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THE RIFLES’ HISTORY The Rifles was formed on 1 February 2007 in the crucible of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was forged from four of the finest Infantry Regiments in the British Army: The Devonshire & Dorset Light Infantry, The Light Infantry, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire & Wiltshire Light Infantry, and The Royal Green Jackets. These founding Regiments give The Rifles an extraordinary lineage dating back to 1685 and an unbreakable heritage across several of England’s counties. The Rifles ethos of the ‘thinking soldier’ is one which permeates throughout the history of the Regiment and continues to today. Historically there has been a stereotype of blind obedience in military life but The Rifles and its historic Regiments have always pursued self-discipline and forward thinking, both of which are points of pride for the Regiment. Since its formation in 2007, The Rifles have been on numerous operations, training missions, and humanitarian missions all of which show the breadth of work that The Rifles do. These have included humanitarian work during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, anti-poaching training for park rangers in Gabon, training missions with the Kurdish Peshmerga, as well as operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. Closer to home the Regiment has also been involved with evacuations during some of the UK’s worst flooding. This modern Regiment echoes its predecessors quick movements and ‘thinking soldier’ with its motto ‘Swift and Bold’, which encompasses all it is to be a Rifleman. The Regiment prides itself on being a forward looking, innovative infantry regiment, relying on mutual respect and self-discipline to get the job done.
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AK 47 M4A1 SCAR L STEYR AUG P90
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AK47 • • • • •
The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova. ‘Kalashnikov’s assault rifle’; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK, is a gas-operated, 7.62×39mm assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the aftermath of World War II. It is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle (or “AK”) family. The number 47 refers to the year it was finished.
Type: Assault rifle Designed: 1946 - 1948 Mas s : 3.47 kg Muzzle velocity: 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s) Cartridge: 7.62 x 39 mm
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Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials the following year, and in 1948 the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army. An early development of the design was the AKS (Skladnoy, or 'folding'), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock. In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.
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The M4 is extensively used by the United States Armed Forces and is largely replacing the M16 rifle in United States Army and United States Marine Corps (USMC) combat units as the primary infantry weapon and service rifle. The M203 and M320 grenade launchers can be mounted on the lower hand guard of the carbine (see where bipod is attached on the photo). The distinctive step in its barrel is for mounting the M203 with the standard hardware. The M4 has semi-automatic and three round burst firing modes (like the M16A2 and M16A4), while the M4A1 has semi automatic and fully automatic firing modes (like the M16A1 and M16A3).
• Type: Assault rifle • • • •
Designed: 1982 - 1993 Mas s : 3.52 kg Muzzle velocity: 910 m/s (2,970 ft/s) Cartridge: 5.56 x 45 mm
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M4A1 Following the adoption of the M16 rifle, carbine variants were also adopted for close quarters operations. The CAR 15 family of weapons served through the Vietnam War. However, these rifles had design issues, as the barrel length was halved to 10 inches (25 cm), 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.[8] “Nevertheless, as a short-range weapon it is quite adequate and thus, its caliber, is classed as a submachine gun.”
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SCAR L • • • • •
Type: Assault rifle Designed: 2004 Mas s : 3.49 kg Muzzle velocity: 870 m/s (2,870 ft/s) Cartridge: 5.56 x 45 mm
The FN SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) is a gas operated (short-stroke gas piston) self-loading assault/battle rifle with a rotating bolt. It is constructed with modularity in mind. The rifle was developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FNH) for the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to satisfy the requirements of the SCAR competition. This family of rifles consist of two main types. The SCAR-L, for “light”, is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge and the SCAR-H, for “heavy”, is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. Both are available in Close Quarters Combat (CQC), Standard (STD), and Long Barrel (LB) variants.
In early 2004, United States Special Operations Command issued a solicitation for a family of Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifles, the so-called SCAR, designed around two different calibers but featuring high commonality of parts and identical ergonomics. The FN SCAR system completed low rate initial production testing in June 2007.After some delays, the first rifles began being issued to operational units in April 2009, and a battalion of the U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment was the first large unit deployed into combat with 600 of the rifles in 2009.
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STEYR AUG The Steyr AUG (German: Armee Universal Gewehr, lit. 'universal army rifle') is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr Daimler Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & Co KG.
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It was adopted by the Austrian Army in 1978 as the StG 77 (Sturmgewehr 77), where it replaced the 7.62×51mm NATO StG 58 automatic rifle (a licence-built FN FAL). In production since 1978, it is the standard small arm of the Bundesheer and various Austrian federal police units, and its variants have also been adopted by the armed forces of dozens of countries, with some using it as a standard issue service rifle.
• Type: Assault rifle • Designed: 2004 • Mas s : 3.49 kg • Muzzle velocity: 870 m/s (2,870 ft/s) • Cartridge: 5.56 x 45 mm
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p90 The FN P90, also known as the FN Project 1990 PDWS, is a compact submachine gun designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, the P90 was designed as a compact but powerful firearm for vehicle crews, operators of crew-served weapons.
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• Type: Submachine gun • Designed: 1986 - 1990 • Mas s : 2.6 kg • Muzzle velocity: 715 m/s (2,35W0 ft/s) • Cartridge: 5.7 x 28 mm
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"Pride of Regiment and love for the Regiment's history and tradition is the sacred Ark of the Covenant on which the British soldier depends in battle and on which Britain, through him, has again and again survived and won through to victory"
Sir Arthur Bryant