Weapon Name- BR55 Battle Rifle
Round Type- 6.5mm Grendel Caseless
Over-all length- 20.5 inches, 24.5 inches, 28.5 inches, 32.5 inches, + 3 inches for extended stock
Barrel length- 12 inches, 16 inches, 20 inches, 24 inches
Weight- 6.5 lb, 6.9lb, 7.5 lb, 8.9 lb
Rate of Fire- 600 +- 25RPM
Feed Mechanism- Detachable Box magazine,
Round Capacity- 60 round (1.5 lb per magazine), or belt fed
Effective Range- 600 yards (550 meters)
Range- 1200 yards (1090 meters)
Accuracy- 2 MOA, 1 MOA, .5 MOA, 1 MOA (respectively)
Accessories- Picanty Rail, optional rail sight
Quick switch firing mechanism- N/A
Scope/Sights- Picanty Rail, rail sight with scope
Muzzle Velocity- 820 m/s (2622 joules), 340 m/s (450 joules) at 1200 Yards
Firing System- XM8 Firing System
Miscellaneous/electronic information- The weapon is intended to be an extremely reliable weapon, that delivers high performance in nearly any situation. It also is frequently combined with a rail sight that has a scope in it, that can connect to the Land warrior system.
Basic Information
The weapon uses a detachable polygonal 5 groove 1: 8.75 inch (222.5mm) right hand turn cobalt-alloy "flow formed" barrel; the barrel is made of an alloy that contains more than 50 percent cobalt. The barrel is roughly 13% heavier than standard steel barrels, but is more erosion and corrosion-resistant and is designed to retain high strength during long-term exposure to high temperatures. Cobalt alloys are frequently used in the aerospace industry, such as the hot-gas section of turbine engines. A proof of concept M240 7.62mm x 51mm NATO barrel, in practice, had 24,000 rounds test-fired through it, causing it to reach temperatures of 1,100 degrees, without failure. A steel barrel would have failed under such treatment.
The barrel itself, combined with polygonal barrel, in use with the BR-55 is extremely durable, and has a minimum 30,000 round barrel life, although it is possible to extend this or get use out of the rifle after the minimum is reached. The barrels come in different lengths, being 12, 16, 20, and 24 inches for the carbine, standard, marksmen, and SAW variants respectively.
The firing system is based off of the XM8, which has proven to be an extremely reliable weapon platform, with an extremely reliable firing system; it should be noted that the weapon and bolt has an extra seal on it, however, as the weapon is caseless (much like in the LSAT). The weapon was noted as being able to fire over 400 rounds from drum magazines without a single failure within 5 minutes. It is reported to be capable of firing 15,000 rounds without cleaning or lubrication, although the weapon is expected to be cleaned often. Moreover, in July 2007, the US Army announced a limited competition between the M4 carbine, FN SCAR, HK416, XCR, and the previously-shelved HK XM8. Ten examples of each of the four competitors were involved. Each weapon fired 60,000 rounds in an "extreme dust environment." The purpose of the shoot-off was for assessing future needs, not to select a replacement for the M4. The XM8 scored the best, with only 127 stoppages in 60,000 total rounds, the FN SCAR Light had 226 stoppages, while the HK416 had 233 stoppages. The M4 carbine scored "significantly worse" than the rest of the field with 882 stoppages. Even in extremely dusty and dirty environments, without cleaning the weapon is expected to fire be able to fire 472 rounds without any jams or stoppages.
The weapon is made from composites and polymers similar to the P90, to both reduce the cost and weight as of the weapon, as well increase the durability. The weapon fires from a closed bolt for both maximum accuracy and reliability.
Each barrel possess a muzzle break designed after the surefire muzzlebreak. The muzzle break is intended to reduce the recoil of the weapon from an already relatively low level to being nearly absent, although some recoil is always present. As well, the design of the weapon and it's straight back recoil impulse, as well as the tighter, more steady grip on the weapon, combined with the impact gel recoil pad, makes the weapon very easy to use and relatively comfortable.
The weapon has another receiver that is capable of being attached. This receiver, while slightly heavier, comes with a somewhat enlarged and heavier bolt, as well as a belt fed application. The system works very similarly to both the Ares Shrike and Colt CAR (colt automatic rifle, no connection to the Canadian variant) in that you simply add a belt fed adapter to the weapon. The weapon differs slightly, however, in that, while the belt fed adaption is connected the mag well, on this receiver the sides usually covering the entire magazine well is shortened, allowing the belt fed container to fit more comfortably on the weapon and into the users shoulder, rather than the device sticking out considerably (if the box used is under 200 rounds). In addition, the upper receiver also contains a similar upper receiver to the LSAT machine gun, in that, the device requires an extra mechanism in order to remove the belt link (as the weapon is caseless). This also raises the weight of the weapon, making the saw variant slightly heavier.
In the standard firing mode, the weapon uses a slightly modified 60 round surefire magazine, that is not STANAG compatible. The magazine is designed to feed 6.5mm caseless Grendel rounds into the weapon. The magazine is purposely overbuilt to increase reliability. The magazine itself is designed to use 60 12 gram 5.56mm rounds, however, because the 6.5mm Grendel rounds are lighter weight, it is if only 48 rounds are being used in terms of weight, and because they are smaller, it is as if 56 rounds are being used in terms of volume, all of this drastically increasing the reliability of the magazine.
In addition, the weapon is designed to be used with the XM25 airburst firing scope and platform, enabling the weapon to have an "integrated" airburst function. While the electronic equipment is not integrated, it can be added with relatively little ease, and be used much in the same way that it was designed to be used on the XM29. This also allows for grenades to be fired easier, as the firing controls are next to the trigger and pistol grip for ease of reach.
The weapon uses a Blackbox round counter that can be hooked up to an LCD screen to show the rounds remaining. The magazines are generally color coded, which provides indication of how many rounds are within each magazine, although loading in another magazine that does not meet the criteria can result inaccurate round counting predictions; the round counter mechanism itself, however, will not falter.
The weapon uses an extendable stock in a similar manner to sniper stocks. Despite being a bull-pup, several multiple point guiding stocks are used to allow the user to adjust the pull of the stock up to three inches. While extendable, the stock adjustments must be made by loosening and tightening multiple facets, making extending or retracting the stock take a relatively large amount of time.
While picanty rails are integrated into the weapon, many attachments are expected to be used with the weapon, regardless of the versatility of the system.
