SINGAPORE: The Singapore Army will fully transition to a new light machine gun (LMG) by the end of July, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said on Wednesday (Jul 17).
All active combat and combat support units will be equipped with and progressively trained on the Colt Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) 6940E-SG.
The army has progressively introduced the LMG to its soldiers since April, replacing the Singapore-made Section Automatic Weapon (SAW) Ultimax 100 which has been in use since 1982.
Made by United States-headquartered Colt’s Manufacturing, the LMG was evaluated and procured in partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Agency.
LMGs are infantry support weapons designed for soldiers to deliver suppressive firepower, enabling a squad to move or advance effectively.
The Colt IAR is also currently being used by Mexico’s Marine Corps. It was not selected by the US Marines after a trial back in 2010.
Compared to its predecessor, the LMG is shorter and lighter, and has a longer effective range.
“In recent years, we … recognise the increasing prevalence of urban operations and the need to minimise collateral damage, especially when our soldiers operate in a complex urban environment,” Lieutenant-Colonel Chan Wen Kai, the head of plans at Headquarters 9th Singapore Division/Infantry, told the media on Wednesday.
“We thought it’s timely for our army to replace our SAW to meet these new challenges.”
Apart from close-quarter combat environments, the new LMG will also allow the army to operate more effectively in conventional terrain, he added.
He described the new LMG as providing “greater operational flexibility and improved ergonomics for our soldiers”.
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