VHS assault rifle
| VHS | |
|---|---|
 VHS-D |
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| Type | Assault rifle |
| Place of origin |  Croatia |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Croatia |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Marko Vuković[1] |
| Designed | 2005 |
| Manufacturer | HS Produkt |
| Unit cost | c. €1000[2][3] |
| Variants | VHS-D, VHS-K |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | VHS-D: 3.4 kg (7.50 lb) VHS-K: 3.3 kg (7.3 lb)[4] |
| Length | VHS-D: 765 mm (30.1 in) VHS-K: 665 mm (26.2 in)[4] |
| Barrel length | VHS-D: 500 mm (19.7 in) VHS-K: 400 mm (15.7 in)[4] |
| Width | 43 mm (1.7 in)[4] |
| Height | 230 mm (9.1 in) (without magazine) 260 mm (10.2 in) (20-round mag.) 300 mm (11.8 in) (30-round mag.)[4] |
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| Cartridge | 5.56x45mm NATO |
| Action | Gas-operated "tappet" closed gas system, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | VHS-D: 750 rounds/min VHS-K: 760 rounds/min[4] |
| Muzzle velocity | VHS-D: 950 m/s (3,120 ft/s) VHS-K: 940 m/s (3,080 ft/s)[4] |
| Feed system | 20, 30-round STANAG magazine |
| Sights | aperture sights, laser sights and optical sights |
The VHS (Croatian: Višenamjenska Hrvatska Strojnica—"multifunctional Croatian machine gun") is a 5.56x45mm NATO bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by HS Produkt of Croatia. The VHS rifle was first introduced at the 2007 iKA exhibition, the annual Croatian innovation display that takes place in the city of Karlovac.[5] The development was carried on following a request from the Croatian Army for a new infantry rifle to update the individual equipment to NATO standards.
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[edit] History
[edit] Development
The development of the new assault rifle began in 1992, during the Croatian War of Independence, when HS Produkt (then called IM Metal) created a bullpup variant of the 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle.[1][6] 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.[1][6] More prototypes followed in 1996, 1999 and 2004.[1] A delayed blowback model was tested in the mid-1990s, but the results were still not satisfactory, and it was superseded by a design similar to the M16 rifle.[6]
The development cycle that ultimately led to the current version of the rifle started circa 2003.[6] A new prototype, externally quite similar to the French FAMAS, was publicly announced in 2005 and presented to the Croatian Minister of Defense Berislav Rončević.[5][6][7][8] However, the difference between the production model that followed and the 2004 prototype is more than 90%.[1]
[edit] 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 currently deployed in Afghanistan within the ISAF. Other nations, including Kuwait[9] and Venezuela[10] have already shown interest in acquiring the rifle.
On November 24, 2008 HS Produkt introduced the final version of VHS assault rifle. The first 40 rifles have been produced for testing. The test will be done by Croatian military in the first 3 months of 2009. If it performs well, the Croatian army will buy an additional 2,000 rifles in 2009. By 2012 the Croatian army plans on acquiring up to 60,000 VHS rifles,[citation needed] displacing the various AKM derivatives currently in service.
On May 12, 2009, the Croatian Minister of Defence Branko Vukelić confirmed the positive conclusions of a series of torture tests and on May 15 officially signed a contract with HS product for the acquisition of 1,000 rifles (both variants) for an average price of 10,700 Croatian kunas (c. €1450) each. Provisional budget for 2011 envisage the acquisition of 3000 rifles.
[edit] Design
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This section requires expansion. |
The VHS-D rifle is 765 mm long, with a 500 mm barrel.[4] The upper and the lower receiver are constructed from high-impact polymer.[11] Externally, it strongly resembles the French FAMAS rifle.[11]
The VHS-K is a carbine variant with a shorter, 400-mm barrel, resulting in overall length of 665 mm.
The early project won the iKA innovation prize for their interesting feature,
Some characteristics of the rifle are still not revealed to the public and so some misconceptions occurred through the development period: there was word about a sort of recoil buffer in the form of a venting system that recovered part of the gases generated by the shot and pushed it back in a space located behind the bolt; during the cycle, the bolt would thus "bounce" on a sort of "gas cushion" that acted as a buffer, dramatically reducing recoil. That provoked more than a disappointment as the production-stage VHS was reported to operate in a much conventional manner no longer utilizing these buffering system.[7] According to the project deposited at the European Patent Office however it seems that such voices originated from a misconception of related data, i.e. merging in one two different features: a forced air ventilation system similar to the one in Pecheneg machine gun and a mechanical buffer reductor, similar in conception but not identical to the one used in Ultimax 100, a weapon Croatia used in Croatian War of Independence and still has in its reserve inventory.
Same patent states also that Vehesica 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.
There it was also another precedent design sporting some of said features, but it was rejected after the first real testing, so it is also possible that the"gas cushion" was instead a feature of that former model.
Taking into account that said patent is from 2007, it is not certain how much the serial production rifles will differ from it, but nevertheless it shows that HS Produkt, which also developed and produced the best selling HS2000 pistol, has the ability to adapt and combine existing features in an innovative way.
Also the recent Croatian combat experience influenced the rifle project: VHS is probably the only modern assault rifle to have standard integral sights for using both a grenade launcher and rifle grenades.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Šoštarić, Eduard (16 June 2009). "Hrvati tvorci najbolje jurišne puške na svijetu" (in Croatian). Nacional (709). http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/60205/hrvati-tvorci-najbolje-jurisne-puske-na-svijetu. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
- ^ Vejnović, Saša (25 November 2008). "MORH puške kupuje 2009., nabavka aviona na čekanju" (in Croatian). Poslovni dnevnik. http://www.poslovni.hr/101601.aspx. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ "Nova jurišna puška – HS produkt spreman za serijsku proizvodnju" (in Croatian). Karlovački tjednik. 27 November 2008. http://www.karlovacki-tjednik.hr/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1975. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Vlahović, Domagoj (November 2008). "Nova hrvatska puška po standardima NATO-a" (in Croatian). Hrvatski vojnik (Zagreb: Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia) (216). ISSN 1333-9036. http://www.hrvatski-vojnik.hr/hrvatski-vojnik/2162008/vehaes.asp. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
- ^ a b "A new Croatian Bullpup Assault Rifle by HS Produkt for the Croatian Army: Croatian VHS Assault Rifle". securityarms.com. http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/3000/3088.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ a b c d e Vlahović, Domagoj (June 2009). "Hrvatska jurišna puška VHS" (in Croatian). Hrvatski vojnik (Zagreb: Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia) (244). ISSN 1333-9036. http://www.hrvatski-vojnik.hr/hrvatski-vojnik/2442009/vhs.asp. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- ^ a b "VHS assault rifle (Croatia)". world.guns.ru. http://world.guns.ru/assault/as96-e.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ http://www.hrvatski-vojnik.hr/hrvatski-vojnik/0302005/vijesti.asp (Croatian)
- ^ Novih 50.000 jurišnih pušaka izbacuje kalašnjikove iz vojske (Croatian)
- ^ HV - kandidat za prvoga kupca puške (Croatian)
- ^ a b "VHS 5.56 mm assault rifle (Croatia), Rifles". janes.com. Jane's Information Group. May 12, 2010. http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Infantry-Weapons/VHS-5-56-mm-assault-rifle-Croatia.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: HS Produkt VHS |
- Agencija Alan—Crotian arms exporter
- Eduard Šoštarić (22 November 2008). "Hrvatske jurišne puške kreću na testiranje u HV" (in Croatian). http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/49968/. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- Predstavljena nova hrvatska jurišna puška (Croatian)
- Hrvatski VHS: Laka jurišna puška ulazi u vojni arsenal (Croatian)
- Hrvatski bum vojne industrije (Croatian)
- VHS RIFLE (WIPO patent search)
- VHS ASSAULT RIFLE (WIPO patent search)
- Modern Firearms
- Premiera chorwackiego VHS (Polish)
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