Daewoo K2 assault rifle and K1 assault carbine (South Korea)

Daewoo K2

same rifle, butt folded

Daewoo K1A1 (shortened version); buttstock in extended position

Daewoo DR-200 (semi-auto civilian version in.223 Remington), without magazine; note the "post-1994 ban" thumbhole non-foldingbuttstock, required by current USA laws

The K1 assault rifle was developed circa 1983 by the South Korean company Daewoo Precision Industries Ltd (a division of the large industrial corporation DAEWOO International Corp.) as a replacement for the license-built M16A1 rifles, used by the South Korean Army during the 1970s. The improved version,Daewoo K2, appeared circa 1987 and replaced the K1 rifle in production and service. At the present time the K2 assault rifle and K1A1 carbine are the general issue shoulder arms with the SouthKorean Army. Semi-automatic only, export versions of the K2 rifle, known as a Daewoo DR-100 (pre-1994), DR-200 (post-1994, both chambered for .223 Remington cartridge) and DR-300(post-1994, chambered for Russian7.62x39mm cartridge), are intended for the civilian and police markets. The earlier K1 semi-automatic versions were exported from Korea as Daewoo MAX-1 and MAX-2 rifles (both in .223 caliber).

The K2 rifles were designed as improved variations of the M16 rifle. While retaining most of the M16 design features, Daewoo designers replaced the direct gas system of the AR-15/M16 rifle with the more common and reliable gas piston system, and made several other improvements, resulting in very good combat weapon.

Technical description.

The Daewoo K2 is a gas operated, selective fire, magazine fed weapon. The K1rifle and K1A1carbine differs from the K2 rifle by different gas system, shorter barrel with different muzzle compensator / flash hider (K1A1 carbine only), and different type of buttstock.

The K2 gas system features a long stroke gas piston, located above the barrel. The bolt group is more or less similar in design to the M16design, with rotating bolt that have 7 lugs and locks directly into the barrel extension. The cocking handle is attached to the right side of the bolt carrier and reciprocates when gun is fired. Some sources, however, stated that the K1 rifle had the gas system similar to the one found in AR-15/M16 rifles, with no separate gas piston and gases being directed straight into the bolt carrier. The return spring with its guide rod is located behind and partially inside the gas piston rod, and, unlike the M16, does not take space in the buttstock, allowing for folding or completely retractable butt to be used.

The receiver is generally similar in design to the M16 rifle, and is made from two halves, upper and lower, machined from the aluminum alloy forgings, and linked by two cross-pins. It must be noted, however, that Daewoo receivers are NOT interchangeable with any AR-15/M16 type receivers.

The trigger unit is fitted with the 4 position safety / fire selector switch, located at the left side of the receiver, above the pistol grip. The switch has positions for Safe, Single shots, 3 rounds bursts and Full auto fire. It must be noted that the 3 rounds burst counter does not reset itself if trigger is released before all 3 rounds are fired.

The feeding is achieved by using M16-type magazines. Both K2 and K1 rifles incorporate a bolt stop device, which holds the bolt open after the last shotfrom the magazine is fired.

The sighting system consists of the hooded front sight, mounted on the gasblock, and the L-shaped dual aperture rear sight, with one small aperture fordaylight conditions and another larger aperture for low light conditions. The range adjustments are made by the rotating knob at the right side of the rear sightblock. Maximum range setting is 600 meters. K2 also can be fitted with the see-thru scope rail just ahead of the rear sight block.

The K2 rifle is fitted with the side-folding plastic buttstock and plastic furniture. K1A1 carbine has the retractable steel wire buttstock.

ADD / Daewoo K11 dual-caliber air-burst weapon (South Korea)

K11 dual-caliber air-burst weapon, left side

K11 dual-caliber air-burst weapon, right side

Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO + 20x30B mm

Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt for 5.56mm and manually operated for 20mm

Overall length: 860 mm

Barrel length: 310 mm (5.56mm); 405 mm (20mm)

Weight: 6.1 kg (with optics and battery but less magazines)

Rate of fire: ?

Magazine capacity: 30 rounds of 5.56mm and 5 rounds of 20mm

The K11 dual-caliber air-burst weapon was first shown to public in 2009, during DSEI military expo, although information on its development was available since about 2006. The K11 (XK11 during early development) weapon is being developed under direction of the Agency for Defense Development of the Republic of Korea. The K11 shows more than passing similarity to the ill-fated American XM-29 OICW weapon, but it appears that K11 has better chances to see the service - it is believed that first unit of South Korean army could receive the K11 weapons in 2010. This is not surprising, considering the fact that Republic of Korea is among world's leading countries in the field of design and production of advanced micro-electronics, and also has an established defense industry and strong motivation for constant upgrade of military equipment.

As of now, the K11 dual-caliber air-burst weapon is proposed for infantry squad support role, multiplying soldiers capabilities to engage enemy personnel in defilade and soft-skinned vehicles and equipment, using 20mm air-burst grenades with pre-programmed fuse and 5.56mm ammunition for short- to medium range direct fire.

K11 dual-caliber air-burst weapon consists of three major units, linked into one weapon. Those are 20mm multi-shot grenade launcher (which serves as a bone to the system), the 5.56mm automatic rifle with firing controls, and an electronic fire control unit.

The grenade launcher is a manually operated, bolt action weapon that is fed from detachable box magazines. It is built in bullpup layout, with aluminum alloy receiver and titanium alloy barrel. The trigger system of the grenade launcher is mechanically linked to the trigger / selector / safety unit of the integral rifle component. The rifle component is more or less conventional, gas operated, rotary bolt selective-fire weapon which uses M16-type magazines. Its layout is more or less similar to US-made M16 or Korean-made K2 rifles. The trigger unit is a common part between grenade launcher and rifle components, with single safety / fire selector lever providing fire from grenade launcher (single shots) or rifle (single shots or 3-round bursts). The third component is an electronic fire control unit, which includes laser rangefinder, environmental sensors, ballistic computer, and day (optical) and night (IR) sighting channels. The ballistic computer output is fed to the electronic aiming reticle (providing visible point of aim pre-set for proper range) and to the fuse-programming unit in the grenade launcher, which sets the 20mm grenade to explode at specified range, above or to the side of the target, to provide maximum kill effect from explosive fragmenting warhead. At the present time, two types of 20mm ammunition are specified for K11 grenade launcher - the K167 HE air-burst grenade and K168 TP target practice grenade. Rifle component can use any NATO-standard 5.56mm ammunition.