Howa Type 89

Howa Type 89

The Type 89 Assault Rifle
Type Assault rifle
Place of origin Japan
Service history
In service 1989—present[1]
Used by Japan Self-Defense Forces, Japan Coast Guard, Said to be with the Special Assault Team in certain quantities
Wars Iraq War
Production history
Designer Defense Agency Technical Research and Development Institute
Manufacturer Howa
Unit cost ¥347,000 (1998)[2]
¥325,800 (2005)[3]
Produced 1989—present
Number built 163,706
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Weight 3.5 kg (7.7 lb)
Length 916 mm (36.1 in), (670 mm (26.4 in) with Howa Type 89-F)
Barrel length 420 mm (16.5 in)

Cartridge 5.56×45mm NATO
Action Gas-operated
Rate of fire 750 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 920 m/s
Effective firing range 500 m
Feed system 20/30-round detachable STANAG Magazines
Sights Iron sights; optical sights can be placed with weaver or Picatinny railing mount[4]

The Howa Type 89 Assault Rifle (89式アサルトライフル hachi-kyū-shiki-asaruto-raifuru), referred to as the "type89 5.56mm rifle" (89式5.56mm小銃 hachi-kyūshiki-go-ten-go-roku-miri-syōjū),[5][6] is a Japanese assault rifle used by the Japan Self-Defense Forces,[6] the Japan Coast Guard's Special Security Team units,[6] and the Special Assault Team.[7] It was never exported outside Japan due to its strict anti-hardware export policy. It is known in JGSDF service as Buddy.[6][8]

It has replaced the Howa Type 64 battle rifle in frontline units.

History

During the Vietnam War, the United States military replaced the M14 with the M16 for a variety of reasons, one of the most important being the advantage of increased rate of fire, light weight, and lower recoil of the 5.56×45mm NATO round over the larger 7.62×51mm NATO round. Despite the fact that this shortened the effective range of the average infantryman during a firefight, the 5.56×45mm round (SS109) eventually became the standard of ammunition type for all NATO member assault rifles. In accordance with this, the Japanese Defense Agency began development on their next generation assault rifle to replace the 7.62×51mm Type 64 battle rifle after its 25-year span of service.[6][9]

Development was handled primarily by Howa since it was already licensed to produce the AR-180 version of the Armalite AR-18 rifle for commercial purposes. In order to determine suitability of the rifle, it was issued in limited numbers to the Japan Self-Defense Forces for field testing purposes. After the data collected from the field testing stage of the AR-18 was examined, formal development of the next-generation assault rifle began with its designation as the HR-16 (HR1604).[9] The HR-15 was the first version of the experimental rifle that would eventually become the Type 89, but was developed concurrently with the HR-10, HR-11 and HR-13 by 1989.[9]

Features

J.G.S.D.F soldiers practice CQB tactics at the Yakima Training Center's combat training building, armed with Type 89s.
J.G.S.D.F soldier of the 20th Infantry Regiment engages mock enemy soldiers in the Ojojibara Maneuver Area in Sendai, Japan during Exercise Forest Light 2004.
Type 89
Type 89 trigger group.
Type 89 fire selection.
ア (アンゼン=Safe) → レ (レンシャ=Auto) → 3 (Three-Round Burst) → タ (タンパツ=Semi) [13]
Its 3-round burst feature is built separately from the rest, so as to prevent the selector switch from being totally useless in case it can't be used due to accident or a malfunction.[14]

Recent improvements

JGSDF soldier of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, with their Type 89 rifle.

A number of recent modifications have been made to the Type 89 due to the recent armed deployment to Iraq of J.S.D.F members as well as an overall concern over counter-terrorist and possible future combat deployments.

Type 89-F with a folding stock.

Variants

The only variant of the Type 89 that is serving in the field is the Type 89-F rifle, which has a folding stock with the original Type 89 having a solid stock.[18] The former has been referred to as the Type 89 Para.[12] Issued to airborne soldiers, tankers, recon soldiers, armoured infantry soldiers etc.. The folding stock folds to the left side, not to cover the selector lever on the right side. The stock is locked weakly when folded, making it difficult to carry by sling in folded position.

See also

References

  1. "The 5.56 X 45mm: 1986-1994". The Gun Zone. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  2. 89式小銃 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  3. "Defense Programs and Budget of Japan" (PDF) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  4. "HOWA Type 89 mount". Brügger & Thomet. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  5. "89式5.56mm小銃" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "89式 5.56mm小銃" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  7. 自衛隊の採用する銃 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  8. "89式5.56mm小銃" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  9. 1 2 3 "89式5.56m小銃" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  10. 89式小銃 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  11. "Modern Firearms' Type 89 Assault Rifle". Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "HOWA TYPE89 5.56mm RIFLE/TYPE89 5.56mm PARA" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  13. 1 2 "Exhibision (sic) of Equipments". 2003-03-16. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  14. Hogg, 319.
  15. "Howa Type 89 Assault Rifle". 2008. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  16. "Tasco Japan Shooting & Optical Products Catalog, 2008-2009" (PDF) (in Japanese). Tasco Japan. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  17. "tasco MD-33 ミルスペック・ダットサイト" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  18. "Howa Type 89". Retrieved 2010-03-01.

http://soldiersystems.net/2010/11/30/japans-advanced-combat-infantry-equipment-system/

Bibliography

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Type 89 rifle.

External links

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