Weapon Name- G56
Round Type- 6.8mm Remington
Over-all length- 35.5-38.5 inches
Barrel length- 14.5 inches, 20 inches, 24 inches
Weight- 7.5 lb, 7.9 lb, 8.2 lb
Rate of Fire- 625 RPM
Feed Mechanism- Detachable Box Magazine
Round Capacity- 32, 45, 100
Effective Range- 500 meters
Range- 700 meters
Accuracy- 1.5 MOA, 1 MOA
Accessories- Picatinny Rails
Quick switch firing mechanism- N/A
Scope/Sights- 4x Holographic Thermal scope
Muzzle Velocity- 800 m/s, 835 m/s, 862 m/s 7.45 gram (114.5 grain)
Firing System- Short stroke gas piston
Miscellaneous/electronic information- The weapon is essentially a traditionally laid out short stroke gas piston rifle chambered in 6.8mm remington and specially designed with the KRISS vector recoil reduction system.
Basic Information
The weapon is essentially a traditionally laid out short stroke gas piston rifle chambered in 6.8mm remington and specially designed with the KRISS vector recoil reduction system. Based off of the G36, it instead uses the XM8 firing system (which is itself based on the G36), which was known for it's extreme reliability, low recoil, and high accuracy. Making extensive use of polymers and high strength alloys, the weapon is unusually durable and reliable. The short stroke gas piston is considered to be more reliable than direct impingement systems while retaining the same low recoil and high accuracy, and in general is more smoothly operating than long strike gas pistons (less recoil, muzzle rise, and higher accuracy). The firing controls are changed extensively, being ambidextrous, and more similar to the fire controls of the HK416, allowing for an easier fire control select. In addition, it has an additional safety in the form of a button as compared to the firing selector. The weapon has an adjustible stock, similar to a sniper stock with guide rods, and has 3 inches of adjustibility, with a sniper guide rod providing an additional half an inch of adjustibility down the half millimeter.
The system is significantly more reliable than the direct impingement system. The firing system is based off of the XM8 which uses a short stroke gas piston system, similar to that in the AR-18, FN SCAR, or XM8 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. However, with the HK416, 117 of the 233 malfunctions were from just one of the 10 weapons. Over-all this gives the weapon between 4-8 times higher reliability than the M4 carbine or similar firearms, with a variety of operating conditions being less hazardous to the over-all functioning of the firearm, including sandy or wet conditions. In addition to this, the weapon's heat tolerance is significantly greater than ordinary firing systems. While an M16 is only expected to be able to realistically fire 15-20 rounds a minute, the XM8 can fire over 80 rounds per minute with relatively little difficulty, which is roughly equal to the firing rate of the M249 machine gun, and twice that of the M27 IAR at 36. Heckler and Koch engineers fired 4 high-capacity magazines, with 100 rounds apiece, in less than 5 minutes from their XM8 entrant, or 400 rounds in less than 5 minutes.
The weapon also borrows elements from the FN HAMR, despite being based on the HK417. The weapon has an automatic mechanism to switch from a closed bolt to an open bolt firearm, when the weapon overheats. Closed bolt firearms tend to be more accurate and more intuitive to use while also more easily keeping out debri, while open bolt firearms dump heat faster and thus are better for fully automatic fire or heavy use. A closed bolt firearm doesn't have a delay right before the weapon fires, and also does not need to shake around or slam the bolt shut right as the weapon is firing, causing the weapon to jerk right before firing The weapon is able to compensate by automatically switching between mechanisms during use, when the weapon overheats. This is achieved entirely mechanically ,without sensitive measuring devices, via an expanding alloy which will trigger the mechanism and that grows larger, and thus activates or imparts stress on to the mechanism, when it heats up. This material is made to the precision temperature of which the weapon would overheat, which makes it unique in that aspect. Few if any weapons in the world besides these possess such a feature.
The weapon possesses an additional recoil reduction system based on the Kriss Vector's operating system. The Vector's action, the KRISS Super V System (KSVS), is an articulated mechanism which allows the bolt and an inertia block to move downward into a recess behind the magazine well. The theory is that at the end of this travel, energy is transmitted downward rather than rearward. On return, however that downward force is negated by upward force. The Vector family of weapons is the first to use this action. .40 S&W and 9×19mm Parabellum variants were mentioned when the gun was first released. Gen 2 variants with multiple design changes and 9mm were confirmed at the 2015 SHOT show. When fired, the barrel axis is in line with the shoulder as in the M16 rifle, but also in line with the shooter's hand. This is intended to reduce muzzle climb when combined with the off-axis bolt travel. This mechanism is designed to further reduce the recoil of the already light XM8.
The weapon uses a detachable polygonal cobalt chrome "flow formed" 5 groove 1:11 inch (1 complete turn in 1 in 11 / 279.4mm) right hand turn 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 rifling, is extremely durable, and has a minimum 20,000 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 12, 16, and 20 inches.
The 6.8mm Remington round, in use with the weapon, typically gets around sub 1 MOA. The weapon uses a 7.45 gram round that travels at approximately 850 m/s, or generates 2,691 joules. This is approximately 25% more power than an Ak-47, and 40% more than an M16, at the muzzle; however, with shorter barrels, the velocity is slightly reduced. The cartridge was designed to work effectively from short barrels, and to have an effective range of approximately 500 meters. With it's high ballistic coefficient, it's energy is retained out to long ranges, making it effective both at close ranges and as a marksmen weapon. Tests by the U.S. military showed that 6.5mm cartridge size had the best accuracy of their intermediate cartridges tested, while the 7mm had the best terminal performance; the SPC was designed to meet the middle of this criteria, and be useful from shorter barrels, such as those found in the M4 carbine. Thus it's size and power, in addition to it's high ballistic coefficient, provides superior stopping power, barrier penetration, and accuracy over traditional 5.56mm weapons.
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. 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 also utilizes magpul magazines. The magazines are known for their higher reliability and tendency to reduce jams; the magazine well on STANAG compatible magazines tends to be unnecessarily large and long, occasionally causing feeding issues. In an extreme dust test with the M4 carbine, out of the 883 jams approximately 239 were a result of the magazine; approximately a quarter of the jams of the jams were caused by magazine malfunctions, most commonly double feeding. This comparable to the entire FN SCAR or Hk416 jam rate. Superior magazines have the ability to eliminate up to half the jams frequently found in piston operated weapons, or more; thus, the improved magpul magazines can help prevent a significant number of jams when utilized with the weapon, particularly considering the higher level of reliability of the firing system.
