The Canadian military is facing a serious problem concerning its new C6A1 general purpose machine guns manufactured by Colt Canada.
According to a report by Ottawa Citizen, the weapons were found to have defective parts and other technical issues affecting performance in the field.
National Defence spokesperson Dan Le Bouthillier revealed that a part called the feed channel was built slightly out of specification, causing the weapons to perform inadequately.
Additionally, the military’s weapons technician reported loose pins on the newly-delivered machine guns, compromising soldiers’ safety.
The repair of defective units is expected to be done over the coming months.
“We continue to work closely with Colt Canada, who are covering all costs related to the repair of these issues,” Le Bouthillier said.
C6A1 Machine Guns
The C6A1 is a fully-automatic, air-cooled machine gun capable of firing up to 1,100 rounds per minute.
It is light enough to be carried by dismounted soldiers to provide fire support or sustained fire.
In 2017, Canada announced it would purchase 1,148 new C6A1 general purpose machine guns for $32 million.
It awarded a $97-million follow-on contract for an additional batch of the C6A1s to be installed on armored vehicles.3
The Canadian Armed Forces has ordered 4,774 C6A1 machine guns, with 1,443 units yet to be delivered.