Redhawk Firearms M-2 Automatic Rifle
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| Redhawk Firearms M-2 Automatic Rifle | |
|---|---|
 A solider from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade "Mountaineers" using a newly issued M-2 Automatic Rifle during training exercises in Cumberland. | |
| Type | Automatic Rifle |
| Place of origin |  Shenandoah |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1967 – present |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Earl Rock, John Wayne Muncie |
| Designed | 1996 - 2008 |
| Manufacturer | Redhawk Firearms |
| Produced | 2016 – present |
| Variants | See Varaints |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 7.9 lb (3.6 kg) 9.8 lb (4.4 kg) loaded with 60 round casket magazine |
| Length | 36.9 to 33 in (940 to 840 mm) w/adjustable stock |
| Barrel length | 16.5 in (420 mm) |
| Cartridge | .224 Grady |
| Action | Gas-operated short-stroke piston, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | Cyclic: 700–900 rounds/min Sustained: 36 rounds/min |
| Effective firing range | 656 yards (point target) 874 yards (area target) |
| Feed system |
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The Redhawk Firearms M-2 Automatic Rifle a gas-operated automatic rifle chambered for the .224 Grady cartridge developed by Redhawk Firearms for the Shenandoahan National Guard and currently used exclusively by the Shenandoahan Army National Guard and some special forces in other branches of the Shenandoahan National Guard. The M-2 Automatic Rifle fills a role within a traditional Army National Guard rifle squad that has been absant since the retirement of the Grady Automatic Rifle in 1965, and is intended to enhance an automatic rifleman's maneuverability by providing similar benefits to a squad automatic weapon while being both lighter and easier to maneuver in confined spaces.
History and design
The principal difference between an infantry automatic rifle and the standard service assault rifle or carbine is the ability of the automatic rifle to maintain sustained continuous fire without: stoppages such as overheating or lose of accuracy due to heat build up.
Following combat operations conducted by the 21st Independent Regiment in central Omand during Operation Breastplate, the Shenandoahan Army National Guard issued a procurement bid for a new automatic rifle. While the Grady Repeating Arms M-5 Machine Gun; the license production version of the Ostlander Reich Ausrüstung Gesellschaft Maschinengewehr 05, proved to be an effective squad automatic weapon, solider complained about its high weight and length while attempting to maneuver the weapon during long patrols or in close-quarters combat, such as forested or urban areas. Soviet Order squad automatic weapons such as the RPS-85 proved extremely capable of both ease of maneuverability and sustained fire when utilized by various government and insurgent forces operating in central Omand.
Characteristics desired in the new weapon included that it possess portability and maneuverability characteristics similar to the M-3 Carbine as well as be similar in appearance to other rifles currently in service so as to reduce the likelihood that the gunner will receive special attention from the enemy. This second requirement was derived from combat reports of Shenandoahan infantry deliberately targeted insurgents carrying squad automatic weapons like the Soviet RPS-85 or Omandi UKM-2000 general purpose machine gun. The initial requirement for a magazine with a minimum capacity of 100 rounds. This was later dropped in favor of the standard 30-round magazine because of the questionable reliability of 100-round magazines available at the time. This would later be supplemented by a casket magazine design with a 60 round capacity. Caliber was specified as .224 Grady with non-linked ammunition, so as to achieve commonality with existing service rifles.
Originally, the Shenandoahan National Guard revisited the idea of modernizing and adopting the Redhawk Automatic Rifle, however this proved both unappealing and too costly. Redhawk Firearms had been developing its Gas-operated short-stroke piston, M-4 Carbine since 2006 in an attempting to address reliability concerns regarding the direct impingement system used in the M-3 Assault Rifle and M-3 Carbine and stated it could easily adapt that system to a suitable automatic rifle system.
With the withdrawal of Shenandoahan from Central Omand in 2011, the imperative to adopt the improved Redhawk Automatic Rifle vanished. In 2013, the weapons system, designated as the XM-2 Automatic Rifle entered initial troop trials with the 4th Brigade and underwent a series of trials between 2013 and 2017 before being produced both desirable and fit for service. According to testing debriefs, the weapon was not received well initially by squad automatic gunner operators, citing the signicantly reduction in ammunition capacity, although other members of the infantry squad stated this as a positive, citing reduced equipment loads during extended missions. However as testing continued, operators began to appreciate the weapons reduced weight compared to the M-5 Machine Gun; 9.8 lb (4.4 kg) loaded vs the 17.97 pounds of M-5 Machine Gun. One debriefing descried it as "two weapons in one package"; being able to fire single shots accurately out to almost 900 yards as well as being able provide sustained automatic fire. In addition, the reduced ammunition capacity was seen as hedge against collateral damage, being more controllable on fully automatic than the M-5 Machine Gun, and represents a shift in doctrine away from sustained suppressive fire to the idea of engaging with precision fire, as the M-2 Automatic Rifle has rifle accuracy at long range and fully automatic fire at short range.
Variants
M-5 Prevision Rifle
[[File:M2AR-2.jpg|thumb|The M-5 Precession Rifle being used by a member of the 30th Special Forces Group, 1st Brigade "Mountaineers"
Operators
- Shenandoah
- Shenandoahan National Guard: The M-2 Automatic Rifle is in use by the Shenandoahan Army National Guard as well as some special forces units of other branches of the Shenandoahan National Guard