Selection of an assault rifle is a momentous decision for the army planners of any country. It is not only extremely expensive but also has serious impact on the fighting ability of the country’s defence forces. Since a soldier’s life depends on it, before discussing merits & demerits on any weapon, let first agree on what qualities assault rifle should have:
1. It must be reliable, have a decent rate of fire and accurate within visual range (say about 100 meters) without telescopic sight.
2. It should be effective up at least to about 300 meters and have stopping power (one hit should incapacitate).
3. Should be cheap to produce, have a long useful life, light weight, easy to handle and not require a lot of training.
Pakistan Army has been using G-3 & Ak-47 for the last 30 -40 years or so. Army jawans have grown up with these rifles and can operate the same in their sleep. Therefore, in addition to the above, any new assault rifle must be a significant improvement on the existing weapons else there is no need to replace.
Carrying additional ammunition thru smaller calibre and also accuracy over longer distances is a definite advantage. One would also like to have day & night sights and the ability to fire multi calibre rounds. However, do these advantages enhance fighting ability of the army jawan to the extent that justifies the additional cost & expense involved in the introduction of a new assault rifle? Remember we might need about one million rifles. Assuming it costs the same as a civilian rifle (at least $1,000/-); it means upward of $1- billion!
I am not discounting the excellent rifles produced by FN Herstal of Belgium. But, in my humble opinion, since POF is already producing Heckler & Koch G-3 and also Ak-47 is various forms; one of the models linked to these rifles would probably be more cost effective.
