NZ Army targets new guns
Troops may soon have new-generation rifles in a deal worth up to $60m, Michael Field writes.
NEW Zealand soldiers don’t recite the Rifleman’s Creed but they get to know their weapons better than a lot of other armed forces, as their firearms brands are seldom changed.
Kiwi troops carry Australianmade, Austrian-designed 5.56 mm Steyr assault rifles – accurate and reliable, but dating back to 1987.
The army is organising a freemarket ‘‘shootout’’ to buy 8800 new rifles in a deal worth up to $60 million.
‘‘Weapon technology has advanced considerably since [Defence] purchased the Steyr rifle in 1987,’’ says Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman.
Changing rifle brands is a rare thing for the NZ Army; in the 20th Century they only had three standard individual weapons – the English Lee-Enfield 303, the Belgian SLR and the Steyr.
Weapons expert Reece Youngman of Auckland’s Serious Shooters reckons the army will decide between new Steyrs at $7000 each or the US Army-owned design, the M4 carbine, at around 10 per cent of that price.
‘‘Putting 8800 units out there, you want something good because a guy’s life may depend on it and it has to be cost effective,’’ Youngman said.
A version of the M4 made by Bushmaster is already used by the New Zealand Police but new Steyrs might be favoured for other reasons.
‘‘Its not just about performance, it’s about political realities and we are most often deployed together with the Australians (who make Steyrs).’’
Youngman thinks M4s – which have a lineage back to the AR15 and the Vietnam War – would probably win a bidding war.
‘‘Odds are if they [NZ Army] are going for a new one it will be an M4/AR15 platform simply because it is almost the universal weapon out there,’’ he says.
‘‘They tend to be a tremendously accurate weapon.’’
The modular-system M4s can be easily adapted to various roles.
Youngman said it would be possible to to manufacture a uniquely New Zealand design, depending on which manufacturer – Bushmaster, Colt or Remington – got the nod.
As for other options, the wildcard could be the celebrated and mass produced AK-47 – still produced in Russia as the AK-103 at around US$180 (NZ$207) each.
Youngman says ‘‘people who work in sandy places’’ like AKs because they know they will always find rounds and parts – 100 million are in circulation.
One of the other potential NZ Army rifles replacement brands was the HK416, manufactured by
More online For a video on the NZ Defence Force’s
options go to stuff.co.nz Heckler & Koch, and often used by special forces. Also in the running was the Advanced Carbine from Belgium-based Fabrique Nationale, which provides machine guns to New Zealand.