BR18

The BR18 is a bullpup assault rifle made by ST Kinetics of Singapore.

BR18
The BR18 assault rifle, left side view
TypeBullpup assault rifle
Place of originSingapore
Production history
DesignerAdvanced Material Engineering[1]
Designed2012–2014 (Prototypes)
2017 (Preproduction models)
ManufacturerST Kinetics
Produced2018
VariantsSee Variants for details
Specifications
Cartridge5.56×45mm NATO
Caliber5.56mm
ActionSemi-automatic, gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire700–900 RPM
Feed system10-, 20- or 30-round detachable STANAG magazine or SAR-21 magazines[2]
SightsAny scopes/tactical aiming device compatible with the picatinny railing
Built-in iron sights[3]

The rifle was officially unveiled at the Singapore Airshow 2014 as the Bullpup Multirole Combat Rifle.[4] The rifle is designed to fire both 5.56×45mm NATO and ST Kinetics Extended Range 5.56mm ammunition and comes as standard with MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rails at the three, six, nine and 12 o’clock positions.[4]

Its production will enable the Singaporean military to phase out the SAR 21 from service. It is also offered for sale on the international market.[2]

History

The BR18 first made an appearance at the 2012 Singapore Airshow, where it was known as the Next-Gen Concept Bullpup Rifle.[5] In 2014, the BR18 was first unveiled in the Eurosatory exhibition, called the BMCR.[6] The rifle was to be available to both military and law enforcement markets by early 2015.[7]

After user trials were conducted in 2017, ST Kinetics demonstrated the production version of the rifle, which was given the name of BR18 at the 2018 Singapore Airshow exhibition.[1]

Design

The BR18's barrel is coated with a proprietary dry lubricant which repels sand, dust, and gunpowder soot for reduced maintenance. The rifle is also designed to be over the beach (OTB) capable, enabling the operator to safely fire after submerging the rifle in water.[8]

The weapon is constructed of reinforced, blast-proof polymer and is equipped with MIL-STD-1913 "Picatinny" rails to mount scopes and other tactical accessories.[6] While the design was influenced by the SAR-21, the BR18 allows it to be used by both left or right handed users[9] with empty casing ejections set forward and to the right away from the person's face after the weapon is fired from the left shoulder.[2] This negates the necessity of a deflector to ensure the person's face is not hit by hot brass.[9]

ST Kinetics has said that the BR18 has an effective range of 460 m and 800 m when fired with M193 and SS109 ammunition respectively, with a muzzle velocity of 860 m/s when employing SS109 rounds out of the "Assault" variant, equipped with a 14.5" barrel.[1]

The charging handle is placed above the trigger guard.[2] Initial designs showed the charging handle positioned above the cheek rest, which mean that the person would be forced to move from it in order to pull the bolt.[8] Pre-production models improved on this by designing the charging handle to be foldable with one hand and pulled back by using two fingers, using the force of the handle moving to be stowed.[1]

The trigger guard can be flipped outwards so that the shooter can handle the weapon if using gloves.[8]

While a 5.56 version is being scheduled for production, a 7.62x51mm NATO version is currently being developed.[6] The BR18 can use a STK-made 40 GL attached underneath the barrel via picatinny rails.[10]

  • BR18 rifle, right side
  • Ejection port, fire selector and magazine release lever on the BR18 rifle
  • The BR18 rifle, field-stripped
  • The adjustable and removable gas valve on the BR18 rifle
  • The carbon fiber cheekpiece of the BR18 rifle slides open to provide access to the chamber for troubleshooting

Variants

The BR18 is available in the following configurations:[2][3][10]

  • Assault rifle: Has an overall length of 645mm with a 14.5 inches (37 cm) barrel.
  • Light machine gun: Has a 20 inches (51 cm) barrel.
  • Marksman rifle.

See also

References
  1. "Singapore Airshow 2018: ST Kinetics launches BR18 5.56 mm assault rifle – Jane's 360". 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018.
  2. "BMCR / BR18 – Modern Firearms". 25 February 2018.
  3. Administrator. "New ST Kinetics BR18 5.56mm caliber bullpup assault rifle at Singapore AirShow 2018 – Singapore AirShow 2018 Latest News – Defence security military exhibition 2018 daily news category". www.armyrecognition.com.
  4. "ST Kinetics' Solutions Put Warfighters Ahead Of Their Game". ST Engineering. 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-02-22.
  5. "More Photos of ST Kinetics Concept Rifles – The Firearm Blog". 22 February 2012.
  6. Tendas, Pierangelo (17 June 2014). "ST Kinetics BMCR - EUROSATORY 2014: Singapore Technologies Kinetics introduces in Europe the BMCR bull-pup modular combat rifle!". all4shooters.com.
  7. Koh, Eng Beng (June 2014). "Combat Ready 24/7". Pioneer Magazine. Singaporean Ministry of Defence: 22–23. Archived from the original on 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  8. "BMCR, CMCR – at DefenceTalk". www.defencetalk.com.
  9. "Exhibit that packed the most heat at S'pore Airshow 2014: A pair of locally-made combat rifles". Mothership.sg.
  10. "Air Show pamphlet" (PDF). stengg.com. 2016.
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