SG 530 | |
---|---|
Type | Assault rifle |
Place of origin | Switzerland |
Production history | |
Designer | Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) |
Designed | 1960s |
Manufacturer | Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) |
Specifications | |
Weight | 3.45 kg (7.61 lb) |
Length | 940 mm (37.0 in) |
|
|
Cartridge | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Action | Gas-operated, roller-locked |
Rate of fire | 600 rounds/min |
Muzzle velocity | 912 m/s (2,992 ft/s) |
Maximum range | 500M |
The SIG 530 was a Swiss assault rifle developed in the 1960s by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) to take the then-new 5.56x45mm NATO round.
Development of the rifle started in 1963 as a joint project between SIG and Beretta. The latter had already cooperated with SIG on the production of the SG 510-4 rifle for Chile. Initial prototypes of the 5.56 mm rifle used the delayed-blowback operating system of the SG 510. However, this operating system proved to be problematic with the relatively "weak" 5.56x45mm intermediate cartridge, and the designers were forced to use a gas-operated, roller-locked system. In 1968, Beretta ceased development with SIG, and went to work on their own 5.56 mm rifle design resulting in the outwardly similar AR70. Due to a lack of sales, SIG abandoned the SG 530 in the 1970s in favor of developing the SG 540 series.