Ultimax 100

"Ultimax" redirects here. For the computer, see Commodore MAX Machine.
Ultimax 100

A Singaporean soldier with a deployed Ultimax 100 Mk 2 Section Assault Weapon (SAW)
Type Light machine gun
Place of origin Singapore
Service history
In service 1982–present[1]
Used by See Users
Wars Bougainville Civil War
Yugoslav Wars
Anti-guerrilla operations in Indonesia & Philippines
2006 Fijian coup d'état
Solomon Islands coup
Afghanistan war
Sri Lankan Civil War
Production history
Designer L. James Sullivan for Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics)
Designed 1977[1]
Manufacturer • CIS: 1982–2000[1]
• ST Kinetics: 2000–present[1]
Produced 1982–present[1]
Number built ~80,000[1]
Variants See variants
Specifications
Weight • Mark 2: 4.75 kg (10.47 lb)[1]
• Mark 3: 4.90 kg (10.8 lb)[1]
Length • Mark 2: 1,030 mm (40.6 in) with buttstock, 800 mm (31.5 in) w/o buttstock[1]
• Mark 3: 1,024 mm (40.3 in) with buttstock, 810 mm (31.9 in) w/o buttstock[1]
Barrel length • Standard: 508 mm (20.0 in)[1]
• Ultimax 100 para: 330 mm (13.0 in)[1]

Cartridge 5.56×45mm NATO[1]
Caliber 5.56 mm (0.22 in)[1]
Barrels Single barrel (progressive RH parabolic twist, 6 grooves)[1]
Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt[1]
Rate of fire 400–600 rounds/min[1]
Muzzle velocity 970 m/s (3,182 ft/s) (M193 cartridge)
945 m/s (3,100.4 ft/s) (SS109/M855 cartridge)
Effective firing range 100–1,200 m sight adjustments[1]
Maximum firing range 460 m (M193 cartridge)
1,300 m (SS109/M855 cartridge)
Feed system 100-round drum magazine or 30-round STANAG M16 box magazine[1]
Sights Rear aperture sight and front post
472 mm (18.6 in) sight radius[1]

The Ultimax 100 is a Singapore-made 5.56mm light machine gun, developed by the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) by a team of engineers under the guidance of American firearms designer L. James Sullivan.[1] The gun is extremely accurate due to its constant-recoil operating system.[2]

Work on a new light support weapon for the Singapore Army began in 1978. The weapon is produced by CIS (presently STK—Singapore Technologies Kinetics), initially in the Mark 1 version, later—the Mark 2, and currently, in the Mark 3 and Mark 4 variant. The Ultimax 100 (also called the U 100) is used in significant numbers by the armed forces of Singapore, Croatia and the Philippines.[1] The Mark 3 variant is currently used in the Singapore Armed Forces primarily as a support arm, and is both classified and known by soldiers as the SAW (Section Automatic Weapon).[3]

Design details

The Ultimax 100 is a gas-operated automatic weapon (capable of fully automatic fire only) with a short-stroke gas piston operating system powered by ignited powder gases diverted from the barrel through a port in the gas block. The Ultimax 100 is a locked breech weapon with a rotating bolt that contains 7 locking lugs. It fires from an open bolt position. The bolt contains both a spring extractor and a casing ejector. The weapon's non-reciprocating cocking handle is located on the left side of the receiver and occupies the forward position during firing. The Ultimax 100 is striker-fired.

The feature that grants the weapon its low recoil (compared to similar light machine guns) is the "constant recoil" principle. The overall design allows the bolt carrier group to travel all the way back without ever impacting the rear, instead stopping gradually along the axis of movement against the resistance of the return springs.[1][4] Jane's International Defence Review correspondent — Andrew Tillman, in an exclusive invitation from ST Kinetics to participate in the Product Improvement Program (PIP, initiated in 1989) to test fire the gun, elaborated:[5]

This article began by praising the Ultimax for its ease of control, which allows accurate fire. A comment to the author by an experienced SEAL team leader aptly underlines the importance of having an accurate light machine gun: "Men react one of two ways when they are shot at. If you just shoot at them, they will take cover and return fire, but if you start hitting them, they withdraw."

The magazine catch consists of two tapered pins on a bar, controlled by the magazine release button. The machine gun feeds from a proprietary 100-round synthetic drum magazine (early models also used 60-round drum magazines), or from a modified 20 or 30-round STANAG 4179 magazine (from the M16 rifle).[1] An unusual feature among modern machine guns is the fact the Ultimax was purposely designed to feed from magazines as opposed to belts.

The Ultimax 100 uses a manual safety mechanism that consists of a lever installed on the left side of the receiver (just behind the trigger) with two possible settings: "S" – indicating the weapon is safe and "F" – continuous fire. An internal safety achieved through the proper arrangement of parts and mechanisms secures against premature detonation. The light machine gun was also designed to mount an M16-type bayonet and either day or night-time optics. The Ultimax 100's ergonomics are similar to that of the Thompson submachine gun, specifically the forward grip.[1]

Widespread adoption of the design might have been compromised by its feed system. The original Ultimax 100 was meant to be used with a drum magazine holding 100 rounds. Unfortunately, the drum magazine was bulky. It was also difficult to reload without a special mechanism. The shape of the drum magazine also occupied more space compared to M16 magazines or the FN Minimi box holding a belt of 200 rounds. The machine gunner also could not take magazines from other squad members who were equipped with M16s.[1]

M16 magazines were subsequently modified to allow them to be used with the production model Ultimax 100. This was done by drilling two holes right at the left feeding lip of the magazine. This improved the handiness of the weapon and allowed magazines to be loaded in the field.[1]

The system was modified to use only STANAG compatible magazines in the Mk 4 version of the design, which was submitted for the USMC Infantry Automatic Rifle competition. This meant the original drum could no longer be used, making the design closer to the IAR than a light machine gun. This has been ratified in the latest Mk 5 variant which allows the usage of the Beta C-Mag.[1]

Variants

Users

See also

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Richard J, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Andrew, pp. 1093.
  3. "Small and Deadly". Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  4. L. James Sullivan (9 October 1984). "(United States Patent: 4,475,438) Gas operated, automatic or semi-automatic guns". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  5. Andrew, pp. 1095.
  6. 1 2 3 "Ultimax 100 History". Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  7. 1 2 "Ultimax 100 MK3". Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  8. 1 2 "Ultimax 100 Brochure" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  9. Crane, David (December 4, 2009). "U.S. Marine Corps Selects Heckler & Koch Infantry Automatic Rifle (HK IAR) Candidate as Replacement for FN M249 SAW/LMG". defensereview.com. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  10. Defense Review update on Mark 5 variant
  11. Christopher F Foss (2000-06-20). "New All Terrain Vehicle Makes Tracks For Eurosatory". Jane's Daily (subscription required to access). Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  12. "Spider Light Strike Vehicle, Singapore". Army-Technology.Com. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  13. "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE SIGNS CONTRACT FOR THE ULTIMAX-100 LIGHT MACHINE GUN". Brunei Ministry of Defence. 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  14. "Bosnia Herzegovina Land Forces military equipment, armament and vehicles Army". armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 2014-10-16.
  15. "Chile concreta la compra de fusiles SCAR-L y SCAR-H de FN HERSTAL para Infantería de Marina" (in Spanish). IDS, Información de Defensa y Seguridad. 2013-07-25.
  16. "Kopassus & Kopaska - Specijalne Postrojbe Republike Indonezije" (in Croatian). Hrvatski Vojnik Magazine. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Richard J, 2009/2010.
  18. "Maximum Firepower: The Machine Guns of the SAF". Singaporean Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
Bibliography
  • Richard Jones; Andrew White (2008). Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. HarperCollins. p. 399. ISBN 978-0-00-726645-6. 
  • Richard Jones (2010) [2009]. Jane's Infantry Weapons. Jane's Information Group. p. ?. ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5. 
  • Andrew, C Tillman (August 1989). "IDR test report: Ultimax light machine gun - the ultimate in controllability". Jane's International Defence Review (Jane's Information Group): 1093–1095. ISSN 0020-6512. 

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