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New Zealand says goodbye to Steyr

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  • New Zealand says goodbye to Steyr

    What do you think of that ? I thought the Steyr was a good enough rifle although slightly awkward.

    New Zealand selects LMT rifle for Steyr replacement
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8073[/ATTACH]
    Remigiusz Wilk, Warsaw - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
    25 August 2015


    US small arms manufacturer Lewis Machine & Tool Co (LMT) has been named the preferred tenderer in the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Individual Weapon Replacement programme.

    IHS Jane's understands that LMT's AR-15-derived CQB16 has been selected to replace the Steyr AUG A1 assault rifle in NZDF service. A New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) notification released in mid-August only said that LMT had been downselected.

    The New Zealand MoD was authorised in May 2014 to undertake a tender to purchase 8,800 'off-the-shelf' replacement rifles and associated accessories. A key requirement is that the new weapon with suitable sights should be able to detect, identify, and engage adversaries at both close quarters and at distances of up to 500 m in daylight.

    A request for proposals closed on 12 November 2014, and following an evaluation eight companies were selected for trials that were undertaken between 2 March and 1 June 2015. The trials tested rifles provided by Beretta Defense Technologies (represented by a local branch); Ceska Zbrojovka; Colt Canada Corp; FN Herstal; Steyr Mannlicher; SIG Sauer (represented by New Zealand dealer XTEK Ltd); Heckler & Koch; and LMT.

    IHS Jane's understands that LMT offered CQB16 variants with 406 mm and 457 mm barrels for testing.

    The MoD notification said the new rifle is expected to be introduced into service by 2016-17.
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Is there something in the air at the moment about NATO going from 5,56 to a larger cartridge,? if so are New Zealand
    taken this into account,?

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    • #3
      its been in the air since the early 2000's - studies have been done, some of the wierd and wonderful US SF units have gone for other ammunition, but the momentum for a move away from 5.56 seems to have evaporated.

      5 years ago i'd have placed a very large bet that most of NATO would be 6.5 or 7.62 by 2020, such was the depth/spread of view within NATO armies that 5.56 just didn't cut the mustard, but now i just think that other issues have taken precidence - F-35 and its cost overuns, Russia, UK MPA requirement. however, the German MOD have said that the G36 is on its way out, so its possible that replacing that might force the other European NATO countries to revisit previous thoughts...

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      • #4
        do you think they don't rate the steyr ?

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        • #5
          Originally posted by andy View Post
          do you think they don't rate the steyr ?
          they used the Australian made one,

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          • #6
            whatever about something in the air about a wholesale calibre change....the reality is most western armies involved in serious operations for the last decade or more have moved from a pure 5.56 section line up to a mixed 5.56/7.62 line up with the latter providing the support/longer range/precision firepower. All this has happened with pretty much off the shelf purchasing, or at the very least, minor adaptations to platforms for 7.62.

            Without starting off the 5.56 vs 7.62 debate all over again, it has re-proven itself to be a very effective, reliable round in the recent past.

            an interesting area for this debate to move into would be if 7.62 made a widespread re-introduction (instead of spending a small country's budget on developing a new calibre) is how light can modern 7.62 personal weapons become? We already have SCAR-H and a couple of other assault rifle types out there. The latest 7.62 Minimi is barely any heavier than it's 5.56 brother.

            Where can weight savings be made in other PLCE to compensate for weight of ammo going up a bit also?
            An army is power. Its entire purpose is to coerce others. This power can not be used carelessly or recklessly. This power can do great harm. We have seen more suffering than any man should ever see, and if there is going to be an end to it, it must be an end that justifies the cost. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

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