Colt To Deliver 1148 C6A1Machine Guns For Canadian Armed Forces

Colt Canada has won a $32-million contract to provide 1148 C6A1 FLEX Machine Guns for the country’s Armed Forces.

"The Canadian government will purchase 1148 new C6A1 FLEX General Purpose Machine Guns from Colt Canada," Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was quoted as saying by Ottawa Citizen Wednesday.

The C6 machine guns that the government is using currently are 30-years old. Some have already been taken out of service because of wear and tear.

Colt Canada will start to roll out the weapons in September 2018 with final deliveries anticipated for June 2019.

The new C6A1 FLEX (flexible) is designed to be carried by soldiers or attached to vehicles such as the new Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle. The new machine gun will feature a durable polymer butt stock instead of the wooden style that it currently using. Besides, soldiers will be able to attach pointing devices and optical sighting systems to the new weapon to help increase their operational effectiveness.

The procurement includes related equipment such as a cleaning and repair kit, spare parts, and sling to carry the weapon.