During the past few years, the United Arab Emirates has made great progress in the field of military and defence industries, and has become the focus of attention of the most important defence and security industries in the world due to its abundance of defence industries and distinguished innovations capable of competition and occupying advanced positions in the global armament industry.
The great progress achieved by the UAE in the field of military and defence industries and Emiratization comprised all military, land, sea and air fields, as the Emirati national skilled personnel in this field have excelled in making military products comparable in quality and efficiency with the largest global military producers and became an example to be followed among the major military companies, which calls for pride.
A tactical weapon for strategic success
Today, the United Arab Emirates owns national military companies working on the production of defensive, qualitative and tactical weapon systems that keep pace with the latest developments and work with the latest technological systems and artificial intelligence techniques. Perhaps the most prominent of which is the famous Emirati “CAR 816” rifle produced by the Emirati company, “CARACAL”, manufacturer of light weapons, based in Abu Dhabi, where it belongs to EDGE Group, which specializes in the field of defence technology.
Applications, specifications and features
The CAR 816 rifle has a highly competitive advantage that would become the preferred choice for many armed forces, as it was designed for both military use and law enforcement forces.
The assault rifle operated by a central firing system with a short-stroke gas piston and a rotating breech mechanism. The rifle 5.56x 45x NATO chamber is loaded and fed by a 30-round magazine.
The standard version of this rifle has a three-position adjustable gas regulator to control the force of the flowing gas, as the first position is used under normal conditions, while the second position is used in difficult conditions or when using low-thrust ammunition, or when something goes wrong with the system. The third position is used when installing a silencer so that the system can operate smoothly.
The mechanism of operation of the rifle is characterized by the ability to choose an automatic or semi-automatic firing mode or a safety mode, as the firing switching lever is located above the rifle handle, allowing the user to easily change the safety positions and release by the thumb.
The rifle can fire 900 rounds per minute in the fully automatic mode, has an effective firing range of 550 meters, and has a telescopic stock adjustable in six positions, commensurate with the shooter shoulder.
Depending on customers’ requirements, the rifle can be supplied with all adjustment controls on left and right.
Unlike the old technology that used to use the gas direct propulsion system, the CAR816 rifle is able to maintain its coolness and cleanliness even after rapid and successive firing thanks to the advanced piston system, which operates the weapon without the need for hot gases to enter the mechanism of action of the gun, which enhances the efficiency of the weapon and reduces the need to repeat cleaning and maintenance operations.
The tactical rifle also has foldable or dismantlable guides, and is equipped with four-rail picatinny handguards (top, left and right side and bottom) conforming to Mil-Std-1913 Picatinny military specifications to mount additional sighting devices or any other accessories and accessories such as laser pointers and bomb launcher, tactical headlights or front handles.
The weight of the rifle is about 3.0 kilograms without the magazine, and provides much more firepower to the soldier with the possibility of installing additional accessories for various missions.
Ikram Ben dalla (Researcher in Military Affairs)
