A Kit Up! reader Ric from across the pond forwarded us this little tidbit on Magpul's latest international contract with a NATO military.
More than 100,000 new state-of-the-art lightweight SA80 rifle magazines have arrived in Afghanistan to be used by British troops fighting on the front line.The 30-round Magpul EMAG magazine is around half the weight of a standard metal magazine and helps reduce the weight that soldiers have to carry in their kit.
Made from a polymer, the EMAG weighs 130g compared to its metal equivalent of 249g. Troops carry up to 12 magazines, so this change means each carries around one kilogramme less weight in total than before.
We all know how popular the PMAG has been with US troops in Afghanistan, particularly Marine battalions who bought up a bunch of them and deployed them in the fight for Marjah.
According the Magpul, the EMAG is an export version of the PMAG that is optimized for a wider range of NATO weapons, including bullpup designs like the SA-80 and Tavor. The EMAG can still be used in US M16s and M4s, though, the company says.
The EMAG (Export MAGazine) is a lightweight 30-round 5.56x45 NATO polymer magazine that features a number of aesthetic and functional changes from the original PMAG®. While EMAG remains 100% compatible with the AR15/M16 platform, its unique geometry is optimized for foreign-made weapons such as the HK 416, British SA-80, FN SCAR, Beretta ARX-160, IMI Tavor, and others.
The Brit EMAG contract will run four years and total 13 million UK pounds, the DefPro article says.
