Vektor CR-21

The assault rifle known as the Vektor CR-21 is made by the Vektor Division of Denel Corporation in Pretoria, South Africa, which is the procurement arm of the South African National Defense Force, or SANDF. This assault rifle was introduced in 1997 in the hope of displacing the R4 assault rifle, which was first manufactured by Littleton Engineering Works (LEW). It fires 5.56 mm NATO rounds and benefits from its bullpup design by being extremely wieldy without compromising on accuracy. Its exterior is almost completely crafted from high-impact polymer, with only the front of the barrel and its incorporated flash suppressor constituting exposed metal. The stock accommodates a full-fledged field maintenance kit.

The internal mechanism of the Vektor CR-21 retains many of the lightweight and highly accurate R4. It weighs 3.72 kilograms in an unloaded condition and measures 760 mm in length, with a barrel length of 460 mm. It has a muzzle velocity of 980 meters per second and discharges ammunition at a firing rate of 700 rounds a minute. Ammunition is fed from detachable box magazines. For the basic Vektor CR-21, this magazine accommodates 35 rounds, while that of the CR-21C20 holds 20 rounds. The Vektor CR-21 incorporates reflex sights that are adjustable for wind and elevation, with additional backup iron sights. Here, reflex sights pertains to an optical sight device that features 1x magnification. This device, which is mounted on a specially designed device known as the Picatinny rail - this allows easy attachment and removal, incorporates an illuminated reticle that does not depend on a battery for power supply.

The forward handgrip is also unique, being readily interchangeable with a grenade launcher. The controls comprise of cross-bolt safe/fire and a separate semiautomatic/fully automatic selector. The fire selector switch on the inside of the hand-guard lets the shooter select between safe and fire modes, while another provided behind the magazine well allows him to select either the semi-automatic or fully automatic mode. The Vektor CR-21 works as on the gas-operated, in which some of the pressurized gas generated by the firing of a cartridge is used to eject the spent case and insert a new cartridge, is a useful feature that reduces the maintenance needed to keep this assault rifle operational on the field.

This assault rifle has been found to be extremely well balanced, and the state of the art synthetic materials make it both lightweight and aesthetically ergonomic in appearance and handling. The futuristic good looks themselves can be attributed to the unique all-polymer stock design. However, this polymer-based construction serves more than just aesthetics - it prevents the weapon from heating up in extreme tropical climates and also cuts the intrusion of dust into the gun mechanism to a bare minimum. It incorporates a 1:9' twist barrel, which allows the shooter to fire M855 and M193 rounds over extended distances and with a high degree of accuracy. The carbine version features a shorter body measuring and 318 mm barrel.

Though the Vektor CR-21 has been found to be compact, light, easy to control and accurate by field testers, it has not progressed from the prototype stage to active productions. This stems from the fact that Denel's armament division is undergoing prolonged corporate restructuring and is, under these circumstances, unable to take the development and manufacture of this product forward. As a result, no orders have been booked so far. When they do begin to roll in, it is likely that the Vektor CR-21 will have to be adapted to more international standards. Among other things, this will mean that the magazines will have to conform to NATO standards. On the commercial market, this assault rifle is expected to fetch an average price of $800. Now that some of the more stringent boycotts associated with Apartheid have been relegated to the dusty archives of history, such a market for the Vektor C-21 may open up very soon.