South Korean infantry will be armed with a new generation of machine guns. Yesterday, December 19, the press service of the Defense Procurement Program Administration (DAPA, Defense Acquisition Program Administration) announced the completion of acceptance tests of the K16 machine gun.
The new machine gun was developed by SNT Motiv and is available in 7.62 mm caliber. The infantry version of the weapon is serially equipped with a thermal imaging sight developed by Eo System. In addition, the machine gun is available in versions K16D (for installation on armored vehicles and helicopters) and K16E (coaxial version).
K16 machine gun in three versions
Image Source: Image from DAPA press release
The South Korean Defense Ministry indicates that the K16 will replace the K-3 and M60 machine guns in service. It "significantly surpasses its predecessors in reliability" (fire reliability), has a sighting range of "over 1 km", and its combat effectiveness is "twice as high". DAPA indicates that it is planned to completely rearm the army with new machine guns by 2024. $104.7 million has been pledged for these purposes.