So I remember reading that the bullpup rife Canada adopted in the 50's was going to be replaced in the 90's/2000's. any word on what the replacement will be?
Canada has been producing its own bullpup rifles since the 1950s, beginning with the Diemaco IAR-4 'Challenger' in the early 1950s and advancing from there. The IAR-4 had improved versions made through the 1950s to 1960s before it was phased out in favor of the IAR-5 'Guardian' in the 1970s and early 1980s, and with that in turn replaced by the IAR-6 'Challenger II' in the 1990s and 2000s. All three are bullpup designs chambered mostly for 7.1x43 Commonwealth rounds (though there are versions chambered for 5.56x45 and 7.62x51 NATO rounds, though these are rare) and which use a short-stroke gas system for operation. Early IAR-4s used wooden stocks and stamped steel components, but nearly all field-issued IAR-4s (and weapons that followed them) use mostly billet or forged steel components. All are capable of using STANAG magazines and are equipped with adapters for Canadian, British or Australian sights. All IARs are made by Diemaco Canada or Para-Ordinance Canada in Quebec, with the famed Valcartier Arsenal being the primary small arms development lab.
The IAR-5 was designed around a set of modular components, allowing quicker changing and disassembly/reassembly of the weapon (similar in a lot of ways in this regard to the Steyr AUG, which was introduced around the same time) and introduced aircraft aluminum components for frames and outside components to reduce weight and improve balance and included a last-round bolt-open catch (so that users know when their magazine is empty) and an internal flash suppressor. The IAR-6 introduced an ejection system co-designed by FN Herstal and Diemaco which allows for fully-ambidextrous operation of the rifle and the use of carbon-fiber for the shell of the rifle and a number of other components to reduce weight and improve durability. All of the IARs are selective fire and have a fully automatic fire mode and all are designed to fully waterproof and thus can be used by Canadian Marines and naval infantry forces, and all are nearly indestructible in the field.
Canada's armored and infantry forces also use a variety of other small arms. Armored vehicle crews were initially issued Sten guns during and after the war, but these were replaced by licensed copies of the IMI Uzi from 1956-57 until the 1990s, when Diemaco-made copies of the FN P90 (and eventually the Heckler and Koch UMP) replaced the Uzi in service. Canadian Uzis were all chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum rounds, and part of the reason for the adoption of the UMP was the desire to continue using the same rounds as opposed to the FN 5.7x28mm rounds exclusive to the P90. All Canadian Uzis and P90s were made by Paul Evans and Company in New Brunswick, as were almost all UMPs in Canadian service. The Browning Hi-Power was the standard sidearm of the Canadian Forces (all made by John Inglis and Company in Canada) until the early 1980s when it was replaced by the SIG Sauer P226, though troops are allowed to carry the Hi-Power if they choose to do so in place of the P226. In practice though, this is uncommon.
The Canadian Forces operate three types of sniper rifles in modern times - the C14 Timberwolf, C15 Intervention and C16 Farsight. The Timberwolf replaced the venerable C3 rifle in the early 1990s and is chambered for .338 Lapua rounds, while the C15 Intervention was introduced to support the Timberwolf in the late 1990s, using the .408 Intervention round, while the C16 Farsight is a Canadian-improved development of the Barrett M107 and is chambered for .50 BMG rounds. In practice, the Intervention is used for long-range anti-personnel duties while the Farsight is generally used as an anti-materiel rifle and at closer ranges than the bolt-action Timberwolf or Intervention. Canadian Army snipers have a reputation for being able to make incredible shots - three of the four longest recorded sniper kills ever are by Canadians (two by Interventions in Afghanistan and the third by a Timberwolf in Rwanda) - and Canadian Army sharpshooters are always equipped with match-grade ammunition, infrared rangefinders (if applicable) and their powerful rifles. Such was the skill in Afghanistan that the sniper team of the 3rd Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry became known as 'Team Grim Reaper' by their allies, making as many as 30 kills at better than 1500 metres during Operation Anaconda in January 2002, and one of the team, Master Corporal Kenny Mulanse, was awarded the second Victoria Cross from Afghanistan for covering under heavy fire both his teammates and a company of Iranian mountain troops who were under attack from a massed Taliban attack.
The Canadian Forces' standard heavy machine gun since the early 1960s has been the FN MAG, license-made in Canada by the Valcartier Arsenal and by Western Arms Industries in Airdrie, Alberta, under the designation C6 GPMG. Canada supplanted these weapons in the mid to late 1980s with the C9 Minimi, chambered for 7.1x43 Commonwealth and capable of using standard STANAG magazines in a pinch. In practice, the GPMG is used as a platoon support weapon and the Minimi is used as a squad support weapon. Like the major of western armed forces, the heavy machine gun of the Canadian Army is the M2 Browning, chambered in .50 BMG.
Also available to the Canadian Army is the AS series of semi-automatic shotguns. First developed by Eric McAllister and Maxwell Atchison at Sportsman Firearms Corporation in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the mid-1970s, the first AS, the AS1, was demonstrated to the Canadian Army in 1976, but the AS2 was the first deployed weapon of this type, issued to solders in 1980. The AS2 was followed by the mostly-polymer AS3 in the early 1990s. All are 12-gauge shotguns with twelve-round capacities, incredibly powerful at close range and primarily used by units involved in close-range combat, soldiers using the AS3 have access to many types of shotgun shells at their discretion. The Army also has a sizable number of standard Remington 870s used primarily for rear echelon uses, though these troops have access to the same ammunition as soldiers using AS3s. (OOC: The AS3 is similar to look to the AA-12, but has a longer barrel and is mostly carbon fiber in non-critical areas.)
Canada's soldiers also have access to much heavier firepower. The Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless rifle, part of the Canadian Arsenal since 1942, remains in service as a weapon meant to provide additional power to infantry, along with the American M79 'Blooper' 40mm grenade launcher, which was used extensively by the Canadian Army from the early 1960s until the early 1980s, when the underslung M203 grenade launcher (mounted on infantry rifles) largely replaced it in service. (The M79 was never fully retired, though, and remains in use with reserve units and some rear echelon units.) The Milkor MGL joined the rifle-equipped M203s in Canadian service in the late 1990s, with many units built in South Africa as part of arms deals between them and Canada in the 1990s. The Forces also use the Heckler and Koch GMG at company level. This is in addition to standard M67 and M68 grenades issued to soldiers. The Army first adopted anti-tank rockets after multiple cases of its Gustavs being unable to penetrate the armor of Soviet Tanks in Korea and the growing difficulty in defeating armored vehicles by infantry, resulting in the introduction of first the M72 LAW rocket in 1964 (which was replaced by the AT4 rocket, affectionately called the 'Little Bully' by Army soldiers, in 1985) and the license-built BGM-71 TOW missile in 1973, which remains in Canadian service. (The troops call the TOW to 'Big Bully', when comparing it to the AT4.) The TOW was joined by the FGM-148 'Javelin' fire-and-forget anti-tank missile (nicknamed 'Smart Bully') in 2004. Canada also purchased and deployed the American FIM-92 'Stinger' man-portable anti-aircraft missile starting in 1982, with the Javelin ultimately being phased out in favor of the Commonwealth-developed Starstreak missile in the 2000s.
In short form:
Pistols
- FN Herstal / John Inglis P35 Hi-Power (1942-present)
- SIG Sauer P226 (1984-present)
- Glock 17 (1996-present) [1,2]
- Browning M1911A1 (1940-present) [1]
- IMI Desert Eagle Mark XIX (1996-present) [1]
Infantry Rifles / Carbines
- Diemaco IAR-4 'Challenger' (1952-1982)
- Diemaco IAR-5 'Guardian' (1978-2013)
- Diemaco IAR-6 'Challenger II' (1996-present)
- Canadian Arsenal L1A1 (1954-1980)
- IMI / Para-Ordinance TAR-21 (1994-present) [3]
- FN Herstal F2000 (1999-present) [1]
- Vektor CR-21 (2002-present) [1]
Submachine Guns
- Sten Gun Mark II (1942-1958)
- IMI Uzi (1956-1998)
- MAC / Western Arms MAC-10 (1970-2007) [4]
- FN Herstal P90 (1990-present)
- Heckler and Koch UMP9 (1998-present)
- Heckler and Koch MP7 (2002-present)
- KRISS Vector (2007-present) [1]
Light Machine Guns
- Canadian Arsenal Bren L4A1 (1939-1980)
- FN Herstal / Western Arms C6 GPMG (1962-present)
- FN Herstal / Para-Ordinance C9 Minimi (1986-present)
Sniper Rifles
- Remington 700 (1964-1996)
- Parker Hale / Diemaco C3 (1969-2000)
- PGW Defense C14 Timberwolf (1993-present)
- CheyTac / Western Arms C15 Intervention (1998-present)
- Barrett / Para-Ordinance C16 Farsight (2008-present)
- Accuracy International AX338 (2010-present) [1]
Shotguns
- Remington Model 870 (1952-present)
- Ithaca 37 (1955-present)
- Sportsman Firearms AS2 (1980-1997)
- Sportsman Firearms AS3 (1994-present)
Support Weapons
- Browning M2HB heavy machine gun (1927-present)
- Saab Bofors M3 Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless rifle (1940-present)
- Rock Island Arsenal M20A1 Super Bazooka 80mm anti-tank rocket (1950-1969)
- Canadian Arsenal M79 40mm grenade launcher (1962-present)
- Para-Ordinance M203 40mm underslung grenade launcher (1982-present)
- Milkor M32 MGL 40mm grenade launcher (1998-present)
- Heckler and Koch C16 GMG 40mm grenade launcher (2000-present)
- Para-Ordinance M72 LAW 66mm anti-tank rocket (1964-present)
- Hughes BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missile (1973-present)
- Raytheon FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile (2004-present)
- General Dynamics FIM-92 Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft missile (1982-2008)
- Thales M10 Starstreak man-portable anti-aircraft missile (2003-present)
[1] Weapon available for special forces members
[2] Optional sidearm choice for Canadian armed forces officers
[3] Used by Canadian units deployed to Israeli, Rwandan and South African bases
[4] Primarily used by special forces and protection units, replaced by the MP7
