LSAT (machine gun)

The development of a promising machine gun in light and medium variants of implementation (light - up to 5.170 kg without cartridges and 10.705 kg with full ammunition for 600 rounds, average - up to 8.165 and 18.870 kg respectively) started on a competitive basis, two industrial teams of military companies took part in it industry, each with its own project on the basis of requirements made by the army command: ^[1]

• AAI Corporation (System Integration); Ares, Inc. (weapon); Omega Training Group, Inc. (Research); St. Marks Powder (ammunition); Battel Memorial Institute (R&D).
• General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products (system integration); GD Ordnance and Tactical Systems (ammunition); Knight's Armament Co. (weapon)

The American companies ATK, Frontier, Knox, Veritay and FNMI (a branch of the Belgian company Fabrique Nationale ) participated in the development of various components and mechanisms. German companies Heckler & Koch and Dynamit Nobel took part in the development of shellless ammunition ^[1] .

The first team with AAI headed to the finals.

Automation of the machine gun implements the principle of the removal of powder gases to the gas piston with the ejection of the spent cartridge case supplied by the on-duty cartridge (in the variant for conventional ammunition) or with the cartridge completely burned out during the shot (in the case of cartridge-free ammunition). The machine gun has a free shutter .

The following commercial structures are involved in the development of the machine gun: ^[2]

General contractor

• Textron Corp. , Textron Systems, , Coquisville , Maryland .

Associate Contractors

• , Port Clinton , Ohio ;
• Salt Lake City , Utah ;
• General Dynamics Corp. , St. Marks Powder, Inc., St. Marx , Florida ;
• Columbus , Georgia ;
• Newport Beach , California ;
• Burnaby , British Columbia ;
• Veritay Technology, Inc. , East Amherst , New York ;
• Battal Memorial Institute , Columbus , Ohio .

In addition to the contractors listed above, the position of the potential manufacturer of the serial model (s) of the machine gun remains vacant. Despite the fact that the most likely organizer of future production is the current general R&D contractor - the defense group of Textron Corporation, the client side reserves the right to determine alternative sources of LSAT purchases in industrial quantities ^[2] .

Due to the fact that the standard machine gun is the heaviest element of the individual machine gunner’s military equipment (in second place is the man-portable ammunition for it, followed by personal protective equipment, communication equipment and a portable stock of water), ^[3] tactics were put before the developers of the machine gun Terms of Reference , which includes the following basic requirements: ^[4]

• 35% reduction in weapon weight compared to the current armed machine gun ( M249 );
• 40% reduction in the weight of ammunition compared to the current ammunition used ( M855 );
• Reducing the weight of wearable ammunition by reducing the weight of the ammunition used, the configuration and materials of the elements of the ammunition system and means for coupling a flexible machine-gun belt ;
• Simplification of the machine gunner training program and the operation and maintenance of weapons;
• Maintaining or increasing the combat effectiveness of weapons;
• Maintain or reduce the cost of weapons, ammunition and maintenance.

The main set of approaches to solving the problem: ^[5]

• Creation of a fundamentally new, instead of upgrading an existing one (“Clean Slate” approach to design);
• Spiral model for constructing a progressive work program;
• Emphasis on the development of technology in general, rather than “hardware,” that is, this particular type of weapon;
• Achieving double the rate of weight reduction of prototype weapons prototypes (50%) instead of the initially required rate;
• MTBF ;
• Comprehensive simulation and extremely close to the real conditions of the combat situation simulation of various working environments and tactical situations;
• Experimentation with conventional and shell-free ammunition .

Basic information

• The principle of automation - the removal of powder gases
• Caliber , mm - 5.56
• Magazine capacity , pat. - 100 (shell ammunition); 150 (sleeveless)

Mass and overall characteristics

• The body of the machine gun , kg - 4.45 (with shell ammunition); 4,5 (with shellless ammunition)
• The length of the weapon , mm - 917 (with folded butt)
• Barrel length , mm - 418 (standard); 320 (shortened)

Shooting characteristics

• Practical rate of fire , rds / min - 650
• Muzzle velocity , m / s - 920
• Effective range , m - 1000

• Spiegel, Kori ; Shipley, Paul . Lightweight Small Arms Technologies: National Defense Industrial Association Joint Services Small Arms Systems Annual Symposium, May 2008 . - Arlington, Virginia: National Defense Industrial Association, 2008. - 26 p.