HS VHS

     Notes: In the process of being adopted for Croatia’s elite units, the VHS is a bullpup assault rifle based to an extent on Heckler & Koch’s G-36, though it looks more reminiscent of the French FA-MAS, especially in its large carrying handle/sights and the bulbous butt. (This similarity in appearance, however, is merely coincidental.) The internal operation in particular, seems to be highly derivative of the G-36’s operation, though it is simplified, and it uses a direct gas impingement system which is novel.  The gas system is used to partially keep recoil down; patented by HS, it uses some of the vented gas as a sort of pneumatic buffer to cushion the bolt during its rearward travel, allowing the bolt to softly strike the rear of the action instead of making hard contact.  The same gas, now compressed, pushes the bolt back to return it forward.  A conventional recoil spring or hydraulic or mass buffer is therefore not needed.  Though never used in small arms, this system was used on the Russian Afanasev-Makarov 23mm aircraft autocannon in the early 1950s.  External furniture of the VHS is a polymer shell; the VHS uses standard military and commercial 5.56mm/.223 magazines. The VHS comes in two versions: The standard VHS-D assault rifle uses a barrel of 19.7 inches, and the VHS-K carbine has a 15.7-inch barrel. The charging handle is more of s charging slide, and is located above the receiver under the carrying handle. As with the APS-95, the VHS-D can use BTU rifle grenades of NATO or Israeli origin, though the barrel of the VHS-K is too short to allow this.  The VHS-D can use the same add-on bipod designed for the APS-95, though again the barrel of the VHS-K is too short to allow this.

     The VHS is being considered by HS for possible release in a civilian version, though it is still too early to tell whether this will take place.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The VHS does not appear in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

VHS-D

5.56mm NATO

2.99 kg

10, 20, 30

$582

VHS-K

5.56mm NATO

2.86 kg

10, 20, 30

$541

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

VHS-D

5

3

1-Nil

5

3

7

49

VHS-K

5

3

1-Nil

4

3

6

35

 

RH-Alan APS-95

     Notes: The APS-95 was designed shortly after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and first issue began in 1995.  Though a very small amount were used in the various post-breakup conflicts between Croatia and Serbia, but these were largely over by 1995 and therefore the APS-95 has actually seen little real battle use.  Nonetheless, the APS-95 appears to have acquitted itself quite well (perhaps because of its ancestry), and is well-liked by Croatian troops.  Unfortunately, adoption of the APS-95 has been very slow due to financial restrictions, but the Croatian military expects it to eventually become its standard assault rifle.

     Despite looking unrecognizably different, the APS-95 is a heavily redesigned version of a licensed Israeli Galil AR or South African R-4 (the story is still not clear).  It is nonetheless the cousin of one of those weapons, with basically the same operation and internal guts, along with the inherent reliability of those weapons.  One of the things that makes the APS-95 an unrecognizable cousin is that the APS-95’s shape is essentially nothing like the Galil or R-4; it is far more streamlined in appearance.  The standard magazine issues with the APS-95 is a synthetic or light alloy 35-round box, but the APS-95 can also use magazines designed for the Galil or R-4. The APS-95 has a large carrying handle atop the receiver; this also contains the primary sight, which has 1.5x magnification and a mil-dot-type aiming reticule.  Backup iron sights are also available, of course.  Construction of the metalwork is partially steel and partially light alloy, with a plastic M-16A2-style pistol grip and a synthetic handguard.  The skeletonized stock folds to the right and is steel covered with a plastic coating, along with a buttplate with a thin rubber butt.  The 17.72-inch barrel is tipped with a Galil/R-4-type flash suppressor.  A bipod is not standard issue with the APS-95, but it can use a bipod which has been specifically-designed for the APS-95, and it can also use US, NATO, Israeli, or South African-designed clip-on scissors bipods.  (They are not included in the cost below.)  The muzzle may use BTU rifle grenades of NATO or Israeli origin; standard former pact, Russian, or former Yugoslavian rifle grenades may also be used, but a ballistite cartridge must be used, and a gas cutoff valve must be switched.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The APS-95 is extremely rare in the Twilight 2000 timeline, with perhaps 40 examples being produced, and almost all of them being used by special troops.  These were primarily built in the short interval between the beginning of the fragmentation of Yugoslavia near the start of the Twilight War and its overrun by both Warsaw Pact and NATO forces.

     Merc 2000 Notes: This would eventually, by 2005, become the standard weapon of Croatian armed forces.  It is also quite popular among mercenary forces and other troops who are trying to hide their national ties (as are many weapons from the former Yugoslavian republics.  There are even rumors of some members of the Iraqi Republican Guard being armed with the APS-95.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

APS-95

5.56mm NATO

3.8 kg

12, 20, 35, 50

$752

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

APS-95

5

3

1-Nil

4/6

2

6

46