What is special about SCAR?

What is SCAR?

SCAR has mainly two types. The 5.56X45 mm NATO variant is known as SCAR-L "light" and 7.62X51 NATO variant is known as SCAR-H "heavy". Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR-L) is rifle developed by the Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal.

So the natural human curiosity asks question "what is so special about SCAR?", for understanding this we need to know little about the  US assault rifle history.

 

 

   History 

    M16 

The M16 has also been widely adopted by other armed forces around the world. Total worldwide production of M16s has been approximately 8 million, making it the most-produced firearm of its 5.56 mm caliber.AK-47 was introduced in soviet army in 1948. Then the rest is history an never ending era of AK begins , this accomplishment of Soviet Union made the US researchers anxious. This lead to the another legendary assault rifle M16.

But as you know nothing is perfect in this world , M16 has flaws and we also heard M16 jamming in Vietnam war. these flaws needed to be resolved.

It was modified with different variants but when M16 variants were adopted for the CQB( close quarter combat) it has design issues, such as- 

•  "the barrel length was halved" to 10 inches, which "upset the ballistics", reducing its range and accuracy and leading "to considerable muzzle flash and blast, so that a large flash suppressor had to be fitted".

M4

  In 1984, Colt began work on a new carbine design called the XM4 combining the best features of the Colt Commando and later the M16A2 rifles. this lead  to the next member in the family M4 carbine.
M4 has been used in many wars and conflicts. It was adopted by the Special forces for anti-terrorist
operations.It was widely used in Afghanistan war . 
There in Afghanistan in really difficult climatic and geographical terrain , this rifle has issues. In many operations soldiers felt difficulties with this rifle. There were lots of instances in which soldiers life felt in danger due to jamming of rifle due to overheating . I would like to mention an incident that took in Afghanistan - 

• In the early morning hours of July 13, 2008, a Taliban force of between 100 and 200 fighters attacked an American Forward Operating Base guarded by 48 soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company—part of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment.The paratroopers had just arrived in the area five days prior. The Taliban had been watching—and attacked before the platoon could finish setting up its defenses, which typically include walls, razor wire and machine guns.Firing machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, the Taliban swarmed the American position. The U.S. soldiers called in Apache attack helicopters, 155-militmeter howitzers and even a B-1 heavy bomber to pound the attackers.The Americans held their ground. But nine soldiers died and 27 suffered wounds. Around 50 Taliban died and evidence suggests 40 were wounded.Glaringly, several M-4 carbines failed during the fight.
  

The flaws found in M4 are-

• The M4 carbine requires constant maintenance and cleaning, and will not function in sandy, dusty dirty conditions.
• The M4 fails to fail in sustained rate of fire.
•  The magazines dent easily and the springs break.

So this information explains that US military requires another rifle. Although M4 was good rifle but not the best. The developers needed a new design , hence came SCAR. 

SCAR

• The SCAR was selected in 2004 out of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Combat Assault Rifle Program. The Mk 16, Mk 17, and Mk 13 were officially designated as operationally effective (OE), operationally suitable (OS), and sustainable as a result of a 5-week Field User Assessment conducted by operational SOCOM forces in late 2008.

 These SCAR variants began fielding in April 2009. On 4 May 2010, a press release on FN America's official website announced the SCAR Acquisition Decision Memorandum was finalized on 14 April 2010, moving the SCAR program to the Milestone C phase. This was an approval for the entire weapons family of the SCAR-L, SCAR-H, and the Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module.

The Mk 16 has a rate of fire of 625 rounds per minute (RPM) and the Mk 17 has a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. This was done to improve the control during fully automatic fire.

In late October 2010 SOCOM approved full-rate production of the Mk 20 sniper variant of the SCAR, with fielding beginning in mid-May 2011.

• FN Herstal originally designed the rifle for U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to compete in the SCAR competition to field the command’s next service rifle, a replacement for the M4.
• The SCAR is engineered to be light and fast handling, boasting free-floated, cold-hammer forged barrel with chrome-lined bores. 
• The Mk 17 is now in widespread use by United States SOF forces in Afghanistan, where its relative light weight, accuracy and stopping power has proved of worth on the battlefield. 
• Additionally, the SCARs also feature fully ambidextrous controls, allowing left-handed shooters to configure the rifle to fit their ergonomics. 
•  The SCAR short-stroke gas-piston allows the collapsible stock of the firearm to be folded for storage and transport, and features an adjustable comb height in addition to length of pull. 

 Today, the FN SCAR is fielding in more than 20 countries in police and military service.