Ultimax 100 | |
---|---|
![]() Ultimax 100 Section Automatic Weapon (SAW) | |
Type | Light machine gun, Squad automatic weapon |
Place of origin | Singapore |
Service history | |
In service | 1982–present[1] |
Used by | See Users |
Wars | Bougainville Civil War Yugoslav Wars Anti-guerrilla operations in Indonesia & the Philippines 2006 Fijian coup d'état Solomon Islands coup War in Afghanistan Sri Lankan Civil War |
Production history | |
Designer | L. James Sullivan for Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) |
Designed | 1978[1] |
Manufacturer | |
Produced | 1982–present[1] |
No. built | ~80,000[1] |
Variants | See variants |
Specifications | |
Mass | |
Length | |
Barrel length | |
Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO[1] |
Caliber | 5.56 mm (0.22 in)[1] |
Barrels | Single barrel (progressive RH parabolic twist, 6 grooves)[1] |
Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt[1] |
Rate of fire | 400–600 rounds/min[1] |
Muzzle velocity | 970 m/s (3,182 ft/s) (M193 cartridge) 945 m/s (3,100.4 ft/s) (SS109/M855 cartridge) |
Effective firing range | 100–1,200 m sight adjustments[1] |
Maximum firing range | 460 m (M193 cartridge) 1,300 m (SS109/M855 cartridge) |
Feed system | 100-round drum magazine or 30-round STANAG M16 box magazine[1] |
Sights | Rear aperture sight and front post 472 mm (18.6 in) sight radius[1] |
The Ultimax 100 is a Singapore-made 5.56mm light machine gun, developed by the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) by a team of engineers under the guidance of American firearms designer L. James Sullivan.[1] The weapon is extremely accurate due to its constant-recoil operating system[2] and is one of the lightest machine guns in the world.[3]
Work on a new light support weapon for the Singapore Army began in 1978. The weapon is produced by CIS (presently STK—Singapore Technologies Kinetics), initially in the Mark 1 version, later—the Mark 2, and currently, in the Mark 3 and Mark 4 variant. The Ultimax 100 (also called the U 100) is used in significant numbers by the armed forces of Singapore, Croatia and the Philippines.[1] The Mark 3 variant is currently used in the Singapore Armed Forces primarily as a support arm, and is both classified and known by soldiers as the SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon).[4]