SIG 516
The SIG 516 Tactical Patrol 14.5″
TypeAssault rifle (SIG516)
Battle rifle (SIG716)
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service2010–present
Used bySee Users
Wars2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Production history
ManufacturerSIG Sauer
VariantsSIG716
Specifications
Cartridge5.56×45mm NATO (SIG516)
7.62×39mm (SIG516)
7.62×51mm NATO (SIG716)
6.5mm Creedmoor (SIG716)
ActionShort-stroke piston, rotating bolt
Effective firing range500 meters
Feed system10, 20, 30-round detachable magazine
SightsIron sights or picatinny rail for various optics

The SIG Sauer SIG516 is a rifle manufactured by SIG Sauer. It is an AR-15 style rifle chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.[1] Introduced in 2010, the SIG516 was discontinued as of 2019.[citation needed] A variant chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, the SIG716i, remains in production.[2]

History

The SIG Sauer SIG516 shares lineage to the Heckler & Koch HK416. The principal firearms engineers for the SIG516 were Robert Hirt and Chris Sirois. Engineer Hirt was instrumental in the development of the HK416. Following his time with Heckler & Koch, Hirt was recruited by SIG Sauer to work with then SIG engineer Chris Sirois (they later designed the SIG716 and SIG MCX/SIG MPX) on an improved version of the HK416. whilst omitted many proprietary HK416 components that were exchanged for standard (M4 carbine mil spec conform) components: the SIG516. Other HK416 issues like the high cyclic rate, which causes lower life cycle. a gas vent, which showed up in low light conditions, and safety issues (i.e. the need for a firing pin safety) were also addressed. Hirt and Sirois were later recruited by Caracal to develop a new rifle iteration that was superior to both the HK416 and SIG516 series. the CAR 816 series.[3][4][5][6]

Design details

Operating mechanism

Short-stroke gas piston

The SIG516 is a semi-automatic or select fire multi-caliber rifle. It fires from a closed bolt, and has a short-stroke push rod piston system. The gas piston pushes the bolt carrier rearward, where it is returned to the forward and locked position by a spring. This process loads the next cartridge. The 516 has a four-position gas regulator, allowing the user to choose the amount of gas directed to the piston, to adjust the gas system to function reliably with various propellant, projectile, fouling, operating environment and configuration specific pressure behavior.[7]

Features

The SIG516 is based on the AR-15 platform ergonomic architecture, but uses a short-stroke gas piston operating system (unlike the AR-15's piston-operated gas impingement system).

The SIG516 has a safety lever on the left side, to be used by the thumb of the shooting hand. The gas block integrates an adjustable gas regulator. The front gas block is railed to accept the front sight with a flip-up sight post. SIG516 models are equipped with an M16A2 style bird-cage flash hider.

All SIG516 models except the Marksman are equipped with 16-inch (410 mm) barrels shrouded by a free-floating M1913 Picatinny rail, as well as flip-up iron sights (BUIS) made by SIG Sauer.[8]

The 5.56×45mm NATO SIG516 models accept AR-15 style box magazines. These magazines are constructed in 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-round variants. SIG516 Russian rifles use a different magazine, as they are chambered in 7.62×39mm. The SIG516 Russian uses magazines designed for 7.62×39mm AR-15 style rifles. The rifle is hammer-fired and has a two-stage trigger mechanism in the SIG516 Marksman, while all others have a military specification single-stage trigger.

It is built to pass the NATO test protocol “Over the Beach”, meaning the SIG516 is designed to fire safely as quickly as possible after being submerged in water.

Variants

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SIG716

The SIG716 is a battle rifle variant,[9] which is based on the same design, but is chambered for the larger 7.62x51mm NATO round and uses SR-25 pattern magazines.[10]

SIG716 G2

The SIG716 G2 (Generation 2) variant features a short-stroke pushrod gas system. This operating system reduces carbon fouling, excessive heat and unburned powder in the action, ensuring further improved reliability and function.[11] The G2 Patrol model is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO,[12] while the G2 DMR model is chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor.[13]

SIG 716i

The 716i (impingement) variant features a gas-operated, rotating bolt (internal piston) system instead of short-stroke pushrod gas system. This Stoner bolt and carrier piston operating system has helped SIG Sauer to bring down the cost of manufacturing and pushing more sales of 716i, whilst also achieving a weight reduction.[14] The 716i is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO.[15] Sig Sauer appears to have discontinued SIG716 and SIG716 G2 models, since the company stopped displaying these products in their website, while they continue to sell magazines and spare parts in their online store. The 716i has been recognized as the best AR-10 rifle for the year 2020, by readers' choice voting of Ballistic magazine.[16]

Users

Indian army personnel from White Knight Corps armed with a Sig 716i, 2021

See also

References

  1. ^ "SIG Sauer's SIG516: Expect the unexpected". American Rifleman. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Full Rifle/Pistol Catalog". sigsauer.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Caracal Wins India 5.56mm Rifle Contract".
  4. ^ "Global Arms: Car816 assault rifle – UAE's lethal desert killer". israelifirepower.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  5. ^ "The Sig MCX Multi Caliber Carbine: A Proper Way to Design an External Piston AR - Small Arms Review". September 2016.
  6. ^ "Caracal Wins India 5.56mm Rifle Contract - Small Arms Solutions". October 2018.
  7. ^ "Meet the Sig Sauer 516 Rifle: The Best AR-15 Around?". nationalinterest.org. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. ^ "SIG-Sauer 516". modernfirearms.net. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  9. ^ "SIG716". SIG Sauer. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  10. ^ "SIG-Sauer 716". modernfirearms.net. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  11. ^ "SIG716". sigsauer.com. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  12. ^ "SIG716G2 Patrol". sigsauer.com. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  13. ^ "SIG716G2 DMR FDE/BLK". sigsauer.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  14. ^ "716i TREAD". sigsauer.com. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  15. ^ "716i TREAD". sigsauer.com. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  16. ^ "SIG Sauer 716i TREAD: 2020 Reader's Choice for 'Best AR-10 Rifle'". ballisticmag.com. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  17. ^ "New rifles delivered for Canadian Forces sniper teams". 10 December 2020.
  18. ^ "POTD: Egyptian Navy SOF with SIG-516s -". 20 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  19. ^ "geo-army.ge". Geo-army.ge. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  20. ^ Colclough, George (17 May 2020). "Explainer: The hidden differences between Hong Kong police rifles". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  21. ^ "【CTRU出擊・有片・多圖】模擬恐襲發生 反恐特勤隊新槍截擊槍手". HK01 (in Chinese). 28 February 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  22. ^ "SIG Sauer SIG716 for India". Times of India. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  23. ^ "Indian Army Orders More 716i Rifles from SIG Sauer". 16 July 2020.
  24. ^ a b c d "Defence Ministry clears 70,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles for Indian Army". The Economic Times. 12 December 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  25. ^ "SIG516 Patrol: Opsi Berkualitas Tinggi Di Kaliber 5,56mm". indomiliter.com (in Indonesian). 3 June 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  26. ^ "Milipol Asia 2017: Up-gunning Asian security forces | Shephard". www.shephardmedia.com. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  27. ^ "México llega al Rimpac 2018 equipado con el Sig Sauer 5.56". Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  28. ^ [1] Archived 7 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ GESTIÓN, NOTICIAS (7 February 2021). "Vacuna COVID-19: personal de la policía resguarda local de Cenares, donde serán llevadas las 300.000 dosis de Sinopharm nndc | PERU". Gestión (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  30. ^ PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (22 November 2017). "Papa Francisco: así se preparan los agentes que lo protegerán en visita [FOTOS] | LIMA". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  31. ^ "Mit dieser Waffe reagiert die Aargauer Polizei auf die Pariser Anschläge". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). 12 January 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  32. ^ "Özel harekâta özel silah | Şanliurfa Haberleri". Urfa1.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  33. ^ https://greydynamics.com/ukrainian-sbu-protectors-of-the-homeland/
  34. ^ Dodd, Vikram (29 June 2015). "Scotland Yard creates SAS-style unit to counter threat of terrorist gun attack". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 September 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  35. ^ "Birmingham accidental firearms discharge investigation complete – Independent Police Complaints Commission". Ipcc.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  36. ^ "Cincinnati SWAT selects SIG516 CQB; Delaware State Police pick SIG516". Tactical-life.com. 11 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  37. ^ Phillips, Sandra (26 February 2013). "SDPD given new SWAT equipment". fox5sandiego.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017.

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