South Korean Army gets new 7.62mm Assault Rifle

The South Korean army has introduced a new 7.62 mm-calibre machine guns, the K-16 to replace K-3 and M60 gun used by its troops earlier.

 The K-16 gun's operational range is 30-percent more than that of the K-3 gun and its destructive power is about double that of the K-3, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a release. The military plans to deploy the new rifles to all armed services by 2024.

The new machine guns will be supplied along with thermal weapon sights, which will allow troops to accurately detect targets even at night time or foggy conditions, DAPA said.

SNT Motiv Co., a local defense firm, developed the K-16, while the thermal scope is supplied by Eo System Co. under the procurement project estimated at 124.2 billion won ($104.7 million).

The new rifle has completed field operation test (FT) and acceptance inspection. Its reliability is 4 times that of the older generation rifles.

Jeong-eun Park, head of the firepower division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (a high-ranking official) said, “The operational capability of small units is expected to improve through the deployment of the 7.62mm machine gun-II, which has significantly improved firepower, range and reliability, and the first thermal sight in the company level.” said.