VHS Assault Rifle
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The VHS (, multifunctional Croatian machine gun) is a
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, commonly pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, ...
bullpup A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...
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 '' ...
designed and manufactured by
HS Produkt HS Produkt d.o.o. is a Croatia, Croatian firearms manufacturing company, best known for design and production of the HS2000 and XDM series of semi-automatic pistols, which are sold in the United States market by Springfield Armory, Inc., under the ...
of
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. The VHS rifle was first introduced at the 2007 iKA exhibition, the annual Croatian innovation display that takes place in the city of
Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...
. The development began from a
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 ...
request for a new infantry rifle to meet
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
standards. An improved version of the VHS rifle, known as the , was introduced in April 2013. In January 2022, it was announced that
Springfield Armory, Inc. Springfield Armory, Inc., is an American commercial firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois. Founded in 1974 by Bob Reese and family, the company produces rifles such as the M1A and imports handguns such as the XD series ...
will be importing the into the US as the Hellion.


History


Development

During the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...
, HS Produkt (then called IM Metal) created a
bullpup A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...
variant of the 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle. This rifle had a number of flaws, partly caused by limited technological capabilities of IM Metal, but provided a valuable learning experience for the company. A
delayed blowback Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge. Several blowback systems exist wi ...
model was tested in the mid-1990s, but the results were still not satisfactory, and it was superseded by a design similar to 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 ...
. More prototypes followed in 1996, 1999 and 2004. The development cycle that ultimately led to the current version of the VHS rifle started circa 2003. A new prototype, externally quite similar to the French
FAMAS The FAMAS ( French: ''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', lit. 'Assault rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory') is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978. It is known by ...
, was publicly announced in 2005 and presented to Croatian Minister of Defense
Berislav Rončević Berislav Rončević (born 23 June 1960) is a Croatian politician, and the former Minister of Internal Affairs in the government of Croatia and the Minister of Defense. Rončević was born in the village of Borovik near Đakovo. He graduated fro ...
. However, only 10% of the 2004 prototype was retained in the production model.


Evaluation and adoption

On November 19, 2007, the Croatian Ministry of Defence placed an order for an experimental batch of 50 rifles to be tested by the Croatian contingent then deployed in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
within the
International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...
(ISAF). The contract was placed at 4.5 million kuna. Other nations, including
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
Novih 50.000 jurišnih pušaka izbacuje kalašnjikove iz vojske
and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
showed interest in acquiring the rifle. On November 24, 2008, HS Produkt introduced the final version of the VHS assault rifle. After an initial testing phase with the first 40 rifles, an order for 1,000 rifles was made. In 2009, an additional order of 2,000 rifles was made to enter service with the Croatian Army. By the end of 2012, and as of 2013, the Croatian army had 3,600 VHS rifles in service. Another order of 2,000 rifles was to be delivered to the Croatian military by the end of 2014. A long-term Croatian Army requirement calls for 50,000 assault rifles, ensuring the long-term production of VHS-2. The US Department of Defense also made an order for 500 VHS rifles. On May 12, 2009, Croatian Minister of Defence
Branko Vukelić Branko Vukelić (9 March 1958 – 3 May 2013) was a Croatian politician and former Minister of Defence, and member of the Croatian Democratic Union. Vukelić graduated from the University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a pu ...
confirmed the positive conclusions of a series of torture tests and on May 15 officially signed a contract with HS Produkt for the acquisition of 1,000 rifles (both variants). As of 2015, the Croatian Army is using 7,000 VHS rifles.


Design

The VHS-D rifle is long, with a barrel. The whole rifle body is a monoblock construction made from high-impact polymer. Externally, it strongly resembles the French
FAMAS The FAMAS ( French: ''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', lit. 'Assault rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory') is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978. It is known by ...
rifle, but its operating mechanism and disassembly procedure are quite different. The VHS-K is a carbine variant with an overall length of and a barrel. Some characteristics of the rifle were not revealed to the public and provoked rumours during the development period. One involved a hypothesized venting system which recovered part of the gases generated from firing the weapon to cushion the bolt and dramatically buffer recoil. The production-stage VHS operated in a much more conventional manner, not utilizing this buffering system. According to the schematic filed at the
European Patent Office The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the two organs of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), the other being the Administrative Council. The EPO acts as executive body for the organisation
(EPO) the misconception may have come from combining two different features: a forced air ventilation system similar to the one in
Pecheneg machine gun The PKP Pecheneg (Pulemyot Kalashnikova Pekhotny "Pecheneg", ) is a Russian 7.62×54mmR general-purpose machine gun.Popenker, Max RPKP Pecheneg machine gun It is a further development and modification of the PK machine gun (PKM). It is said to b ...
and a mechanical buffer reducer, similar in conception to the one used in
Ultimax 100 The Ultimax 100 is a Singapore-made 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. The weapon is e ...
, a weapon Croatia used in the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...
and retains in its reserve inventory. The same patent states that the VHS works neither through direct gas impingement nor through a short- or long-stroke piston, but through a 'tappet' type of closed gas system much like the
FN SCAR The FN SCAR (SOF (Special Operations Forces) Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United ...
. There may have also been confusion with another prototype which did not go into production. Confusion on the VHS's operating system was from several changes to the type of system used through its development. The first models used a Kalashnikov-style
long-stroke piston Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...
, which was changed in 1999 to a lever delayed blowback system from the FAMAS. The next year, it was changed to a direct gas impingement system with a forced ventilation feature that formed a pneumatic cushion behind the bolt. The VHS was patented in that form in 2000 giving the impression of a "gas cushion" feature. That model was publicly known up to 2005. In 2004, the final and current operating system of the VHS was changed to a gas-operated,
short-stroke piston Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...
system.Croatian VHS
- SAdefensejournal.com, 4 January 2013
When the VHS went through service life testing it fired 50,000 rounds without suffering any main part failures. The barrel has a birdcage flash suppressor and can fire
rifle grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used dur ...
s. Like the FAMAS, it has a sliding grenade boom guide and grenade high-angle launching sight to aim when the rifle is turned on its side, but the sight is mounted on the underside of the carrying handle on the VHS instead of under it. The rifle and carbine have different gas regulators, both with three settings changed by pushing in and turning 120 degrees: normal; high (larger opening for weak ammunition); and cut-off (for rifle grenades). One drawback of the VHS is its poor ergonomics. The fire selector has three positions for safe, semi, and automatic fire with no 3-round burst option. Production model rifles have the selector inside the trigger guard. Changing firing modes is difficult as the crank must be rotated a long distance before either firing mode is selected. It is also for right-handed use only; the receiver can only eject shells out the right side and cases leave sharply toward the rear, with a chance of hitting an extended elbow. This is unfortunate, as the non-reciprocating cocking handle is located centrally under the carrying handle and can be pulled from either side. Models presented in 2008 showed the VHS being
STANAG magazine A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement ( STANAG) 4179 was proposed i ...
compatible. This was changed shortly after to accept
HK G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is an assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, and replaced the heavier G3 battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm. The G36 ...
magazines. The reason was because the Croatian military has more G36s (which the VHS will replace) than
M16 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 military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine. In 1964, th ...
-type rifles.


Variants


VHS-D

The first VHS rifle made by HS Produkt, outfitted with rifle grenade discharging adapters and bayonet lugs.


VHS-K

A carbine version of the VHS rifle.


VHS-2

The VHS-2 was shown to the public for the first time in April 2013, during the Adriatic Sea Defense & Aerospace (ASDA) exhibition in
Split, Croatia Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see #Name, other names), is the List of cities and towns in Croatia, second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast ...
. Its improvements include a more conventional fire selector, a redesigned carrying handle, an adjustable-length buttstock, and an ambidextrous cartridge casing ejection system that can be reconfigured in less than a minute. The VHS-2 line consists of the VHS-D2 assault rifle and the VHS-K2 carbine.


Springfield Hellion

A semi-automatic version of the VHS-2 was made for
Springfield Armory, Inc. Springfield Armory, Inc., is an American commercial firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois. Founded in 1974 by Bob Reese and family, the company produces rifles such as the M1A and imports handguns such as the XD series ...
, which was unveiled in January 2022.


Users

* : Used by the Albanian State Police. * : Bosnian federal special police are armed with VHS-K2 rifles. * : Used by the military. * : Standard weapon of the Croatian Army, replacing older VHS model. Also used by the police. * : About 100,000 in service with the Iraqi Federal Police and Iraqi Ground and Special Forces, including the Emergency Response Division. * : In service with the
Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...
. Supplied by Iraq. * : Togolese Army acquired 3,000 VHS-2 for peacekeeping missions. VHS-2 seen with the rest of Togolese Army.


Evaluation

* : The VHS-F2 variant was specifically produced for French military trials, with a magazine well accommodating the FAMAS magazine. It was shortlisted for a purchase order of 100,000 assault riflesArchived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
but the bid was ultimately won by the HK416. * : Ongoing negotiations about local production and technology transfer. * : Purchased 500 VHS-1 for testing and training in 2012, and 250 VHS-2 for testing and training in 2015.


References


External links


Agencija Alan—Croatian arms exporter

VHS RIFLE
(
WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...
patent search)
VHS ASSAULT RIFLE
(
WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...
patent search) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vhs Assault Rifle 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles Assault rifles of Croatia Bullpup rifles Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2005