The SAR 80 (Singapore Assault Rifle 80) is an
assault rifle
An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...
from
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.
History and development
In the late 1960s, the
Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...
(SAF) adopted the
AR-15 as their main service rifle. Due to difficulties in obtaining the rifles from the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the Singaporean government purchased a license to domestically manufacture the
M16 rifle
The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...
, which was then designated the M16S1. However, the domestic rifle requirements were not sufficient to allow Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now
Singapore Technologies Kinetics
ST Engineering Land Systems Ltd (STELS), formerly known as ST Kinetics, is a strategic business area of ST Engineering and handles land systems and specialty vehicles.
In 2000, ST Engineering acquired the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS) ...
) to economically maintain operations at its rifle factory. Export sales of the M16S1 were not a viable option. Due to the requirements of the license agreement, CIS had to request permission from Colt and the US State Department to allow any export sale, which they rarely granted.
In the early 1970s,
Sterling Armaments Company engineers had developed their own 5.56 mm rifle design, the Light Automatic Rifle (LAR), but this had been shelved when Sterling acquired a manufacturing licence for the US-designed
Armalite AR-18 assault rifle. While Sterling could not legally sublicense the AR-18, their AR-18 derived Sterling Assault Rifle (SAR) was available. This was based on a refined version of the Light Automatic Rifle, fitted with an AR-18 trigger group. Sterling licensed the SAR design to CIS, who put it into production as the SAR 80.
The successor to this weapon is the
SR-88.
Users
*: Seen in the hands of Central African
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
.
*:
Croatian Army
The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...
.
* Some used by
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda in
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
*:
Papua New Guinea Defence Force
The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into bei ...
.
*:
Slovenian Army.
*: Somalia received SAR 80s during the 1980s.
Most seen in the Middle East, heavily modified by various forces fighting in the region. 20,000 from Charted Industries of Singapore 1982-83
*
*
Non state users
*
See also
*
SA80
The SA80 (Small Arms for the 1980s) is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army. The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 Sel ...
*
Leader Dynamics Series T2 MK5
*
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is an assault rifle
An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Ri ...
*
List of assault rifles
Assault rifles are full-length, select fire rifles that are chambered for an Intermediate cartridge, intermediate-power rifle cartridge that use a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine. Assault rifles are currently the standard service rifles in ...
References
External links
Modern Firearms
{{DEFAULTSORT:SAR-80
5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles
Assault rifles of Singapore
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1984