The Argentine Army Already Has the List of Candidate Weapons to Replace the Fal

According to Radar Austral, in January of this year, the technical files corresponding to the bidding for the modernization of the Argentine Army (EA) rifle were received.

Thus, the offer submission phase was concluded, which will be evaluated, and the list of companies participating in the process was confirmed. Additionally, the location where the technical tests to examine the weaponry will be conducted was determined.

In February, resolutions were managed to authorize the departure of military personnel who will participate in the tests, which implies that these will not be conducted entirely in Argentina. To adequately evaluate the different proposals, the tests will be conducted in various environments.

This includes evaluating the performance of the weapons in extreme conditions, with variations in temperature, water, snow, and analyzing the wear of the weaponry under different circumstances.

At this moment, the schedule for the tests is being prepared, which is expected to begin next week and extend until mid-March.

This way, by the end of April, the analyses with their respective indicators will be available, which will allow evaluating and comparing each option and determining which was the most successful during the testing process.

The offers presented not only include rifles and pistols, but also grenade launchers and machine guns. The evaluations to be conducted in March will include tests with different accessories, immersion in water and mud, shooting at different temperatures, and drop tests, among others.

In this context, the companies participating in this process to replace the current Argentine Army rifle are: Colt, IWI, Beretta, Bersa, Aquila, and Steyr Arms.

The weaponry to be analyzed

Bersa

• Pistols: 9X19 mm – THUNDER / TPR / TPR XT Series
• Rifle: BAR 15 Series

IWI

• Pistol: Jericho II
• Rifle: ARAD 7 / ARAD 5
• Machine Gun: Negev 7
• 40 mm Grenade Launchers: GL 40 / GL Alone / Rifle-mounted

COLT

• Pistol: CZ P-09
• Rifle: M4 FBP Carbine 556 mm
• Assault Rifle 7.62 mm (901 Family)
• Grenade Launcher: M 203

STEYR

• Pistol: 9MM STEYR
• Rifle: STEYR AR Platform Carbine / Bullup (5.56 mm) – STEYR AR Platform Assault Rifle (7.62 mm)
• Grenade Launcher: GL 40 / Alone rifle-mounted

AQUILA

• Machine Gun USO M60E6
• Machine Gun USO M240L
• Rifle LMT 7.62 – LMT 5.56 Rifle
• Grenade Launcher LMT M203 stand-alone / Rifle-mounted

BERETTA

• Pistols: 92 SF A1, M94A, PX2, APX
• Rifle: NARP, ARX 160 A4 (5.56mm) – APX200
• Grenade Launcher: GLX 160 A3 / Alone / Rifle-mounted