| Ultimax 100 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Assault rifle Light machine gun |
| Place of origin | Singapore |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1982–present |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavia Anti-guerrilla operations in Indonesia and the Philippines, 2006 Fijian coup d'état Solomon Islands Afghanistan Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | L. James Sullivan |
| Designed | 1977 |
| Manufacturer | Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) |
| Produced | 1982[1][2]–present |
| Number built | ~80,000 |
| Variants | See variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | • Mark 2: 4.75 kg (10.47 lb) • Mark 3: 4.90 kg (10.8 lb) |
| Length | • Mark 2: 1,030 mm (40.6 in) with buttstock, 800 mm (31.5 in) minus buttstock • Mark 3: 1,024 mm (40.3 in) with buttstock, 810 mm (31.9 in) minus buttstock |
| Barrel length | • Standard: 508 mm (20.0 in) • Ultimax 100 para: 330 mm (13.0 in) |
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| Cartridge | 5.56x45mm NATO |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 400–600 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 970 m/s (3,182 ft/s) (M193 cartridge) 945 m/s (3,100.4 ft/s) (SS109/M855 cartridge) |
| Effective range | 100–1,200 m sight adjustments |
| Maximum range | 460 m (M193 cartridge) 1,300 m (SS109/M855 cartridge) |
| Feed system | 100-round drum or 30-round STANAG M16 box magazine |
| Sights | Rear aperture sight and front post 472 mm (18.6 in) sight radius |
The Ultimax 100 is a Singaporean 5.56mm light machine gun, developed by the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) by a team of engineers under the guidance of American firearms designer L. James Sullivan.[2] The gun is extremely accurate due to its low recoil.[3]
Work on a new light support weapon for the Singapore Army began in 1978.[2] The weapon is produced by CIS (presently STK—Singapore Technologies Kinetics), initially in the Mark 1 version, later—the Mark 2, and currently, in the Mark 3 and Mark 4 variant. The Ultimax 100 (also called the U 100) is used in significant numbers by the armed forces of Singapore, Croatia and the Philippines.
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The Ultimax 100, also known as the "Section Machine Gun" is a gas-operated automatic weapon (capable of fully automatic fire only) with a short-stroke gas piston operating system powered by ignited powder gases diverted from the barrel through a port in the gas block. The Ultimax 100 is a locked breech weapon with a rotating bolt that contains 7 locking lugs. It fires from an open bolt position. The bolt contains both a spring extractor and a casing ejector. The weapon's non-reciprocating cocking handle is located on the left side of the receiver and occupies the forward position during firing. The Ultimax 100 is striker-fired. The feature that grants the weapon its low recoil (compared to similar light machine guns) is the "constant recoil" principle. The overall design allows the bolt carrier group to travel all the way back without ever impacting the rear, instead stopping gradually along the axis of movement against the resistance of the return springs.[4]
The magazine catch consists of two tapered pins on a bar, controlled by the magazine release button. The machine gun feeds from a proprietary 100-round synthetic drum magazine (early models also used 60-round drum magazines), or from a modified 20 or 30-round STANAG 4179 magazine (from the M16 rifle).
The Ultimax 100 uses a manual safety mechanism that consists of a lever installed on the left side of the receiver (just behind the trigger) with two possible settings: "S" – indicating the weapon is safe and "F" – continuous fire. An internal safety achieved through the proper arrangement of parts and mechanisms secures against premature detonation. The light machine gun was also designed to mount an M16-type bayonet and either day or night-time optics. The Ultimax 100's ergonomics are similar to that of the Thompson submachine gun, specifically the forward grip.
Jane's International Defence Review correspondent — Andrew Tillman, in an exclusive invitation from ST Kinetics to participate in the Product Improvement Program (PIP, initiated in 1989) to test fire the gun[5], was quoted after writing the test review as saying:
This article began by praising the Ultimax for its ease of control, which allows accurate fire. A comment to the author by an experienced SEAL team leader aptly underlines the importance of having an accurate light machine gun: "Men react one of two ways when they are shot at. If you just shoot at them, they will take cover and return fire, but if you start hitting them, they withdraw."
— Source:[5]
STK also developed a vehicle-mounted variant of the weapon for use on the Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier[10] and on the Spider Light Strike Vehicle.[11]
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