Daewoo K11

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Daewoo K11
XK11 with bipod
general information
Military designation: Daewoo K11
Country of operation: see usage
Developer / Manufacturer: Daewoo
Manufacturer country: South Korea
Production time: since 2010
Weapon Category: Objective Individual Combat Weapon
Furnishing
Overall length: 860 mm
Total width: over 50 mm
Weight: (unloaded) 6.1 kg
Technical specifications
Caliber : 5.56 × 45 mm
20 × 30 mm grenades
Possible magazine fillings : 5 shells
30 cartridges
Ammunition supply : Curve magazine
Cadence : 800 rounds / min
Fire types: Single
3-shot burst
Twist : right
Visor : 2.2x optical / IR + LEM
Closure : KE: Swivel head lock
HE: Repeater
Charging principle: KE: Gas pressure charger
HE: Manual
Lists on the subject

The Daewoo K11 (name during development: XK11 ) is a rifle of the armed forces of South Korea . It has been used by the South Korean Army in Afghanistan since May 2010 .

development

The South Korean defense agency Agency for Defense Development (ADD) began studies in April 2000 for a new infantry weapon system similar to the German XM29 . Great importance was attached to the development of the rifle, as battles on the Korean peninsula are very infantry-heavy due to the geography. Due to the mountainous, armored terrain, armored units find it difficult to support the advancing infantry. It was all the more important to increase the combat strength of the infantry, since the army of the enemy North Korea is numerically far superior to that of the South . Since the German development of the XM29 was unsuccessful and was split up into the XM8 and XM25 , it was decided to develop a conventional rifle, the Daewoo XK8, in parallel to reduce the development risks . After the success of the XK11 became apparent, this development was discontinued.

Like the XM29, the rifle is capable of firing high-explosive air-igniting 20 mm grenades with the aid of a ballistic computer. In this way, targets behind cover and in buildings can also be fought. The explosion radius of the grenade also increases the hit rate, so precise aiming is unnecessary. In computer-simulated battles between infantry troops equipped with the M16 and the XM29, which is very similar to the K11 , a kill ratio of 69: 1 was achieved, so an OICW gunner could kill an average of 69 opponents before he himself was killed. However, this ratio depends on the terrain and on whether the opponent is wearing protective clothing .

The first of seven prototypes was completed in October 2006, and in May 2008 they were delivered to the South Korean army for testing . The development cost a total of 18.5 million US dollars. The companies S&T Daewoo , EO System, ILS Hansung and Poongsan were involved in the development; the grenade detonators were developed by the Hanwha company. In February, the weapon was presented to the public for the first time at the IDEX 2009 Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. Series production started in 2010. The price per weapon is quoted at 16,000 US dollars, including development costs. The United Arab Emirates is the first export customer to pay US $ 14,000 per weapon.

In March 2011, it turned out that eight of the 22 weapons in use had defects in the fire control system and laser rangefinder, so that production was suspended. In July 2012, the Agency for Defense Development announced that the problems had been resolved and production would resume. On Armed Forces Day 2013, the weapon was presented at the parade. 4000 units are to be produced by the end of 2014.

technology

The weapon is similar to the HK XM29 , but weighs significantly less at 6.1 kg (empty) due to the manually operated grenade weapon and simpler construction. Like the XM29, the rifle consists of three components which, unlike its counterpart from Heckler & Koch, are not stand-alone capable. The housing of the weapon is made of a fiber-plastic composite , the more highly stressed housing components are made of an aluminum - scandium alloy. The button for the laser rangefinder is located on the right side of the fore-end, together with three other buttons for manually changing the laser distance and selecting the firing mode.

Ballistic computer

The ballistic computer is manufactured by EO System Co. Ltd and is called FICON (Fire Control Unit). The weight is 2 kg. It has a day vision channel and a thermal imaging device with an integrated, uncooled CCD sensor with 320 × 240 pixels. The zoom strength is specified by the manufacturer as 2.2x. The field of view in the optical range is 10 °, in the infrared it is slightly smaller at 10 ° × 7.5 °. The ballistic computer has an electronic compass , a temperature sensor and sensors for measuring elevation and tilt in order to calculate the lead point for the shooter with an accuracy of one meter at a distance of 500 meters. The laser beam is eye-safe with a wavelength of 1.54 µm. The computer can detonate the grenades with three specified ignition modes, which are displayed in the upper left of the reticle: airburst, contact and delay detonators. The reticle is equipped with a thread net so that if the computer or power supply fails, the grenades can still be fired at the target in contact fuse mode. The crosshair is the target point for the laser beam, but can also be used as a target point for the kinetic part in the close range. When a target has been lasered, a red crosshair appears in the eyepiece, which indicates the lead point for the shooter. Depending on the position of the fire selector lever, the lead point for the grenade weapon or the kinetic part is displayed. The entire system can be supplied with energy for up to 8 hours via a lithium-ion battery .

Kinetic part

The kinetic part is derived from the Daewoo K1 , which is a gas pressure charger with a rotary head lock. It fires 5.56 × 45 mm NATO SS109, M855 or K100 ammunition, the rate of fire will be around 800 rounds / minute as with the K1 rifle. It can single shots or three-shot bursts are fired. The fire selection lever on the left side of the weapon has four positions, clockwise from above: grenade / single shot / burst / safe. The loading lever is on the left side of the weapon. When the magazine is empty, the bolt automatically remains in the open position. The closure can also be pulled back and fixed in the rear position by pressing the catch stud. The empty magazine is ejected by pressing the magazine holder, which, like the Colt M4, can be reached with the extended index finger. After inserting a new STANAG -compatible magazine, the slide can be released again by pressing down a lever in the front area of ​​the trigger guard so that it snaps forward and the weapon is ready for use.

On the right fore-end there are four buttons for controlling the ballistics computer, which have been optimized for haptic perception , as these cannot be seen by the shooter with the weapon at the ready. The distance measured by the laser rangefinder can be changed in 1-meter steps with the narrow buttons at the back, arranged one above the other. With the oval button in front of it, the firing mode of the grenade can be adjusted, this is provided with a groove to make it easier to feel. The front button activates the laser rangefinder and has a border for haptic reasons.

Grenade weapon

Like the ballistic computer, the grenade weapon is a new development. It fires 20 mm shells with a muzzle velocity of 180 m / s from a 405 mm long barrel made of a titanium alloy . The 20 mm grenades have been further developed by Poosang compared to the XM29. The Hanwha detonator unit has been relocated to the head of the grenade and the grenade with case has been lengthened to a total of 100 mm. The grenade is therefore slightly heavier than the XM1018 grenades of the XM29 at 100 grams . The ignition unit consists of a microsystem with a weight of only 28 grams. If the grenade is to explode in the air, the electronics count the rotations that the grenade makes to maintain its gyroscopic stabilization. The grenade is ignited when the necessary number of rotations is made, which were programmed into the grenade by the ballistic computer via induction coils before firing. The grenade weapon must be manually repeated with a bolt handle after each shot. The effective range is 500 meters, as the thermal imaging device of the ballistic computer was designed for this distance. The deviation from the flight path is 30 cm at 300 m. So far, two types of grenades have been developed for the weapon, which can be loaded into the 5-round magazines made of transparent plastic:

  • K167 HE Airburst: Air-igniting grenade that can also detonate in contact or delay mode . The kill radius of the grenade explosion is said to be 3–4 m against CRISAT , the surface effects of the 20 mm airburst grenade are said to be similar to a conventional 40 mm grenade with contact ignition. The cartridge case is made of an aluminum alloy. If the detonator does not go off because the grenade hits a soft target such as sand, for example, the built-in self-destruct mechanism will destroy the grenade two seconds after it comes to a standstill. If the grenade is only programmed but not fired for two minutes, it will defuse itself. After that, it will take about five minutes for the capacitors to discharge before it is ready for use again.
  • K168 TP Target Practice: Practice ammunition without warhead and electronics.

use

References

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jung Sung-ki: Korea launches contingent for dispatch to Afghanistan. In: The Korea Times. The Korea Times Co., May 11, 2010, accessed July 17, 2012 .
  2. ↑ 이동훈: 미래 한국 은 내가 지킨다. 차세대 소총 XK-11. In: Hankyoreh . August 18, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2012 (Korean).
  3. ↑ Article on defensenews.com. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 17, 2012 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.defensenews.com
  4. ^ Ivan Gale: UAE buys rifles from South Korea. In: The National. Abu Dhabi Media company, accessed July 17, 2012 .
  5. ^ Lee Tae-hoon: Made-in-Korea arms struggle with defects. In: The Korea Times. The Korea Times Co., March 28, 2011, accessed July 17, 2012 .
  6. ^ Korea set to resume production of K-11 assault rifles. In: The Korea Times. July 23, 2012, accessed January 3, 2012 .
  7. ↑ S&T Daewoo K11 DAW (Dual-barrel Air-burst Weapon). In: The Firearm Blog. October 2, 2013, accessed October 17, 2013 .
  8. ↑ EO System product catalog. (No longer available online.) P. 15 , archived from the original on June 27, 2012 ; accessed on July 17, 2012 (English).
  9. ↑ Anthony G Williams: K11 combination weapon enters service with South Korea. In: IHS Jane's. IHS, June 4, 2010, accessed July 17, 2012 .
  10. ↑ 刘 婧: 韩国 军队 正在 逐步 装备 国产 K11 双 口径 多用途 步枪. In: 新浪. SINA Corporation, June 10, 2010, accessed July 17, 2012 (Chinese, English translation ).
  11. ^ South Korea Exports Its Super Rifle. In: Strategy Page. StrategyWorld.com, May 14, 2010, accessed July 17, 2012 .