KH-2002

The KH-2002 Khaybar (Persian: خیبر‎ Khayber) is an Iranian-designed assault rifle, derived from the DIO S 5.56 assault rifle (an unlicensed clone of the Chinese Norinco CQ, which in turn is an unlicensed copy of the American M16) and further developed by Iran's Defense Industries Organization (DIO).[2][3] It was designed in 2001 with samples produced in 2003 with the eventual production of the KH2002 commencing in 2004. It is similar in appearance to the FAMAS and Steyr AUG assault rifles.[4]

KH-2002
Type	Bullpup assault rifle
Place of origin	Iran
Service history
Used by	Islamic Republic of Iran Army in limited numbers (Primary User)[1] See Users for more details
Production history
Designed	2001
Manufacturer	Defense Industries Organization
Produced	2003–2012
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	3.7kg (with long barrel and empty 30-round magazine)
Length	780 mm, 730 mm, 680 mm (Assault Rifle, Carbine, DMR)
Cartridge	5.56×45mm NATO
Caliber	5.56mm
Action	Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	800 to 850 round/min, cyclic
Muzzle velocity	900 to 950 m/s
Effective firing range	450 m
Feed system	Various STANAG Magazines
Sights	Iron sights Various scopes/sights can be attached on the picatinny rail via carry handle. Two picatinny rails on both sides of upper receiver (Sama model only)

Its improved version, released in 2009, was known as "Sama".[2]

History

According to a Global Security Studies report, it was observed that Venezuela received 18,000 KH-2002s sold to them by Iran in 2007.[5] In the same year, an investigation was carried out in Uruguay in an attempt to bring KH-2002s into the country through Venezuela, which was a violation of UN embargo rules against Iran, according to reports in the Washington Times.[6] According to the article, all 18,000 rifles and 15,000 rounds of Iranian-made 5.56mm NATO ammunition were confiscated.[6]

In 2008, Iran had sent ten samples of the KH-2002 to Syria in order to compete for a potential contract with the Syrian Army against the AK-74M.[7] Eight KH-2002s used in field tests jammed numerous times, leaving two of them in working condition.[7]

It has been suggested that production of the KH-2002 was discontinued in 2012 after DIO was unable to find customers willing to buy the assault rifle.[8][7]

Design

The KH-2002 features a four-position fire selector lever which is situated toward the rear of the left side butt-stock behind magazine housing with the M16-type magazine release button on the right side of the magazine housing.[9][10] The weapon is not entirely ambidextrous since the ejection port is located on the right side of the rifle.[1] It uses STANAG magazines, though it usually uses 20 or 30-round magazines.[11]

The selector offers semi-automatic, fully automatic and three-round burst options,[3] with the safety selection in the forward position.[12] It operates as a gas operated, rotating bolt-type rifle.[2]

The DIO promotes the KH-2002 as a "low-recoil, highly accurate, lightweight" weapon, with "modular construction for easy maintenance" and a rotating bolt locking mechanism, presumably designed to facilitate ambidextrous firing, protected under a carrying handle that contains the rear sight.[4] The carrying handle can also be used to mount optical or night sights.[13]

The weight of the KH-2002 with the long barrel and an empty 30-round magazine is given as 3.7 kg. The weapon can also be fitted with an optional bipod and a bayonet.[4][13] Field stripping the rifle is most likely based on the M16.[12]

The Sama-type rifle has improvements made over initial production models such as having a longer carry handle to accommodate longer optics or scopes.[14] Other improvements include a foregrip extension below the barrel to better handle the rifle, two picatinny rails on the receiver were included and the bolt carrier design changed to fit the ejection port.[15]

According to an October 2013 report by SIPRI, it's suggested that China may have provided technical assistance to Iranian engineers in designing the rifle.[16]

Variants

The variants consisted of the following:[1]

• Assault Rifle: Standard barrel based on the M16A1.
• Carbine: Has a short barrel and no front sight.
• DMR: Has a longer barrel.

Users

Failed Contracts

•  Syria: DIO competed with the KH-2002 against the AK-74M, which failed due to numerous jamming incidents.[7]
•  Uruguay: A smuggling attempt was made by CAVIM and MODLEX (Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces Logistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran) officials in a bid to supply the Uruguayan military with new assault rifles to secure a potential contract, which failed.[17][6]

References

1. ARG. "KH-2002 Khaybar Assault Rifle - Military-Today.com". www.military-today.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
2. Administrator. "Iranian-made KH-2002 Kyaybar 5.56mm bullpup assault rifle enters in service Iranian army 0901144". www.armyrecognition.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
3. "Khaybar KH2002". Archived from the original on 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
4. "DIO KH2002 / Khaybar". Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
5. "Iran's Foothold in Latin America" (PDF). globalsecuritystudies.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
6. "Uruguay caught buying Iran arms". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
7. "From Russia with Love, Syria's AK-74Ms – bellingcat". 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
8. "Updated: The Assault Rifles Of The Near Future". 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
9. The World's Assault Rifles by Johnson and Nelson, Page 714.
10. "Modern Firearms' Khaybar KH2002 Page". Archived from the original on 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-02-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. The World's Assault Rifles by Johnson and Nelson, Page 1291.
13. "AIG". 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
14. "تولید انبوه و استقبال نیروهای مسلح از"سلاح خیبر"+جزئیات". 30 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
15. "Khaybar: Iran's 5.56mm Assault Rifle – Guns & Ammo". 9 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
16. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Bibliography

• Johnson, Gary Paul; Nelson, Thomas B. (2016-12-15). The World's Assault Rifles. Ironside International Publishers. ISBN 9781619846012.