The Knight’s Armament KS-1 rifle has been adopted by the Royal Marines and the British Army’s Ranger Regiment under the designation L403A1 since 2023.
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The KS series of rifles are produced by Knight's Armament Company (KAC). They are designed as updated versions of their AR-based SR-16 rifles. The 13.7" KS-1 variant was adopted as the L403A1-AIW by the British Armed Forces in 2023 to supplement the L85A2-A3 and L119A1-A2 rifles used by Royal Marines and the British Army Ranger Regiment.
The KS series features a self-indexing, highly-efficient gas system with a straight gas tube design. The fit of the gas system minimizes gas pressure loss between the gas block and carrier key. The gas block notably is held in place with a nut which simplifies removal and maintenance.
The KS rifles feature an enhanced bolt carrier group with Knights Armament's E3.2 Enhanced Bolt. It is a proprietary bolt which features an enlarged bolt face, dual ejectors, rounded bolt lugs, reduced diameter cam pin, and proprietary extractor and firing pin designs. These features increase the firearm's durability and reliability.
Unlike most AR-style rifles, the lower receiver of the KS is fully-ambidextrous. The fire control safety, magazine release, and bolt catch/release are mirrored on both sides of rifle. This makes the KS rifle one of only three fully-ambidextrous M16/M4-style platforms fielded by militaries along with the Modular Ambidextrous Rifle System (MARS) from Lewis Machine and Tool Company and the M6IC from LWRC International, as well as one of six in total including the Radian Ambidextrous Dual Action Catch (ADAC), American Defense ADM, and the Primary Weapon Systems Mk 1 MOD 2 lower receivers that were developed and released after 2023.
The KS rifles feature Knights Armament's Quick Detach Coupling (QDC) flash hiders and a drop-in two-stage match trigger. All current KS rifles feature cold hammer forged barrels which are chrome-lined. In addition, it utilizes Knight's Armament's proprietary free-floating handguard, the URX 6, which covers the entire length of the barrel and helps to protect the barrel from damage. The current series of KS rifles is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO and comes in four barrel length configurations (11.5", 13.7", 14.5", 16").
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The Royal Marines have been getting hands-on experience with their newest weapon – the Knight's Stoner rifle, better known as the KS-1.
Their training at Barry Buddon saw them spend time on the range and practising close-quarter shooting with the new rifle, which has several features to improve accuracy and ergonomics.
The KS-1, which is designated L403A1 in British service, boasts a muzzle signature reduction system, an improved optical sighting system and can be fired from the left shoulder more easily than the current L85 assault rifle.
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- Ergonomics on the Knight’s Armament KS-1 must greatly improve weapon handling during operations, especially in rapid-response scenarios
- The British Army has also adopted silencers as standard for infantry rifles. Is this a trend?
- As expected of the Marines, who are on the battlefield all over the world, they check the weapons of every country.
