page_title: Daewoo Precision Industries K2
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Daewoo Precision Industries K2 / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: Combat Police officers armed with Daewoo K2s, slung on their backs. Note the folded stocks.
context_page_description: Daewoo Precision Industries K2 assault rifle is the standard service rifle of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. It was developed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by S&T Motiv. Shoulder-fired and gas-operated, the K2 is capable of firing both 5.56×45mm NATO and .223 Remington ammunition. The K2 supplanted the M16A1 assault rifle for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces since its adoption in 1984.
context_section_description: Six different prototypes were made during the XB development. Of the 6 designs, the XB6 was selected. Some parts of the XB6 resembled FN FNC such as the suppressor and sights. Further development of the XB6 evolved into the XB7 and finally the XB7C, also known as the XK2. Externally similar in appearance to the AR18, the K2 uses polymer for the forearm, pistol-grip and side-foldable buttstock. The fire control system and bolt carrier group are derived from the American M16 rifle, but few of the parts, including the bolt and carrier, are interchangeable with the M16. The gas operating system is derived from the AKM. The K2 uses the same magazine as the M16. The barrel rifling has 6 grooves, 185 mm (1-in-7.3) right hand twist. The K2 has 3 selective firing modes: semi-auto, 3-round burst, and full automatic.
  The K2 can be equipped with the DPI K201, an undercarried 40×46mm single shot grenade launcher patterned after the American M203. The Republic of Korea Armed Forces originally planned to replace the entire K2 with new S&T Daewoo K11 dual-barrel air-burst weapon. However, high cost and skepticism over the effective firepower of the 20mm grenade led to the decision to provide 2 K11s to each squad, keeping 2 grenadiers as well. Consequently, the standard 9-person infantry squad of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces is currently equipped with 2 K2 rifles, 2 K2 rifles with K201 grenade launcher, 2 K11 DAWs, 1 K3 light machine gun, and the rest with either K1 or K2.
  The K2 is also sometimes used with bipods and 4× magnification scopes, in a role similar to the Designated Marksman Rifle.
  A more modern way to accessorize the K2 and K1 is to mount a now (limited) standard issue PVS-4K Rail Integration System. It consists of an aluminum body with a long, uninterrupted rail for optical/red-dot and night-vision sights and three other rails located on the bottom and both sides. The rails are of the Picatinny-type.
  Despite the shortest handguard ever seen on any assault rifles, the K2C variants have had issues with overheating, and thus most of the K2's around the world are the original K2, with the barrel mostly exposed, unlike the K2C.
  The K2 is also able to accept a shell catch basket, since the South Korean army requires the soldiers to pick up most of the shells after a training or battle, and this is known to be done for not only financial reasons, where brass is recyclable and can be made into a good amount of money, but also for security reasons, where the soldier must prove the number of bullets he/she shot by presenting the shells. Otherwise, there is a chance where a soldier might be able to obtain a live ammo by turning in the shell that hasn't been returned, which can bring such threats, such as mass shooting. The South Korean army is particularly aware of this, and counts almost every bullet that would be used in a training session, so that no one will be fooling anyone.
caption: KNP Combat police officers armed with Daewoo K2s. Note the folded buttstock.
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