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 ).
The Colt Infantry Automatic Rifle ( IAR ) 6940E-SG will be used to train all active combat and combat support units.
Since April, the army has gradually introduced the LMG to its soldiers, 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 army support weapons designed to enable a squad to walk or advance properly and serve as suppressive firepower for soldiers.
The Colt IAR is even now being used by Mexico’s Marine Corps. After a test again in 2010, it was not chosen by the US Marines.
Compared to its father, the LMG is shorter and lighter, and has a longer successful collection.
” In recent years, we… recognise the increasing prevalence of urban procedures and the need to minimise collateral damage, especially when our troops operate in a sophisticated urban atmosphere”, Lieutenant-Colonel Chan Wen Kai, the mind of programs at Headquarters 9th Singapore Division/Infantry, told the media on Wednesday.
” We deemed it appropriate for our troops to replace our SAW in order to address these new problems.”
Aside from close-quarter combat conditions, the new LMG may also help the troops to operate more effectively in normal terrain, he added.
He described the new LMG as , providing , “greater operating flexibility and improved aesthetics for our men”.