The United Kingdom has concluded a procurement process for the supply of a weapon system and accessories (Police Primary Carbine System) for British police forces. It consisted of three parts: the first covered the delivery of suppressed 5.56 mm semi-automatic carbines, the second standard versions, and the third laser aiming and target illumination modules.
Michelle Cantoni, CEO of FN UK commented: “This is a great opportunity for FN to reach into the UK law enforcement market with a newly developed product, tailored to their requirements. As the sole manufacturer in the UK of assault rifles and machine guns we are proud to empower those who serve, defend and protect us with the most dependable security solutions.”
The outcome of the procedure is the signing of a seven-year framework agreement, including five years of deliveries and two one-year options. Initially, the equipment is to be delivered to selected police services, but it is potentially available to all British police forces of this type.
FN 15 ASR / Photo: FN Herstal
The United Kingdom has forty-five regional police forces and three specialist formations (British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, and Ministry of Defence Police). As a result, the total value of the entire procurement process for all police forces is estimated at over 178 million GBP.
Only one bidder took part in the tender for suppressed special-purpose carbines (Suppressed Police Primary Carbine System): Viking Arms Ltd of Harrogate. The awarded portion of the contract is valued at 3.46 million GBP.
In the tender for unsuppressed carbines (Unsuppressed Police Primary Carbine System), as many as six bidders participated: Viking Arms Ltd, FNH UK Ltd, Anartes Limited, Level Peaks Associates Ltd, GMK Ltd, and Ian Edgar (Liverpool) Limited.
The winner was the British subsidiary of FN Herstal (formerly Manroy Engineering, acquired by the Belgians in 2014; the name itself was changed to FNH UK on September 1, 2017, to emphasize its close ties with the Belgian group). The contract is valued at 25 million GBP.
FNH UK offered the British police a semi-automatic variant of the FN 15 SRP G2P (Special Rifle Program, Generation 2, Professional) family, developed for the U.S. market and designated FN 15 ASR (Advanced Semi-Automatic Rifle).
The FN 15 line of AR-15 clones itself was introduced in the United States in 2014 (with its debut at the SHOT Show), and over the course of a decade more than 130,000 examples of these designs have been manufactured and delivered, together with the select-fire FN 16 variant.
The FN 15 ASR is a carbine configured for British police service with a short 292 mm (11.5-inch) barrel. This is the shortest of the FN 15 SRP G2P variants on offer, which also includes semi-automatic carbines with 373 mm and 406 mm barrels (14.7 and 16 inches, respectively).
The British model is an AR variant with an internal piston system (the gas chamber is located inside the bolt carrier, with gases acting on its wall, which serves as the piston), and is equipped with controls (including the safety selector) adapted for both right- and left-handed shooters.
The FN 15 ASR is fitted with a cold hammer-forged barrel made of high-strength, low-alloy 1.8070 (21CrMoV5-11) steel containing chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium. This variant is designed for operation at elevated temperatures of 540–550°C and offers high resistance to wear and abrasion.
The FN 15 ASR weighs 2.63 kg and is supplied with a telescoping stock. With the stock fully collapsed, the overall length is 724 mm; fully extended, it is 806 mm. The weapon is equipped with an octagonal 267 mm handguard featuring M-LOK mounting slots. A long section of NAR (STANAG 4694) accessory rail runs along the top of the upper receiver and the handguard.
The contract for the supply of multifunction aiming lasers and target illuminators (Multi-Functioning Aiming Laser, MFAL), valued at 0.53 million GBP, was awarded to Highland Defence Ltd of Leicestershire.
The selected weapons and accessories are to be delivered first to police forces in Scotland (Scottish Police Authority), Northern Ireland (Police Service of Northern Ireland), one of Wales’s four police forces (Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales), the Metropolitan Police Service, and Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Thames Valley Police, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, as well as the specialist MOPAC office (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) under the authority of Counter Terrorism Policing HQ (CTPHQ).
The FN 15 ASR carbines are intended to replace the 9×19 mm and 5.56×45 mm weapons currently in service with British police forces. The most commonly used systems include the semi-automatic H&K G36C-SF carbines and MP5-SF submachine guns, as well as German G36K, HK53, and HK416C carbines, the Swiss SIG SG552 Commando, and the American SIG SG516 and LMT Defender.