Presented in March 2012, it is the intention of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) that the light machine gun (LMG) NG7 caliber 7.62 NATO will replace part of the Negev caliber 5.56×45 and part of the GPMG MAG 7.62×51 that are currently in use.

The design, as well as the action, the locking system and the operative system are clearly derived from those of the Negev 5.56 NATO, from which it inherits a good number of features.

The project, before going into production, faced an intensive period of field testing that the IDF nicknamed “ping-pong” that lasted about three years.  During this time several NG7 prototypes were issued to IDF combat units and returned to IWI with the related feedback.  Those feedbacks inevitably generated design modifications until a final version of the product, fully responding to specific Tsaha’l requirements, had been obtained.

The NG7 is equipped with an IWI ELOG system.  This electronically logs the real use of the weapon through a computer, allowing in turn the unit armorers to provide programmed maintenance according to real parameters and eventually to investigate any malfunction circumstances.

Operating System
The NG7 is a light machine gun (LMG) operated by a gas system called “gas impact.”  The firearm starts the shooting cycle with the open bolt to avoid cook-off after prolonged fire.  When the trigger is pulled the bolt, that is locked in a full rear position, is released and starts to go forward pushed by two compressed recoil springs.  During its travel a cartridge is taken from the belt, chambered and the bolt, thanks to its locking lugs, engages the corresponding lugs in the barrel extension and locks.  The bolt carrier, in this phase, keeps going forward, exposing the firing pin that strikes the cartridge primer.  Upon discharge, the bullet goes through the barrel, pushed by the rapidly expanding gas, until one third of the barrel length is reached, where the gas port is located.  A portion of the gas vents through the hole and runs through a regulating valve and the gas cylinder until it hits a short piston that is integral to two operating rods linked to the bolt carrier.  The gases then push back the piston and, through the two parallel operating rods, the bolt carrier located in the upper part of this subassembly that, operating a cam, makes the bolt head to rotate and unlock.  The cartridge is extracted and ejected along with the link of the feeding belt and, during the rearward movement, the bolt carrier operates the belt feeding mechanism making it advance and putting a fresh cartridge in position to be chambered until it reaches the maximum rear position.  If the trigger is kept pulled, and the fire selector is on the full auto position, the cycle is repeated until the weapon runs out of ammunition or the trigger is released.

Structure and Components
The NG7 structure is divided in four main groups: barrel, action, bolt/and bolt carrier, stock.

The NG7 can mount two different barrels, made by cold hammering process, of different lengths: one for the standard version 20-inch long (508 mm) barrel and one for the SF (Special Forces) version being 16.5 inches long (420 mm); both with 4 grooves right hand 1:12 inches (1 turn every 304.8 mm) rifling twist.  The chamber and bore are chrome lined to reduce barrel wear.  A 5 radial slot flashider is threaded on the muzzle and about one third of the total length there is the gas port block.  This component, mounted on the barrel by pressure and pinned, has three sub-components: gas regulator valve, gas cylinder and front sights.

The gas regulator valve, internally chrome lined to resist the high temperature of detonation gases, has only two positions instead of three, the assault rifle magazine feed option of the Negev in 5.56 is not present here: one for use in normal conditions and the other when the firearm is dirty, ensuring the correct operation of the gas system.  The front post-type sight, like the M16A1, is protected by two sturdy ears opened on the sides and adjustable both in elevation and windage to perform the mechanical zeroing.

A little before the cartridge chamber there is the carry handle that can be laterally folded and provided with a plastic grip for heat insulation.  It can also be used to remove the barrel when change is needed during a firing action.

Feed tray, with the feed lever protruding from the central slot. Note the wall of the feed tray shaped to allow a smooth belt feed.

The barrel ends with a barrel extension provided in the upper part with the lugs for fast locking it to the breech block.  Internally it shows the locking lugs to accommodate the bolt and completed with the feed ramp to facilitate correct cartridge chambering.

The NG7 body is made by ribbed and stamped steel sheets and assembled to machined steel and welded blocks.  The metal folding process is obtained using a particular industrial stamping method in order to obtain the metal box that forms the weapon’s receiver accurately respecting the project dimensions with minimal tolerances.

We can divide the weapon body in three sections: front, central and railed.  The front section is a stamped steel cradle where is attached by means of screws the plastic front handguard.  On the sides of the handguard, front portion, there are two short Picatinny rails to mount electronic devices such as target designators or any other electronic/optronic device useful for the mission.  At the front end of the action is welded the first steel block, used as a front support for the barrel, which also holds the gas cylinder and the locking base for the weapon bipod.  Welded on the left side there is the swivel ring to hook one end of the assault sling.  The NG7 bipod is folded toward the muzzle, allowing the shooter to aim the weapon not only to the left and to the right, but also to rotate it on its longitudinal axis and to be adapted to any configuration of the supporting surface.  In the central section is another machined steel block, welded to the action metal sheet.  The block shows at the front side the locking lugs to lock the barrel.  The action of locking and unlocking the barrel is operated by a side button, on the right upper part of the action, just before the receiver cover.

When a barrel is inserted in place during a barrel change, the top locking lugs, thanks to inclined plans, move sidewards to the corresponding metal projections until the insertion is completed.  At this point the barrel catch button is operated by a spring and returns to the initial position locking the barrel in place.

A safety mechanism on the left side of the barrel catch button does not allow that it can be depressed if the receiver cover is not opened.  The bottom of the steel block is milled to allow the bolt group to move; the rail section starts from the central block and reaches the rear end of the action, were the stock begins.  This section takes its name from the two rails that guide the bolt group during its cyclic movement.  They are welded to the internal walls of the action to ensure the maximum precision for a smooth operation while firing.

NG7 breech showing on the top of the barrel extension, the locking lugs to lock the barrel to the action.

On the right side of the rail section just behind the central block are two ejection ports: the upper one is for the links of the disintegrating ammunition belt, the lower one is for the spent cases.  Both are closed when carrying the weapon by two metallic lids to prevent dirt and debris from getting inside the machine gun’s mechanism.  Note that even being two different lids, they are articulated by a hinge.  When the lids are closed a little projection in the internal wall lower lid engages and locks to a notch in the bolt carrier.  When the bolt is armed and starts its rearward movement, the projection unlocks and, operated by springs, the two lids open and fold over the action.

The cocking knob is non-reciprocating and located on the right hand side.  Welded to the weapon is the related rail where the knob travels.  The cocking knob is provided with a ratchet safety mechanism to avoid accidental discharges of the gun if the cocking knob is not put in the full forward position after cocking the bolt.  The case ejector is internal, a pivoting type, located under the left bolt rail and operated by a suitable bolt carrier curve.

Different from its smaller “sister” in intermediate caliber, the NG7 does not have a magazine well for the assault rifle magazine nor the related lid to keep the dirt out.  This machine gun is belt fed only, from both a standard ammunition box or fabric and polymer drums with capacity of 100 or 125 7.62 NATO rounds, docked to the proper rail located in the lower part of the weapon body.  The absence of a magazine well opening allows the NG7 to take a great benefit in terms of action rigidity.

The authors were invited to attend the presentation ceremony of the new Beretta ARX 160 Assault Rifle from the world’s oldest firearm manufacturer still in business and test fire the weapon on an Italian Army firing range located in Nettuno, a city facing the Mediterranean Sea, roughly 35 miles south of Rome.  This location is well known in America for being, together with Anzio, the beachhead and battle site for the Allied Forces landing of Operation Shingle in World War II.

The ARX 160 is currently delivered in a hard case containing all accessories.  A special waterproof and floating soft bag is also available for maritime operations.  It is a gas operated, select-fire assault rifle, with a piston action located above the barrel, which fires from a closed bolt.

The weapon’s design is streamlined and stylish, with a dark, flat grey colored Polymer body and is totally different from the sharp and edgy lines of the well known AR70/90.  It loosely resembles the lines of the FN SCAR, especially in the stock design, but the rifle is lighter, more compact and structurally very different.

We tested the final version of the weapon that was assembled in a small scale production line that will be ramped up for full scale production in a few months.  This version was preceded by a long series of prototypes, built patiently pursuing the best results and performance, taking seriously in account vital feedback from military beta testers, including operators in actual combat scenarios.

The ARX 160 has been engineered from the start to be extremely flexible and modular so as to tailor its individual performance for the mission or task at hand.  There are two barrel lengths available at this time for the weapon: 16-inch (standard) and 12-inch (defined, by Beretta, “for special operations”).  A 20-inch barrel has been tested, and a 16-inch HB with Match grade rifling should be available shortly to fill in a DMR role.

Both the 16-inch and 12-inch barrels have a flash hider/compensator fitted with 5 radial cuts, plus other 4 smaller cuts, indexed so as to aid in controlling muzzle climb when shooting full auto.  Barrels are chrome lined and have a 1:7 twist, optimized for the SS109/M855 ball, and L110/M856 tracer ammunition.  Barrels are user changeable in the field, and replacing a 16-inch barrel with a 12-inch barrel, reconfiguring the ARX 160 for CQB scenarios, is amazingly simple and fast.  Obviously, there will be a POI shift, and the sights have to be re-zeroed, but the POI shift is consistent from change to change and zero settings can be noted down for both barrels.

To remove the barrel, one only need to simultaneously pull down two slide levers located on the sides of the upper receiver in front and above the magazine well.  Once freed, the barrel assembly, which includes the gas block, piston system and the barrel extension, can easily be lifted out of the fore-end.  The barrel is not free-floated.

The barrel has an integral gas block from which a short telescoping cylinder protrudes.  It took a while to fully understand the rather unusual principle of operation: an evolution of the basic gas operated, short stroke piston system.

The engineers at Beretta managed to design a relatively low pressure gas system that is conceptually somewhere in between a long stroke piston system as used in the AK (and the AR 70/90) and the short stroke piston, i.e. of the AR-18 and recent weapons such as the H&K G36 or 416, FN SCAR, Magpul Masada and others.  The piston is not limited to fractions of an inch in its travel under the gas pressure drive, imparting a sharp blow to the bolt carrier.  Instead, it is free to move for almost two inches, practically following the bolt carrier for most of its rearward travel, and the gas pressure level in the cylinder is relatively low, yielding a gentler and more constant, positive rearward push to the bolt carrier group.

This system allows the barrel to be mechanically free from the bolt carrier group and operating rod, simplifying barrel removal.

The ARX 160’s bolt carrier sports an integral and monolithic milled operating rod, which projects in front of the carrier and also allows some of the weight to be moved forward, helping to tame muzzle lift.  Other benefits that this system offers include the chance to position the gas block in the most efficient location.  The absence of mechanical constraints between the barrel and the gas system itself prevents any vibration and interference affecting the weapon’s accuracy, a trait of the majority of long stroke firearms with piston and op rod permanently joined to the bolt carrier, such as the AK.  It also solves the problem of carbon build up and hot gases entering the action, so typical of AR weapons employing Stoner’s “direct gas impingement” system.

The gas block features a front sling swivel that is free to rotate 180 degrees allowing it to be out of the way when not needed, and a standard M7 bayonet lug, unorthodoxly positioned over, and on top of, the barrel.

The breech end of the barrel features a multi-lugged barrel extension, similar to the one used in the AR-15 family of weapons and of direct descent from Johnson’s system as used in his Model 1941 rifle.  The barrel extension solves any headspace related problem and, being the only other part other than barrel, bolt and gas system subject to propellant gas pressure, allows the use of light materials such as polymers for the receiver of the weapon.

The bolt uses seven locking lugs, each radially placed at 40 degrees and two extractors are located respectively at 3 and 9 o’clock of the bolt face.  Apparently, there is no ejector.  Each extractor is spring loaded and has a small actuating rod that rides within, and extends beyond the rear of the bolt.  Depending on how we move a steel block, accessed thru a hole in the rear of the receiver with the tip of a cartridge, an ejection side is selected.  The receiver has an ejection port open on both sides and very shallow case deflectors are present just behind each ejection port.  They work surprisingly well and the spent round is ejected towards the front with a 45 degree angle from the barrel.

When the bolt unlocks, and starts moving toward the back, the spent case rim is captured by both extractors.  Approaching the end of the bolt’s travel, one of the two actuating rods of the extractor assembly hits the steel block and stops, while the bolt and the other extractor assembly keep moving rearwards.  The case is violently pushed by the extractor that suddenly stopped, and that now acts as an ejector.  The thrust is exerted not on the base of the cartridge but inside the extractor groove, on the chamfered portion of the groove, to be precise.

The bolt itself is a rather complex block of CNC machined forged steel.  The body of the bolt is deeply fluted.  The grooves serve as cam guides to rotate the bolt, thru an integral pin within the bolt carrier, to actuate locking and unlocking and also to prevent carbon and other grime build up.  The firing pin is spring loaded.  The bolt rear presents a milled slot where the firing pin head is located.  If the bolt is not fully locked, and this slot is not perfectly vertical and aligned with the hammer, the latter cannot reach the firing pin head and even partial out-of-battery firing is totally prevented.

The bolt carrier is quite interesting as well.  It is very long and the flat, strip shaped, front portion acts as an operating rod and receives the impulse from the gas cylinder.  The upper portion of the carrier presents a milled channel that contains the recoil spring and guide, while the rear portion interfaces with the bolt.  The vertical sides of the bolt carrier are flat and smooth.  When the bolt is locked, the carrier seals both ejection ports – meaning a port cover is not needed.  Between the bolt and the bolt carrier, right behind the bolt head, we find the hinged, small cocking handle and its flat spring.  The cocking handle can be positioned indifferently to the left or to the right side of the weapon, depending on the operator’s choice.

The weapon’s body is entirely made of an impact resistant Technopolymer plastic charged with composite fibers, and can be divided in two main assemblies.  The upper receiver contains the bolt carrier group, barrel and gas system, and includes the integral handguard and ends with a folding, and partially collapsible, stock.  The smaller lower receiver houses the trigger pack, the magazine well and pistol grip.  The upper and lower receivers very cleverly interlock with each other when assembled together, and there is no need for receiver push-pins.