Army’s provisional design acceptance of Thales Australia’s F90 assault rifle and integrated grenade launcher means Second Pass approval is on track for June 2015.
Significant though this is, it’s worth noting the F90 and SL40 Steyr Mannlicher lightweight 40mm grenade launcher form part of a wider Close Combat Lethality System (CCLS) under development for marketing to the ADF and to ‘appropriate’ international militaries.
The CCLS consists of the F90 with a choice of 20”, 16”or 14” barrels; the SL40; a new range of 40mm grenade rounds developed in collaboration with Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK); and a just-disclosed F9 family of enhanced lethality small arms ammunition under development with an overseas company (not STK).
The F90 technology is scaleable from 4.6mm up to .50 calibre. Thales says initial focus will be on 5.56mm ammunition utilising low toxicity, optimised propellant, to be produced at its Mulwala facility, and a projectile developed by the overseas partner.
“Soldier modernisation programs around the world have typically had little regard for lethality in the close combat domain,” says Graham Evenden, Director of Integrated Soldier Systems.
“My job is to provide Australian soldiers with close combat lethality in all environmental conditions without increasing their cognitive burden and ideally reducing their physical burden.”
From F88 to F90 The cornerstone of the CCLS is the F90, an evolution of the Austeyr F88 series which entered Army service in 1988.
Despite several upgrades, culminating in the F88SA2, development of a new modular system with growth potential was contracted to Thales in 2008 under Project Land 125 Phase 3C.
“With the F90 we have not just taken a foreign rifle design to build in Australia. This is a design created in Australia as a cost-effective and substantial capability upgrade of a proven platform,” says Evenden.
“The 400-page function and performance specification called for reduced weight, better reliability, more modularity, adaptability, interoperability and future-proofing, but it also included inherent design constraints, so the solution space was narrowed significantly, and that presented a real challenge.
“There is no obvious technology leap on the near horizon in the assault rifle market, and this is reflected in many nations choosing to upgrade their small arms fleets rather than replace them.”
Budget cuts saw Phase 3C divided into Stage 2A (rifle) and Stage 2B (accessories), with Thales concentrating on rifle development, together an integrated grenade launcher, under an $8.4 million contract change proposal agreed in December 2012.
Design and testing Provisional design acceptance was received for the F90 this April and the grenade launcher in June, following exhaustive testing of two initial F90 production batches. The bulk of ammunition used was manufactured in Australia but US M855 and European SS109 rounds were included without incident.
Thousands of grenades were also fired in testing, including practice, high explosive, high explosive dual purpose, illumination, smoke and rubber ball rounds. Low velocity extended range and airburst munitions have subsequently been demonstrated without modification.
At 3.25kg Thales says the standard F90 with the 16inch barrel is one of the lightest assault rifles on the market.
Importantly, all weight reduction achieved on the F90 has occurred ahead of the Centre of Gravity, thus moving the CofG rearwards, closer to the firer’s shoulder.
Bullpup designs (where the action and magazine are located behind the trigger) are already better in this area than conventional designs, but this means very little weight is on top of the leading hand, enabling faster target acquisition and increased probability of first round hit.
The buttstock has been redesigned; a ribbed hard rubber butt plate, manufactured in Australia, provides improved grip and the butthook at the bottom of the butt has been modified.
A new raised cheekpiece ensures the user’s head is in the right position for any after-market sights which might otherwise sit too high because of the F90’s bullpup configuration. The cheekpiece at its top is fitted for, but not with, a plug-in electrical socket.
The buttstock also contains the hammer pack, the spring system of which has been modified to prevent stoppages caused by shock generated when the grenade launcher is fired.
Thales points out that integration of the SL40 places the barrels of both weapons as close together as possible, ensuring jump and recoil is experienced in much the same way as firing the rifle and therefore more easily controlled.
The ejection ports either side of the buttstock have been changed and elongated to ensure reliable extraction of spent rounds, particularly higher pressure US ammunition. A case deflector is also being developed which will allow reliable firing from the opposing shoulder when using cover.
The F88’s heavy cast aluminium receiver has been replaced with an upper receiver with a fixed barrel and patented rail adapter system. The barrel itself is fluted, saving another 100g of weight.
The top Picatinny rail is extended to accommodate a range of clip-on modules and night vision devices, and accessory rails are added on the right side to accommodate the grenade launcher as well as fitment of any front grip or bi-pod.
The side rail is manufactured from a new polymer material that Thales says is half the weight and twice the strength of aluminium, to cope with the heat generated when weapons fire.
Although the ADF has yet to decide on colour, the paint is likely to be Cerakote, a particularly robust coating developed for the US Special Operations Command, which significantly reduces infrared signature.
Optimisation of processes used in manufacturing the gun lock and tightening tolerances from the original F88 design have further enhanced reliability, says Evenden, who was previously technical staff officer for small arms in the UK’s Defence Ordnance Safety Group (DOSG) and trials officer in the Infantry Trials and Development Unit (ITDU).
Reliability was tested last year as an extension to the formal ADF verification process when an F90 was placed in a box into which NATO-specified sand and particulates was blown, simulating the downwash from a helicopter.
“I have never ever seen a weapon fire the five specified magazines – 150 rounds – without a stoppage but the F90 did, even with the gas flow on normal,” Evenden comments.
“I then asked the guys to keep firing until there was a problem and they got through 1,110 rounds before asking if they could stop.”
Although the steel for F90 barrels is imported, they are cold-hammer forged at Thales’ Lithgow facility (good for at least 18,000 rounds) and Australian Industry Content is now about 90 per cent in dollar value.
Planning for production Production planning is now well underway and Thales is hoping for a contract for ‘an appropriate volume’ of F90s after Second Pass next June.
“To help that process we may enter low rate initial production this year as a risk reduction measure for when we get to Second Pass, then we can just flick a switch, but that’s a matter for Defence,” Evenden says.
Notwithstanding F90 enhancements, concerns remain about the lethality of the 5.56mm round and the inadequacy of the fixed sights on the F88 series. According to a 2011 New Zealand MoD report, operations in Afghanistan had shown it was difficult to accurately identify adversaries with the F88, which was ineffective at ranges greater than 200 metres.
As Evenden is quick to point out, the 1.5 magnification optical sights on all but the F88SA2 were on a fixed facing. The Picatinny rail atop the F90 means it can accommodate any sight or sights a customer may select.
Lethality is a broader issue across weapon types and calibres, but one in which the F90’s 20 inch standard barrel plays a part.
“An M4 has a 14.5” barrel. The projectile will leave the F90 barrel at up to 70 metres a second faster than the M4. At 100 metres it’s no big deal (but) at 300 metres and beyond, the residual velocity of the projectiles that strike the target is significant,” Evenden states.
He points out that although the incapacitation effect of 7.62mm ammunition may be greater in some scenarios, it is double the weight of 5.56mm, and typically the weapons used to fire it are at least 1kg heavier.
Although some militaries were introducing 7.62mm-equipped Dedicated Marksmen into infantry sections, this did not tackle 5.56mm shortcomings.
Thales hopes to achieve this with the F9 5.56mm round it is currently developing, which it says outperforms 7.62mm at all ranges. Between zero and 300 metres the new 5.56mm round and 7.62mm rounds are on par with F9 taking the edge in some cases, in some aspects outperforming the new US M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round (EPR).
“We’ll make this at Benalla when it’s appropriate to do so, and we’ll be marketing this ammunition for the first time at Land Forces 2014 in Brisbane in late September,” he said.
“As with the F90, we’ve been reasonably observant but quiet; that won’t always be the case”.
