to grasp the barrel heat shield, push the barrel back towards the receiver, and rotate the barrel 90° to unlock it. The REAPR machine gun can be equipped with a *** machine gun and is capable of being equipped with silencers from many different manufacturers.
Another feature is that the REAPR machine gun can be disassembled into three parts in 10 20 seconds and can be packed with the longest component, 610mm long barrel. The Reapr machine gun has a monolithic steel receiver, aluminum handguard with M-Lok connector, which can be held together by a pair of snaps. The gun also has a military standard interface for mounting it on a tripod, fixed gun mount.
Also patented is the gun's cartridge disc, which slides out laterally to the left for better edge loading and cleaning. This design allows the Heavy to use a scope that occupies more of the rails. The direction of the reapr feed can be changed, and the cartridge case is thrown from the bottom of the receiver. OOW has set up a fixed interface on the left side of the receiver for mounting the chain pack, and is considering setting up the same interface on the right side, but is waiting for user feedback.
OOW said the REAPR machine gun can already be ordered, with mass production expected in April 2024. The REAPR seems to be a well-designed, very powerful machine gun with great prospects for development. It will be interesting to see how the LMG-M program will develop.
Translator's note:
One might think that the performance of the REAPR machine gun with roller delayed unlocking is certainly not good, however, there are many factors that determine the performance of a firearm, and the automatic method is only one of them. It's like the sentence "The automatic mode of using a short recoil with a barrel is not good for the shooting accuracy", on the surface, there is really no problem, but is the Barrett M82 big mouth *** with a short recoil automatic mode of the barrel really too bad to use? Compared with some semi-automatic sniper rifles of the same caliber that use the air conduction automatic method, the Barrett M82 is more accurate. Therefore, performance cannot be judged purely from an automated method.