FX-05

The FX-05 'Xiuhcoatl' ("Fire Serpent" in Nahuatl) is a Mexican assault rifle, designed and built by the Dirección General de Industria Militar del Ejército (General Directorate of Military Industry of the Army). It is a completely indiginous design, with all parts being produced within Mexico. The development of the FX-05 began in 2005, and would be headed up by the 'Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Desarrollo Tecnológico de la Industria Militar', or CIADTIM (Center of Applied Research and Technology Development Military Industry). Leading the FX-05 project was General Alfredo Oropeza Garnica, with Brigadier General Jose Antonio Landeros assisting. The main goal of the project was to find a replacement for the HK G3A3 rifles that were in service with the Mexican military at the time. Originally, the HK G36 was supposed to become the Mexican military's new standard rifle, as plans were already drawn to transfer technology and equipment to Mexico. The plan called for the construction of 30,000 rifles at a cost of €63,016,125 as part of Mexico's military modernization program. The Mexican government ultimately decided that they wanted a more cost-effective alternative to the G36, which resulted in the decision to end this arrangement before any technology or equipment could be transferred. Following the cancelation of the G36 procurement plan, the FX-05 project was started. Most details about the FX-05 are classified as 'Top Secret', as this is supposed to be an indigenously-produced weapon for use by Mexico's elite forces. This is to prevent anti-government groups and criminal organizations from creating copies to aid in infiltrating secure areas, impersonating military personnel, or appearing to have legitimate support for their cause and its actions. It also helps to prevent hostile or enemy forces from learning the abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the new weapon series. What we do know is that the weapon has a cyclic rate of fire of around 750 rounds per minute, and is capable of semi-automatic, three round burst, and fully automatic fire. It uses a gas piston located above the barrel to cycle the action, and features a multi-lugged rotating bolt design. The charging handle is located near the top of the receiver, and can be swapped to opposite sides of the gun if needed. One peculiar feature of the weapon is its rifling. The FX-05 is one of the few assault rifles in the world to feature polygonal rifling, which eliminates the normal grooves of a weapon's barrel, replacing them with a system of "hills and valleys" in a rounded polygonal pattern. A Mexican report states that by December 2006, $84,000,000 Mexican Pesos (€5,855,698 at the December 2006 exchange rate) had been invested in the FX-05 project, including raw materials and using only national equipment and technology. The rifle was officially presented for the first time during a military parade on September 16, 2006, where it showed up in the hands of the GAFE (Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales, or 'Special Forces Airmobile Group'). According to the director of the DGIM, Otilio Ramírez Serrano, by July 2019 approximately 155,000 rifles have been produced, with the military industry aiming to produce 30,000 per year. In 2015, it was revealed that due to budget cuts, SEDENA (the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense) would not be able to meet the production rate of 121,000 FX-05s by 2018. On February 1, 2007, representatives of the SEDENA met with in Mexico City with representatives from Heckler and Koch. H&K alleged that the Mexican Army "replicated" the design of the HK G36 assault rifle, and that the FX-05 infringed on their patents. After an exhibition of detailed models of the FX-05, the HK representatives were convinced that, despite the similarities between the two rifles, there was not any patent infringement, therefore bringing an end to the disagreement.