For the weapon of the fortnight, I
will be introducing the rifle used to kill Osama Bin Laden.
Here is the
Official version of killing:
The
SEALs encountered the residents in the compound's guest house, in the main
building on the first floor where two adult males lived, and on the second and
third floors where bin Laden lived with his family. The second and third floors
were the last section of the compound to be cleared. There were reportedly
"small knots of children...on every level, including the balcony of bin
Laden's room".
In
addition to Osama bin Laden, three other men and a woman were killed in the
operation. The individuals killed were bin Laden's adult son Khalid, bin
Laden's courier (Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti), al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, and Abrar's
wife Bushra.
Al-Kuwaiti
opened fire on the first team of SEALs with an AK-47 from behind the guesthouse
door, and a firefight took place between him and the SEALs, in which al-Kuwaiti
was killed. His wife Mariam was allegedly shot and wounded in the right
shoulder. The courier's male relative Abrar was shot and killed by the SEALs'
second team on the first floor of the main house. A woman near him, later
identified as Abrar's wife Bushra was also shot and killed. Bin Laden's young
adult son rushed towards the SEALs on the staircase of the main house, and was
shot and killed by the second team. An unnamed U.S. senior defense official
stated that only one of the five people killed was armed.
The
SEALs encountered bin Laden on the third floor of the main building. Bin Laden
was "wearing the local loose-fitting tunic and pants known as a kurta
paijama", which were later found to have €500 and two phone numbers
sewn into the fabric.
Bin
Laden peered over the third floor ledge at the Americans advancing up the
stairs, and then retreated into his room as a SEAL fired a shot at him, but
missed. The SEALs quickly followed him into his room.
Inside
the bedroom, two of bin Laden's wives stood in front of him, shielding him. One
of them, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah, screamed at the SEALs in Arabic and motioned
as if she were about to charge. One of the SEALs shot her in the leg, then
grabbed both women and shoved them aside. A second SEAL entered the room and
shot bin Laden in the chest, and then in the head with his H&K 416 with
Navy M855, 5.56 mm rounds. The SEAL radioed, "For God and
country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo," and then, "Geronimo
E.K.I.A." (enemy killed in action). Watching the operation in the White
House Situation Room, President Obama said, "We got him."
There
were two weapons near bin Laden in his room, including an AKSU rifle and a
Russian-made Makarov pistol, but according to his wife Amal, he was shot before
he could reach his AKSU. According to the Associated Press the guns were on a
shelf next to the door and the SEALs did not see them until they were
photographing the body.
As
the SEALs encountered women and children during the raid, they restrained them
with plastic handcuffs or zip ties. After the raid was over, U.S. forces moved
the surviving residents outside "for Pakistani forces to discover".
The injured Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah continued to harangue the raiders in Arabic.
Bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter Safia was allegedly struck in her foot or
ankle by a piece of flying debris.
While
bin Laden's body was taken by U.S. forces, the bodies of the four others killed
in the raid were left behind at the compound and later taken into Pakistani
custody.
Here is the
weapon, the information came from Wikipedia:
The Heckler & Koch HK416 is an assault
rifle designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. It uses the AR-15
platform, originally conceived as an improvement to the Colt M4 carbine with
the notable inclusion of a gas-piston system derived from the Heckler & Koch G36. Customers have the
option of purchasing a new upper receiver, buffer and drive spring to refurbish
M4s or buying a completely new build HK416. The HK416 is part of the Individual
Carbine competition to replace the M4.
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Norwegian
Army Heckler & Koch HK416N with 419 mm (16.5 in) long barrel, an Aimpoint
CompM4 red dot sight and a vertical foregrip.
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History:
The United States Army's Delta Force, at the
request of R&D NCO Larry Vickers, collaborated with the German arms maker Heckler
& Koch to develop the new carbine. During development, Heckler & Koch
capitalized on experience gained developing the Bundeswehr's Heckler
& Koch G36 assault rifle, the US Army's XM8 rifle project (canceled in
2005) and the modernization of the British Armed Forces SA80 small arms family.
The project was originally called the HK M4, but this was changed in
response to a trademark infringement suit filed by Colt Defense.
Delta Force replaced its M4s with the HK416
in 2004 after tests revealed that the piston operating system significantly
reduces malfunctions while increasing the life of parts. The HK416 has been
tested by the United States military and is in use with some law enforcement
agencies and special operations units. It has been adopted as the standard
rifle of the Norwegian Armed Forces as well.
A modified variant underwent testing by the United
States Marine Corps as the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle. After the Marine Corps
Operational Test & Evaluation Activity supervised a round of testing at MCAGCC
Twentynine Palms, Fort McCoy, and Camp Shelby (for dust, cold-weather, and
hot-weather conditions, respectively). As of March 2012, fielding of 452 IARs
has been completed of 4,748 ordered. Five infantry battalions; 1st Light
Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Camp
Pendleton, CA, First Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Marine Corps Base HI, 1st
Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, NC; and 1st Battalion, 25th
Marines, out of Fort Devens, MA have deployed the weapon.
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A Norwegian soldier in Afghanistan, armed
with the HK416N.
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Design
details:
The HK416 uses a proprietary gas system
derived from the HK G36, replacing the direct impingement gas system used by
the standard M16/M4. The HK G36 gas system was in turn derived from the AR-18
assault rifle designed in 1963. The HK system uses a short-stroke piston
driving an operating rod to force the bolt carrier to the rear. This design
prevents combustion gases from entering the weapon's interior, a shortcoming
with direct impingement systems. The reduction in heat and fouling of the bolt
carrier group increases the reliability of the weapon and extends the interval
between stoppages. It also reduces operator cleaning time and stress on
critical components. According to H&K "experience that Heckler &
Koch gained during its highly successful 'midlife improvement programme' for
the British Army SA80 assault rifle, have now borne fruit in the HK416".
The HK416 is equipped with a proprietary
accessory rail forearm with MIL-STD-1913 rails on all four sides. This allows
most current accessories, used on M4/M16-type weapons, to be fitted to the
HK416. The HK416 rail forearm can be installed and removed without tools by
using the bolt locking lug as the screwdriver. The rail forearm is
"free-floating" and does not contact the barrel, improving accuracy.
The HK416 has an adjustable multi-position
telescopic butt stock, offering six different lengths of pull. The shoulder pad
can be either convex or concave and the stock features a storage space for
maintenance accessories, spare electrical batteries or other small kit items.
The trigger pull is 34 N (7.6 lbf).
The empty weight of a HK416 box magazine is 250 g (8.8 oz).
The HK416's barrel is cold hammer-forged with
a 20,000-round service life and features a 6 grooves 178 mm (7 in)
right hand twist. The cold hammer-forging process provides a stronger barrel
for greater safety in case of an obstructed bore or for extended firing
sessions. Modifications for an over-the-beach (OTB) capability such as drainage
holes in the bolt carrier and buffer system are available; enabling the HK416
to be fired safely after being submerged in water.
Differences from the M4:
The HK416 is a modified variant of the
American carbine, the M4. It includes international symbols for Safe,
Semi-Automatic, and Fully automatic, a redesigned retractable stock which
allows the user to rotate the butt plate, a new pistol grip designed by
H&K, made to more ergonomically fit the hand and, attached to the rifle is
a new single-piece hand guard with a free floating RIS system, used for
mounting accessories. The most notable internal difference is the short stroke
gas piston system, derived from the HK G36. To compensate for increased
pressure due to the new gas system, a thicker barrel was also integrated.
Finally, the HK416 includes a folding front sight, and a rear sight similar in
design to the G3. The HK416 system is offered as an upper receiver, separate
from the rest of the rifle, as a replacement to the standard issue M4 upper
receiver. It can be attached to any existing AR-15 family rifles, giving them
the new gas system, the new hand guard, and sights, while retaining the
original lower receiver. The Heckler & Koch 416 can also be purchased as a
fully assembled, stand alone carbine.
Evaluation:
In July 2007 the US Army announced a limited
competition between the M4 carbine, FN SCAR, HK416, XCR, and the
previously-shelved HK XM8. Ten examples of each of the four competitors were
involved. Each weapon fired 6,000 rounds in an "extreme dust
environment". The purpose of the shoot-off was for assessing future needs,
not to select a replacement for the M4. The XM8 scored the best, with only 127
stoppages in 60,000 total rounds, the FN SCAR Light had 226 stoppages, while
the HK416 had 233 stoppages. The M4 carbine scored "significantly
worse" than the rest of the field with 882 stoppages.
The HK416 was one of the weapons displayed to
U.S. Army officials during an invitation-only Industry Day on November 13,
2008. The goal of the Industry Day was to review current carbine technology
prior to writing formal requirements for a future replacement for the M4
carbine. The HK416 is now an entry in the Individual Carbine competition to
replace the M4.
In December 2009, a modified version of the
HK416 was selected for the final testing in the Infantry Automatic Rifle
program, designed to partially replace the M249 light machine gun at the squad
level for the United States Marine Corps. It beat the three other finalists by FN
Herstal and Colt Defense. In July 2010, the HK416 IAR was designated as the M27,
and 450 were procured for additional testing.
The Norwegian Army made an extensive
evaluation before selecting the HK416 as its new primary firearm.
Variants:
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| US Army Asymmetric Warfare Group soldier with a HK416 D14.5RS | (foreground) in Iraq, 2006. |
Military and Law Enforcement
The HK416 models chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO available to the military and law enforcement market are:- D10RS - sub-carbine with a 264 mm (10.4 in) barrel
- D14.5RS - carbine rifle 368 mm (14.5 in) barrel
- D16.5RS - rifle with 419 mm (16.5 in) barrel
- D20RS - full-sized rifle 505 mm (19.9 in) barrel
HK416 based derivates
- HK416C - ultra-compact variant originally developed after a UKSF request. The HK416C has a 228 mm (9.0 in) barrel and is expected to produce muzzle velocities of approximately 730 m/s (2,395 ft/s). The firearm's precision is specified as ≈ 4 MOA (12 cm at 100 m) by Heckler & Koch. Though the HK416C has a high degree of component commonality with the HK416 family it has a HK416C specific shortened buffer tube and a sliding collapsible butt-stock similar to the ones used on compact variants of H&K's MP5 sub-machine gun, and the HK53 carbine which is often used by close protection teams within the British military.
- M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle - squad automatic weapon developed from the D16.5RS for the United States Marine Corps
Large caliber
- HK417 - larger caliber variant chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO
Civilian:
Civilian variants of the HK416 and HK417
introduced in 2007 were known as MR223 and MR308. Both are
semi-automatic rifles with several "sporterized" features. At the
2009 SHOT Show, these two firearms were introduced to the American civilian
market renamed respectively MR556 and MR762. There is another
variant of the MR556 called the MR556A1, which is an improved version of
the former. It was created with input from American special forces units. The
MR556A1 allows the upper receiver to be attached to any M16/M4/AR-15 family
lower receiver, as the receiver take-down pins are in the same standard
location. The original concept for the MR556 did not allow for this, as the
take-down pins were located in a "non-standard" location. The MR223
maintains the "non-standard" location of the pins, disallowing
attachment of the upper receiver to the lower receivers of any other M16/M4/AR-15
family of rifles.
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