Vektor MG-4

     Notes: This South African weapon is basically an updated M-1919A4, to take the 7.62mm NATO cartridge.  (Vektor also offers the MG-4 in .30-06 Springfield and .303 British, but what customers they have had for these calibers, if any, are unknown.)  Vektor also makes a kit to convert a standard M-1919A4 to the MG-4 specification.

     The feed mechanism has been changed to improve reliability and allow the use of the disintegrating link belt that the 7.62mm NATO cartridge uses.  Also useable are South African-redesigned M-2A1 disintegrating link belts designed for use with .30-06 cartridges.  (Versions in .30-06 or .303 can also use old-style non-disintegrating cloth loop or metal melts.)  A safety was also added and other minor changes were made to improve safety and reliability, The MG-4s 23.4-inch barrel is a quick-change type, but otherwise has no sort of muzzle brake or flash hider.  Standard sights consist of a post at the front of the receiver and a folding leaf-type sight in the rear just behind the feed cover, but the rear sight may be replaced with a special antiaircraft sight. 

     The MG-4 may only be fired from a tripod mount; the trigger mechanism is essentially unchanged from the M-1919A4 and the MG-4 is therefore unsuited to firing from the hip.  It may use most NATO-compatible light or medium tripods; other common mountings include a double mount, a mount with the MG-4 and M-2HB, an antiaircraft tripod, and a mount with the MG-4 and a 20mm KAB autocannon.  This weapon is also common on South African armored vehicles.  (The MG-4 can also use the M-1917A1 tripod designed for use with the M-1919A4, but SANDF do not use it in that manner.)

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

MG-4

7.62mm NATO

15.01 kg

100 Belt

$2283

MG-4

.30-06 Springfield

16.47 kg

100 Belt

$2656

MG-4

.303 British

15.82 kg

100 Belt

$2475

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

MG-4 (7.62mm)

5

4

2-3-Nil

6

1

2

157

MG-4 (.30-06)

5

4

2-3-Nil

6

1

1

137

MG-4 (.303)

5

4

2-3-Nil

6

1

1

155

 

Vektor SS-77

     Notes: The design of the SS-77 GPMG began in 1977.  At the time, South Africa was in the midst of an intermittent arms embargo due to its apartheid policies.  The design, for whatever reason, proved to be especially problematic, and the SS-77 was not actually first issued until 1986. 

     The SS-77 is essentially a gas-operated GPMG that has a very high rate of fire; some sources even claim that the SS-77 is sort of an extreme variation of the R-4, which is South Africa’s version of the Israeli Galil assault rifle.  The quick-change barrel is 21.7 inches long and tipped with a long flash suppressor.  Feed is from the right, and the SS-77 can feed from a variety of disintegrating link and non-disintegrating link belts, with spent cases ejecting from the bottom of the receiver.  Unusual for a GPMG, the SS-77 uses a folding polymer stock with a skeletonized profile and a recoil pad on the butt.  This stock (and the pistol grip and trigger group) may be easily removed and replaced with spade grips and a thumb trigger, or even with a remote firing device.  A folding bipod is attached to a lug just behind the gas block, and a carrying handle is located above the point of balance just in front of the receiver (and is also used when changing barrels).  The SS-77 can also be mounted on standard NATO light or medium tripods, or on pintle mounts.  The SS-77 has no gas regulator, and therefore no way to compensate for fouling during extended firing or even slow down the early SS-77’s ridiculous rate of fire (said by Vektor to be 700-900 rpm, but measured by some weapons experts to be as high as 1200 rpm).  The SS-77 has no selective fire capability – it is an automatic-only weapon.  On early SS-77s, this means that even skilled shooters of the SS-77 have virtually no chance of squeezing off single shots, and even trying a short burst is extremely difficult.

     That said, even Vektor eventually acknowledged that the SS-77 had reliability problems (of an unspecified nature; neither SANDF nor Vektor will talk about what was wrong with the SS-77).  They also did eventually agree that the cyclic rate of fire was way too high.  In 2003, they began a modification program for the SS-77, resulting in a far more reliable gun with a much lower cyclic rate (600-800 rpm). 

     Some time after the development of the SS-77, the South Africans needed a squad automatic weapon, and they wanted one chambered for the same cartridge as the R-4 series of assault rifles – 5.56mm NATO.  The solution was simple – they made a conversion kit for the SS-77 to give it the ability to fire the smaller cartridge.  The conversion kit includes a new barrel assembly with chamber, feed cover, breech assembly, locking shoulder, and gas piston.  This kit weighs 3.6 kilograms and costs $400.

     The result is essentially a smaller version of the SS-77, called the Mini SS.  The Mini SS for the most part looks identical to the SS-77, except for the lighter 20.2-inch barrel with its four-prong flash suppressor.  The disintegrating link belts may be kept loose or placed in a canvas assault pack which attaches to the side of the receiver.  The sights are also different from those of the SS-77, being a simple post front sight and the rear being an adjustable tangent leaf, both having tritium inlays.  The Mini SS may also take a variety of quick-detach optical sights. The bipod of the SS-77 is retained, and the stock may be the same folding stock as the SS-77 or a fixed one.  The Mini SS may still be mounted on the same tripods or pintle mounts as the SS-77.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The post-2003 version of the SS-77 does not exist as such, but many unit armorers took to making modifications that essentially accomplished the most important part of the post-2003 modifications – the reduction of the cyclic rate of fire.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

SS-77 (Early)

7.62mm NATO

9.6 kg

50 Belt, 100 Belt, 200 Belt, 250 Belt

$2361

SS-77 (Late)

7.62mm NATO

9.62 kg

50 Belt, 100 Belt, 200 Belt, 250 Belt

$2361

Mini SS

5.56mm NATO

8.26 kg

100 Belt

$1460

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

SS-77 (Early)

10

4

2-3-Nil

6/8

3

13

70

(With Bipod)

10

4

2-3-Nil

6/8

1

7

91

(With Tripod)

10

4

2-3-Nil

6/8

1

3

140

SS-77 (Late)

5

4

2-3-Nil

6/8

3

7

70

(With Bipod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

6/8

1

3

91

(With Tripod)

5

4

2-3-Nil

6/8

1

1

140

Mini SS

5

3

1-Nil

5/7

2

4

56

(With Bipod)

5

3

1-Nil

5/7

1

2

73

(With Tripod)

5

3

1-Nil

5/7

1

1

112