SS-110

Type 110 Marksman Rifle (SS-110)
Top to bottom: SS-110 early production, SS-110H, SS-110H with 30rnd magazine.
Type	Designated marksman rifle
Place of origin	Menghe
Service history
In service	2011 to present
Used by	see "Users"
Production history
Designer	Insŏng New Arsenal
Designed	2004-2010
Manufacturer	Insŏng Arms Plant
Produced	2010 - Present
Variants	see below
Specifications (JS-110H)
Weight	4.2 kg
Length	996 mm
Barrel length	716 mm
Cartridge	5.7x40mm
Action	Gas operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	semi-automatic
Effective firing range	1000 m
Feed system	10- or 30-round magazines
Sights	Adjustable iron sights Customizable scope (usually 3-9x)

The SS-110 (Formal designation: 110식 사수 소총 / 一〇三式射手小銃, Irillyŏng-sik sasu sochong, "Type 110 marksman rifle;" Short designation 110식, Irillyŏng-sik, "Type 110") is a type of semi-automatic designated marksman rifle developed in Menghe during the late 2000s. Compared to the SS-95 which it replaced, it is shorter, lighter, and chambered in the same 5.7mm Quinn round as the JS-103 family of automatic weapons.

Unlike a "true" sniper rifle, intended for use in small teams against high-value targets, the SS-110 is considered a "marksman rifle," intended for long-range pinpoint or suppressing fire in support of an infantry squad. Hence, it is semi-automatic, relatively light, and capable of accepting the same magazines carried by other squad members if necessary. Depending on formation, it is issued at either the platoon or the squad level, to a marksman who lacks a dedicated spotter.

Development

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Menghean Army followed the Letnian practice of assigning a single designated marksman to each platoon and arming them with a semi-automatic rifle. As Menghe did not import Konstantinov rifles, it instead used BS-75s modified to carry a 4x optic. An accurized version of the BS-75 was later introduced as the SS-95, with polymer furniture and better-quality machining.

Although the SS-95 was regarded as an accurate weapon, soldiers nevertheless complained about aspects of its design. Its unwieldy length - longer than the L1A1 from which it was derived - made it difficult to carry in and out of IFV hatches when dismounting, and hitting the barrel against the side of the hatch could cause the sights to come out of alignment. The long, thin flash hider was a particular concern, as it could seriously throw off accuracy if bent. Finally, the use of the Sieuxerrian 7.5×54mm round meant that the rifle's ammunition was not compatible with other cartridges used by the squad, though it could fire cartridges used by platoon-level machine guns if pulled from the belt.

Some time in the early 2000s, Menghean designers began work on a replacement which would address these issues. A long-barreled version of the JS-103 was reportedly considered, but priority went to the Insŏng New Arsenal, which had proposed a weapon with a bullpup configuration. This allowed the designers to fit a barrel of similar length to the SS-95 while keeping the overall length just above that of the JS-103 assault rifle. The Insŏng team also insisted on the use of the 5.7x40mm round, which was already known to possess reasonably good accuracy and trajectory at long ranges.

The new weapon was officially adopted for service in late 2010 as the Type 110 marksman rifle, or SS-110. These had a 3-9x scope mounted to a dovetail rail atop the receiver, and a bipod mounted to the end of the handguard. Just two years after it entered service, Hwasŏng Arsenal 55 developed the Hwasŏng rail system, which allowed for a wider variety of modifications. Production was quickly switched to a modified design with a Hwasŏng rail on the upper receiver and a Hwasŏng frame on the lower handguard. This weapon is formally designated SS-110H, but in practice it is generally called SS-110 by default, as nearly all early-model SS-110s have been either retired from service or modified to SS-110H standard.

Design details

Layout

The bullpup layout of the SS-110 was chosen to allow a more favorable ratio of barrel to overall length, especially useful for mechanized infantry squads assigned to cramped IFVs. Including the birdcage-style flash hider, the barrel is 71.6 centimeters long, yet overall length at 99.6 centimeters is only slightly greater than that of the JS-103.

During development, the Insŏng team worked to mitigate many of the tradeoffs that come with a bullpup weapon. The trigger is connected to the bolt group by a rigid steel strip rather than a flexible rod, keeping the trigger pull relatively crisp, and the safety dial is mounted just above the trigger, making it easy to access. The magazine release switch is also located underneath the buttstock, as on the JS-103, rather than on the side, meaning that there is no risk of accidentally releasing the magazine when holding the rifle too close.

Notably, while Menghean doctrine for other weapons has stressed that left-handed soldiers be trained in right-handed shooting, the SS-110 was built for ambidextrous firing, on the rationale that letting a skilled marksman use their dominant hand would result in better accuracy. Converting the weapon to left-handed mode involves removing and rotating the bolt, switching the charging handle to the other side of the bolt carrier, and moving a cover plate inside the receiver to the other ejection port. The safety selector remains on the right side of the receiver and must be manipulated by the shooter's index finger. The ejection port cover plates were a particular source of complaint for soldiers early on, as they did not always fit properly, and gas could leak between them while firing; the solution, adopted with the switch to the SS-110H, was to add a rubber seal around the edges of the cover plate and improve quality control of the hold-on screws, which partly addressed the problem.

Action

The SS-110 is a semi-automatic weapon, and uses a short-stroke gas piston running above the barrel to cycle the weapon. It has a six-lug rotating bolt that fits into matching recesses in the back of the barrel. A short regulator lever where the barrel connects to the gas tube allows the operator to switch between two settings: position 1, for regular operation, and position 2, which vents more gas and is used when the gas port is fouled. The lever can be pressed and switched using the end of a cartridge.

Barrel

The barrel of the weapon is 71.6 centimeters long, including a 10.8 centimeter slotted flash hider permanently attached to the muzzle. It has progressively tighter rifling with a uniform right-hand twist of 220 mm at the muzzle, in contrast to uniform rifling on most other Menghean small arms. A bayonet lug was actually considered during development of the weapon, but ultimately rejected on the basis that using the bayonet would force the barrel and sights out of alignment.

Construction

Considerable care was taken during design to ensure that the barrel would not easily come out of alignment and cause the weapon to lose zero. The barrel itself is firmly mounted to the upper receiver, and the optics rail is welded firmly above the barrel mounting. The entire upper receiver is of stamped construction, but is thicker than the stamped steel components on the JS-67 and JS-103 rifle families. The lower receiver, which contains the magazine release, the trigger group, and the trigger connecting rods, is connected to the upper section by two captive pins, and the polymer lower handguard is a separate piece attached to the receiver pieces. On both the early-production SS-110 and the SS-110H, the bipod is mounted on the lower handguard rather than directly on the barrel itself, further protecting the barrel from mis-alignment.

Sights

Post-2012 rifles have a single Hwasŏng rail welded firmly to the upper receiver, allowing the mounting of a variety of optics. All regular service versions of the rifle are issued with an adjustable 3-9x scope with a 40mm lens. This is battery-operated to keep the crosshairs illuminated during nighttime or low-light operations, and can be adjusted for range and windage. The scope received positive assessments from Menghean personnel in training and during the Innominadan Crisis, both for its accuracy and its durability. A few other scope options are available, such as 4x fixed-magnification and unmagnified red-dot sights, more often used by special forces, and a high-powered 6-24x scope used by armed police and counter-terrorism units.

Typical of Menghean rifles, the SS-110 also has backup iron sights, for use if the scope is damaged or unavailable. On the SS-110 these sights fold down when not in use. The rear sight is aperture-type, and can be adjusted for range and windage.

Ammunition

The SS-110 is chambered in 5.7x40mm ammunition, a lightweight cartridge produced under license from Tir Glas. Though it is lighter than the 7.5x54mm round used on other Menghean marksman and sniper rifles, the 5.7mm round was found to exhibit reasonably good accuracy out to 800 meters. Tests with prototype weapons suggested that beyond this distance, the 7.5x54mm SS-95 performed better, but the tradeoff was considered acceptable for a weapon intended for use by platoon-level sharpshooters.

Typically, the bearer of the SS-110 is issued stright-sided 10-round magazines, which are also used in police versions of the JS-103. The magazine port is still able to accept standard 30-round magazines used by the JS-103, allowing interchangeability of ammunition between squad members. For this same reason, the SS-110 uses the same ball ammunition as the JS-103, even though higher-performance steel-core cartridges with heavier propellant loads were tested and found to perform better at range.

Variants

• SS-110 early production: Original production variant with a solid lower handguard and a dovetail-type rail on the upper receiver. Production of this variant ceased in 2012, and all have been withdrawn from Army service or modified to H standard.
• SS-110H: Modified version which entered service in late 2012 or early 2013. Uses Hwasŏng rails on the upper receiver and lower handguard.
• JS-110: Unofficial designation for a modified SS-110 with a full-auto setting. Not adopted by the Menghean Army.
• JS-110J: Accurized variant with a 92.4 cm barrel. Optimized for use with improved 5.7mm ammunition. Not adopted by the Menghean Army, but seen in use with some Armed Police units.

Users

• Argentstan
• Menghe