The
R4 is a
5.56mm
assault rifle that was introduced into
service with the
South
African Defence Force (SADF) in the early 1980s, replacing the
earlier
7.62mm FN
FAL rifle, that was manufactured in
South Africa under a license agreement from
Fabrique Nationale as
the R1. The R4 is produced by Vektor (a small arms division of
Denel corporation, currently Denel Land
Systems).
The weapon
is a licensed variant of the Israeli
Galil ARM assault rifle with several
modifications; notably, both the stock and magazine are now made of a high-strength
polymer and the stock's arms were
lengthened, adapting the weapon for the average South African
soldier.
Design details
Operating mechanism
The R4 is a
selective fire,
gas-operated weapon that fires from a
closed bolt. As with the
Galil parent weapon, the operating system is derived
from that of the
Kalashnikov AK-47. It uses ignited
powder
gases channeled through a vent in the
barrel to drive a long stroke piston located
above the barrel in a gas cylinder and provide provide power to the
operating system. The weapon features a self-regulating gas system
and a rotary
bolt breech locking
mechanism (equipped with two locking lugs), which is rotated by a
helical camming groove machined into the bolt carrier that engages
a control pin on the bolt. Extraction is carried out by means of a
spring-loaded extractor contained in the bolt and a protrusion on
the left guide rail inside the
receiver acts as the fixed
ejector.
Features
The R4 is hammer-fired and uses a trigger mechanism with a
3-position fire selector and safety switch. The stamped
sheet steel selector bar is present on both
sides of the receiver and its positions are marked with letters:
"S"— indicating the weapon is safe, "R"—single-fire mode ("R" is an
abbreviation for "rapid"), and "A"—fully automatic fire. The "safe"
setting disables the trigger and secures the weapon from being
charged.
The R4 is fed from a synthetic box magazine with a 35-round
cartridge capacity (designed to use the
5.56x45mm NATO cartridge with the M193
projectile) loaded in a staggered configuration. The
flash suppressor is slotted and doubles as
an adapter for launching
rifle
grenades. Bolted to a bracket in the gas block, under the
barrel, is a lightweight folding
bipod (folds
into the handguard), which can also be used as a
wire cutter.
The R4 has a side-folding tubular stock, which folds to the right
side of the receiver. The rifle's handguard,
pistol grip, magazine, stock arms and shoulder
pad are all made from a synthetic material, making it lighter in
weight than the equivalent original
Galil
model which uses heavier metal and wood in these components.
For regular field maintenance and cleaning, the firearm is
disassembled into the following components: the receiver and barrel
group, bolt carrier, bolt, return mechanism, gas tube, receiver
dust cover and magazine.
Sights
The rifle has conventional
iron sights
that consist of a front post and a flip-up rear sight with 300 and
500 m apertures. The front sight is adjustable for windage and
elevation and is installed in a durable circular shroud. The rear
sight is welded at the end of the receiver's dust cover. For
nighttime use, the R4 is equipped with self-luminous
tritium light dots (exposed after placing the rear
sight in an intermediate position) installed in a pivoting bar to
the front sight base, which folds up in front of the standard post
and aligns with two dots in the rear sight notch.
Accessories
The R4 is issued with spare magazines, a cleaning kit and
sling.
Variants
The
South Africa Marine Corps
and South African
Air Force
adopted a short carbine
version of the 5.56 mm Galil SAR, which was license-manufactured as
the R5. The R5, when compared to the larger
R4, has a barrel that is shorter, together with a shorter gas
system and handguard. It also lacks a bipod, and the flash hider
does not support
rifle grenades.
In the 1990s, an even more compact variant of the R5 was developed
for South African parachute infantry and armored vehicle crews,
designated the
R6, which has a further reduced
barrel and a shortened gas cylinder and piston assembly.
Vektor also introduced a line of
semi-automatic variants of the R4, R5
and R6 called the
LM4,
LM5 and
LM6 respectively, built for civilian and
law-enforcement users. Newly manufactured models include a top
Weaver rail for optics.
Users
See also
Notes
- Woźniak, Ryszard. Encyklopedia najnowszej broni palnej - tom 4
R-Z. Bellona. 2002. pp9–10.
-
http://www.army.mil.za/equipment/weaponsystems/infantry/R4_R5%20Assault_Rifles.htm
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