FX-05 Xiuhcoatl
Encyclopedia
The FX-05 "Xiuhcoatl" is a Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...

, designed and built by the Dirección General de Industria Militar del Ejército (General Bureau of the Army Military Industry). The rifle was officially presented in the military parade on September 16, 2006, in the hands of the Special Forces Airmobile Group, GAFE. (Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales
Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales
The Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales or more commonly known as Fuerzas Especiales/Special Forces is a special forces unit of the Mexican Army's Special Forces Corps, trained by the world's special forces. There are a total of nine battalions, one High Command GAFE unit and one other group...

). The design was coordinated by the CIADTIM and SDN and all of its parts are built in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. It is currently in use by the Mexican Army
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...

.

Development

The development of the FX-05 began as a 16-month research back in 2005 with CIADTIM as part of research efforts to replace the HK G3A3
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....

 rifles that were in service with the Mexican military. Originally the HK G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...

 was supposed to become the Mexican military's standard rifle as plans were already drawn to transfer technology and equipment to Mexico to initially build 30,000 rifles at a cost of € 63,016,125 as part of Mexico's military modernization program. The Mexican government ultimately decided that they wanted a more cost effective alternative to the G36 thus that project was scrapped before any technology or equipment could be transferred and the FX-05 project was undertaken. A Mexican report states that up to December 2006 $84,000,000 Mexican Pesos (€ 5,855,698 at the December 2006 exchange rate) was invested in the FX-05 project, including raw materials and using only national equipment and technology. Leading the FX-05 project was General Alfredo Oropeza Garnica with Brigadier General Jose Antonio Landeros.

Design details

The design of the weapon includes telescopic, red-dot and mechanical sights; cold-forged barrel; folding and adjustable butt stock; as well as the capability to semi-automatic
Semi-automatic
Semi-automatic may refer to:* A semi-automatic firearm, a firearm which automatically reloads, but will only fire one round per trigger pull** Semi-automatic rifle** Semi-automatic pistol** Semi-automatic shotgun...

, three round burst and full auto fire. The weapon can be chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO
5.56x45mm NATO
5.56×45mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the United States and originally chambered in the M16 rifle. Under STANAG 4172, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. It is derived from, but not identical to, the .223 Remington cartridge...

 or the 6.8x43mm SPC
6.8 mm Remington SPC
The 6.8 mm Remington SPC is a rifle cartridge that was developed with collaboration from individual members of United States Special Operations Command . Based upon the .30 Remington cartridge, it is midway between the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO in bore diameter and velocity...

  round. It has a cyclic rate of fire of 750 rounds per minute. Most of the rifle's receiver is constructed of a polymer reinforced with carbon-fibers with an underlying titanium frame and comes in black, dark-green and desert-tan colors as well as the SEDENA digital camouflage patterns used by the Mexican army.

The internal mechanism and barrel are made of advanced corrosion-resistant stainless steel. An Indigenous programmable air-burst grenade launcher is currently under development for the FX-05, which will be able to fire standard NATO munitions in addition to Mexico's new RSE-7 fuel-air grenade round but until it is finalized the FX-05 will use the AG36 grenade launcher as used on the G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...

. The FX-05 is one of the worlds few assault rifles featuring polygonal rifling
Polygonal rifling
Polygonal rifling is a type of gun barrel rifling where the traditional lands and grooves are replaced by "hills and valleys" in a rounded polygonal pattern, usually a hexagon or octagon....

, which eliminates the normal grooves of a weapons barrel replacing them with a system of "hills and valleys" in a rounded polygonal pattern.

The FX-05 is available in several configurations optimized for differing use, including; Assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...

, Carbine
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....

, Light machine gun
Light machine gun
A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...

 and Sharpshooter variants.

Variants

The FX-05 is available in several variant configurations optimized for differing use including:
  • Assault rifle
  • Carbine
  • Light machine gun
  • Sharpshooter

Legal status

On February 1, 2007, representatives of the SEDENA (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional) and Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...

 met in Mexico City to address accusations of patent infringement from the German firm. They claimed that the Army "replicated" the design of the HK G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...

 assault rifle. After an exhibition of detailed models of the FX-05, the HK representatives were convinced that, despite the similarities between the two rifles, there wasn't a patent infringement, therefore bringing an end to the disagreement. In the end, the German firm stated that they would not sue on the basis that even though the rifle looks similar it is internally different with a completely different mechanism. The report concluded that while externally the FX-05 bears obvious design elements there are several notable differences. The receiver which was styled after the G36 is in fact coupled with a simple gas piston similar in operation to the AK series which is then attached through a delayed roller system to the weapons recoil delaying system. While the more advanced parts of the rifle were found to be independently Mexican produced, Heckler & Koch officials still questioned the DGIM (the manufacturer of the FX-05) regarding the issue of the rifles receiver system which is almost identical to the G36's. It is believed that the receiver was made to be as similar to the G36 to maximize commonality between the two weapons as many of Mexico's police forces are issued with the G36. Either way it appears that the newer post law suit versions of the FX-05 feature a different newly designed receiver, as the newer FX-05 come with a four position fire selection (safe, single shot, three round burst, full auto) where as the original FX-05 came with only three firing selections (safe, single shot, full auto). This theory is also reinforced by the fact the new black FX-05 models feature a visible metal protrusion before the magazine ejector and the receiver is noticeably smaller. The influence of the G36 receiver, AK styled gas piston and Mexican recoil delaying system can all be seen in the rifles partial cut away image.

Comparable Weapons

  • FN SCAR
    FN SCAR
    The Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle, or SCAR, is a modular rifle made by FN Herstal for the United States Special Operations Command to satisfy the requirements of the SCAR competition. This family of rifles consist of two main types...

  • Heckler & Koch G36
    Heckler & Koch G36
    The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...

  • Heckler & Koch XM8
  • Bushmaster ACR

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK