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Troops armed with deadly Minimi
Gethin Chamberlain
BRITISH troops preparing to go into action against the Iraqi army have taken delivery of a powerful new weapon which they believe could play a decisive role in overcoming any opposition they encounter.
The FN Para Minimi 5.56 millimetre light machine gun has already seen service with the Royal Marines and the Parachute Regiment, but yesterday was the first time it had been issued to the men of the 7th Armoured Brigade, better known as the Desert Rats, who will form the main thrust of any British involvement in a military campaign.
Capable of firing 820 rounds of hardened ammunition a minute, it is regarded as a far more potent weapon than the old general purpose machine gun (GPMG) which has been in service since the 1960s.
Lighter and smaller than the GPMG, it can be fired from a standing, kneeling or prone position and troops test-firing it for the first time on a range near the Iraqi border yesterday said they were delighted with the new weapon.
After firing off a series of rounds to calibrate his weapon, Private Stuart Dunning, of the Black Watch, was a convert to the Minimi.
"We’ve had a demonstration of it before from the marines, but this was the first time I’ve fired it. You could run around with this and fire it off, which you couldn’t do with the GPMG, and that’s a big advantage for us.
"It also fires steel core rounds and they can penetrate so I think we all feel pretty confident with this."
Private Kristofer Smith, also of the Black Watch, said he was convinced it was the best weapon available to them.
"Everyone’s been after these and now we’ve tried it, it’s pretty good," he said. "You don’t get a big kick from it so you can fire it standing up and that’s important if we’re moving forward."
There has been controversy about another of the main weapons, the SA-80 rifle, with complaints from soldiers about its reliability and reports of frequent jamming in desert conditions.
But the SA-80 has recently undergone an overhaul and senior weapons instructors are satisfied with its performance, blaming any problems now on poor maintenance by the troops using the rifle.
Warrant Officer QMSI Michael Lynch, one of the instructors given the task of familiarising the men with the Minimi, said the weapon was expected to be highly effective in subduing opposition from Iraqi troops.
He said he was confident that if it did come to military action, the British battle group now have the equipment needed to do its job.
He added: "If we go to war, which looks likely, these lads are going to have to get out of a Warrior [armoured car] and start using these weapons and if you look at them trying them on the ranges today, you wouldn’t want to be on the end of that.
"We are very adept at keeping our soldiers alive and the way we do that is to keep the enemy’s head down. If it does happen, the Black Watch will shower itself in glory as they always have."
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=322072003
Gethin Chamberlain
BRITISH troops preparing to go into action against the Iraqi army have taken delivery of a powerful new weapon which they believe could play a decisive role in overcoming any opposition they encounter.
The FN Para Minimi 5.56 millimetre light machine gun has already seen service with the Royal Marines and the Parachute Regiment, but yesterday was the first time it had been issued to the men of the 7th Armoured Brigade, better known as the Desert Rats, who will form the main thrust of any British involvement in a military campaign.
Capable of firing 820 rounds of hardened ammunition a minute, it is regarded as a far more potent weapon than the old general purpose machine gun (GPMG) which has been in service since the 1960s.
Lighter and smaller than the GPMG, it can be fired from a standing, kneeling or prone position and troops test-firing it for the first time on a range near the Iraqi border yesterday said they were delighted with the new weapon.
After firing off a series of rounds to calibrate his weapon, Private Stuart Dunning, of the Black Watch, was a convert to the Minimi.
"We’ve had a demonstration of it before from the marines, but this was the first time I’ve fired it. You could run around with this and fire it off, which you couldn’t do with the GPMG, and that’s a big advantage for us.
"It also fires steel core rounds and they can penetrate so I think we all feel pretty confident with this."
Private Kristofer Smith, also of the Black Watch, said he was convinced it was the best weapon available to them.
"Everyone’s been after these and now we’ve tried it, it’s pretty good," he said. "You don’t get a big kick from it so you can fire it standing up and that’s important if we’re moving forward."
There has been controversy about another of the main weapons, the SA-80 rifle, with complaints from soldiers about its reliability and reports of frequent jamming in desert conditions.
But the SA-80 has recently undergone an overhaul and senior weapons instructors are satisfied with its performance, blaming any problems now on poor maintenance by the troops using the rifle.
Warrant Officer QMSI Michael Lynch, one of the instructors given the task of familiarising the men with the Minimi, said the weapon was expected to be highly effective in subduing opposition from Iraqi troops.
He said he was confident that if it did come to military action, the British battle group now have the equipment needed to do its job.
He added: "If we go to war, which looks likely, these lads are going to have to get out of a Warrior [armoured car] and start using these weapons and if you look at them trying them on the ranges today, you wouldn’t want to be on the end of that.
"We are very adept at keeping our soldiers alive and the way we do that is to keep the enemy’s head down. If it does happen, the Black Watch will shower itself in glory as they always have."
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=322072003
