Exclusive hands-on with the new British Army AR-15: The KS-1 (L403A1), with Jonathan Ferguson 

As oppose to other rifles using systems invented in the 30's-40's..

The fn mag is based on the bar iirc Nothing really wrong with it still

If it works...

@@simon_96 With basically an MG42 feed mechanism.

If it ain't broke...

I blame cod for poor Jonathan needing all of these emotional support weapons, first we had the STG-44 and then the M16A2

Emotional support, yeah, that's why I need one.

@@l.yvonnemurray6521 doesn’t cuddling a 10k gun make you feel better?

How long till Dave shows him a cursed version of this in some game.

When is the next CoD coming out? Cos that'll be when some swine puts a pink My Little Pony skin on it and festoons it with nonsense.

Lubrication?

Battle rattle

Topper screwing on the arrow heads in Hot Shots part Deux

You beat me to it 🤣

@@soul0360 Some thoughts (I am experienced, but not an expert :) ) : Suppressors get very hot; put any oil around it and you are going to get smoke, and quite possibly a massive heat sink that might go bang during firing. It's unlikely that you are going to be removing this thing anytime when stealth is an issue; you've either fired, or are firing. Sups also tend to get very tight after putting a few rounds through them, anyway. The carbon build up means that you're going to struggle to get the thing off in a hurry even if you want to. want

That has to make for wearing two or more name badges

I mean, I don't blame Jonathan Ferguson, the KoF&AatRAMitUKwhacotoiwfth. I think it is impressive how smart some minor changes are and still keeping something developed to death functional

​@@matthewgallagher8491I kinda want to make two now. One fully written and one with a ridiculous long abbreviation

@@jackzed2020 That would be great to see

Forgotten weapons has "Gun Jesus" We Brit now have Mr Jonathan Ferguson, The Keeper of Firearms & Artillery..... praise be.

I enjoy your channel, thanks.

@@trapmouth aww thank you, that's really kind!

Pretty cool rifle

Great to see you here. Love your channel 👍👍

they really need to revamp the designation system!! maybe just start over at number 1?

Last time the british tried something different it didn’t work out too well

like it or not best in the world period to even have a brain, that can entertain any other concept, makes that person less than a true human

as it should be

"If you're hitting the bull, Laddie, don't fiddle with the sights."

@@julesbower762I would take my Tavor x95 or an Aug over an AR

It’s far from perfected, especially in its default gas impingement configuration. Top 5 needed changes: 1. Restore the top mounted reciprocating charging handle for better ease of malfunction clearance. 2. Replace DI gas with a long stroke rotating piston for better reliability like on the AK. 3. Add more weight to the stock and receiver to fix the front heavy balance issue. 4. Change the flash hider for a break or compensator. 5. Remove mag well and replace it with a rock and lock system And here are three additional bonus fixes I would make: 6. Remove the absolutely pointless charging handle latch. 7. Remove the forward assist as the new charging handle makes it pointless. 8. Make the boat latch button, single function, a release, only by making the boat lock either on an empty magazine or by pulling the charging handle upward at the rear. And here are two more just to round out the list: 9. Make the stock out of something strong instead of that weak fragile plastic. 10. Change the safety into an easily hit long lever with a big knob, One more cuz I really know this gun and dislike it from familiarity 10. Change the bolt to have four big, locking lugs instead of eight tiny ones, and change the extractor from a tiny button to a big claw. I’ve used the AR 15 as my work rifle for years. I didn’t like it before I started and having worked with it for several years now has only made me like it even less. I initially was going to make a joke where things got changed bit by bit until it was just an AK, but I thought better of it after the first couple ad actually came up with tangible improvements beyond making it like the real best rifle in the world.

@@brianmead7556 Your reccomendations are personal options. I can understand some of them but a few make no sense waht so ever. Why would you want a reciprocating charging handle. It adds an un needed point of failure during normal operations, this point 6 of yours. The forward assist was always useless but has been required from its inception by the us military so I agree with ditching it. Di has its advantages much like a gas piston system whether it be long or short stroke. The system was designed for DI and has functioned extremely well with it for 70 years. There are models that use the piston system but it adds to the cost and from my history and understanding of it aside from being a little cleaner it offers no advantages. It does increase reciprocating mass though and while that might be nice for recoil mitigation in a 5.56 application it is not really needed. The muzzle device is operation or application changeable. The A2 birdcage has been in use for decades and there are dmr systems that have a break. Not sure what your point is on this one. Your comment on the bolt latch makes no sense. It is single function unless manually manipulated to hold the bolt open when there is a loaded mag inserted or no mag at all. Rock lock mag retention system allows for more dirt access to the inner workings under operational use. The bolt and carrier system doesnt have loose enough tolerances to allow for excessive dirt while working, this would cause a large increase in function failures. What material would you suggest be used for the stock? The polymer used currently on the A2 style stock is very strong and I have not heard of one breaking under normal use or even heavy use. I will admit I dont know how well it works in theater under extreme use but I would assume if it was an actual issue it would have been revised out. Most platforms use a form of collapsable stock and they are very robust unless they are buying it from temu and I have yet to find one so flimsy. There are some though that are ergonomically horrible. The safety is easily thumb actionable and in ambi set up works for wrong handed people. having one a bight prouder in profile would be nice but it is never in safe unless in base so meh. I dont have an opinion on the bolt face lock up design having a different lock up system might be good I dont know. The only failures I have heard of either fall back to poor maintenance or manufacturing defects. The extractor is a claw, im sure it could be improved though. I think your actual point is you perfer AK's to AR's and thats fine but to say the m16/ar platform is not exceptional is lieing to your self. Every system can be improved but there has been in constant improvment from 1956 to now in both the military and more importantly citizen markets if there was any major short commings they would have been innovated on and adapted in the mass market.

So AR15 works fine in Arctic cold condition?

​@@brianmead7556 im not sure if your post is satire or not, almost all of these ideas are antiquated and obsolete or just make the gun objectively worse and more unrealiable

​@@brianmead7556😂😂😂 The original AR15 was better than what you're describing. I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but your don't make sense. DI is great in certain climates, just like long stroke pistons are. Reciprocating charging handles would ensure that the action stays open more for debris to enter. Rock and lock is much more complicated of a movement than insertion straight up. I could go on. Just get a galil and call yourself good 😂

Right back at ya mate 🫡 PS - "boomstick".I'm liking that 😊

sad they cant own guns

@@willl7780they can, just heavily controlled.

@@willl7780 The vast, vast, vast majority of the population don't want to own guns. Hence they're 'banned'. Democracy!...keeping British children safe since 1996.

@@adamdriver1016 Just remember that only applies to pistols......

Jonathan is willing to low-key flex in this way. Very cool.

Everything German looks menacing - they always make the coolest guns.

@@17cmmittlererminenwerfer81 only for the goose stepping reach around club.

YOU SHALL LIKE THE NEW GUN OR GET BUZZ SAWED!

I didnt notice. Good look.

video chapter names are on point

Agreed

I'm surprised it hasn't been nicknamed "The Fleshlight"

That's what comes of people trying to ban WD-40.

Ha.. On Silent special ops.. Hang on let me put my surpresser on I just cleaned screech screech.

It was a suppressed screeching :).

Its an audio warning for the squaddie if its unwinding itself during exercise. Otherwise it silently falls off the end of the rifle and the squaddie then gets charged for it.

If you're taking your suppressor off in a gunfight, you're in the wrong job 😊

Its an diversion tactic. Enemy soldier entering the command tent. Sir, it's it's it's the ... SOB General: Quit Sobbing and tell me which unit it is.

@@viper11 Could also be marketing. I hear their memoirs are a real SOB story.

It will become a lot ruder should they ever upscale into a Division.

Who and what is the UK defending with these ?

@@parabot2Special Operations aren't for defence (unless you're taking about a pre-emptive strike or attack being the best form of defence).

I wish I could afford one

The downside is they are expensive as hell. Pretty much any company that gets government contracts has extremely expensive guns. B&T is another example.

@@Indeciferable KAC stuff is definitely pricey but a lot of that is because of collectors. If you can find an sr15 upper at MSRP it's not quite as bad but still around $2,000+ but you can sell the muzzle device and iron sights and make quite a bit of your money back.

But very expensive.

They have some of the tightest QC in the world. The amount of parts and material that gets rejected from them is pretty insane.

As I say in the video, for the British military, Irish Republicans and a fair few others in these islands, it meant either and still does. To Americans it almost invariably means the AR-18/180.

"A comrade on me left and another one on me right, and a clip of ammunition for me little ArmaLite."

Oh, me little armalite...

Arnalite produced the AR 10 for Stoner then SELF designed the AR 15

In the pre 1990s regulars the m16 was always referred to as 'the armalite' as was the ar 18 in paddyland

And easier to machine than cooling fins.

@@timp3931 truth

An estimated 10% to 15% more surface area being dimpled which doesn't scale linearly with respect to heat dissipation. For accuracy, something that is more thermally stable or consistent by way of extra mass would be much better but then you got to carry it. Maybe it just looks nice and confidence inspiring.

Most civilian versions have detachable or folding trigger guards.. its kinda hard to say "civilian version" as there are a zillion AR variants on the market

Knights Armament rifles are never in stock. I have no idea how some can actually get their hands on one. The civilian version might as well not exist.

Metal?

Knight specifically says in the video I reference that they didn't think the civilian market wanted the removable trigger guard.

@@jonathanferguson1211 should have specified, most civilian rifles in general, my apologies. I agree with Reed, its really not a very useful feature in general, easily taken care of by using trigger finger mittens.

..... I fear I could listen to him telling me about the paint drying on the wall.

As a Retired RUC officer I approve of this joke. 🇬🇧 😂😂😂😂

I doubt a lot of youngesters in the UK known the Armalite song. Might as well ask them to sing Black and Tan. Almost no Americans would get those references either. I grew up in Europe was there 1979 to 1992! So I am not typical American.

That's absolutely terrible. I'm stealing it.

What a terrible joke .. .. .. I approve it

Harsh, they don't muck about with fire-arms in the U.K.

Yeah, the design deficiency of a loud warning to the enemy that you’re putting one up the spout.

@@seanlander9321who’s running around without a round in the chamber in combat?

@@CatholicKit No one, generally. But at some point a soldier is going to need a rifle that’s got a quiet operation, not one that sounds like a car door being slammed.

@@seanlander9321 Yeah, they should all have bolt-actions.

@@seanlander9321 Perhaps you can slowly ride the bolt down and complete the action with the forward assist?

Knights Armament is going to start making drones soon 😄

The UK has always been generous with it's special forces and marine regiments when it comes to small arms.

It’s not a battle rifle lol. It’s just a rifle.

The 6.8mm Spear M27 rifle is.

I heard that they are crap. Soldiers are complaining that it takes too long to cock. Also our gunsmiths have to adhere to UN Sanctions flaunted by The US.

13.7 and 1:7. Literally perfect setup

Yah it is i just built one and love it. Great balistics and still super short and light. Not sure if I like it more than 11.5 barrels like US SOCOM is now using though. 11.5 gives almost the same balistics with full power ammo and is really small even with a suppressor.

@@John_439 I think the longer barrel probably helps with further reducing the thermal signature.

@@John_439 An 11.5" barrel does not give "almost the same ballistics" as a 13.7" barrel. When it comes to velocity differences in barrel lengths, the 12.5" to 14.5" is, on average, where you see the smallest gain in velocity by the inch. That said, 14.5" is where you can have a mid-length gas system that functions reliably across a wide operational envelope. There are 12.5" barrels with mid-length gas systems, but the very short dwell time can cause reliability issues. 13.7" mid-length barrels have a slightly larger gas port compared to 14.5" to make up for the decreased dwell time. I think 11.5" is great for 200 yards and in, but they can reliably push out to 300 and even 400 yards with good effect on fleshy targets with the right ammo.

@@mysteryman33333 you should check out the FBI test they found with their duty ammo and their rifles 11.5 performed almost the same as everything up to a 14.5 barrel. I'm not saying they are always going to keep up with longer barrels but you should also check out a few different balistic calculators and mess around with them. You will find that small amounts of velocity doesn't actually make that much difference to max supersonic range and higher velocity bullets bleed off velocity exponentially faster. The difference between 11.5 and 14.5 is about 50-100m. Both are supersonic with factory loads to +500m and I have shot barrels from 11.5-20in to 500m and beyond. 11.5 does pretty well to about 450m and then starts to drop off but 14.5 doesn't make it past 550m before it drops off. Plus I hand load, so while I could get even better performance out of longer barrels I have designed some loads for short barrels that keep me at 16in barrel velocity out of my 11.5 and are very accurate. They are hot loads but still safe and reliable. My handloads actually keep me supersonic to just past 600m out of an 11.5 at current atmospheric conditions.

It‘s shorter than a razor and the turret caps and magnification ring look different, though the latter two are just cosmetic changes.

It's a Razor AMG 1-10x, shorter than the Razor Gen III 1-10x.

This ^^😊​@@LRRPFco52

Back in 1978 we had the red dot single point sight on our SLRs which was banned in Northern Ireland because of it's accuracy.

So far the KS is only available as a 11.5, 13.7, and 14.5.

But yet can barely get one because Kac says screw the civilian marker

It's a dope rifle that unfortunately is too expensive for most people to own.

Hey it’s like the iphone- it maybe branded as being American, but it’s actually manufactured in some third world state! 😂

And was improved in Germany.

In canada we finnaly got a new look at are new C8A4 and thay don't look half bad as it's modern and not a m16 lookin rifle

It is not Squaddie Proof.

Seriously. If they wanna make something like that removable it needs a little wire lanyard. Like the ACOG turret caps.

Or indeed anyone in the British armed forces

Its called human rights for a reason… not human lefts.

​@@bobsyeruncle5557It was improved and is now a fine rifle as far as I know.

The sound of freedom

What the oil bottle in the handle is for. I doubt they will be removing the can, toting it in their pocket, and deciding to put it on at the last minute tho.

The can will only be removed for cleaning purposes

Suppressor, not silencer.

Essentially. AR-15 derivatives are also widely available in other armouries or on the global arms market, ideal for getting replacement gear when the Rangers are isolated from the majority of British logistics. The SA80 may be a very flexible platform, but it's definitely not the universal one the AR-15 is.

He literally says that in the video.

​@@nowtelsematters😊

​​@@86pp73 A lot of the parts on this gun are not interchangeable with other AR15s. It's not like you can take any old AR15 bolt and put it into an SR16

That's utter nonsense.

That job got turned over to SFAB (brown berets).

This is a fair point - it's really just the name and special status that they share, not the role at all. There was a lot of press/chatter around the UK Rangers following the US Rangers model including similar origins for the original incarnations of both US and British 'Rangers' but they are not fulfilling the same role at all. They are more like the Selous Scouts that inspired their capbadge.

@@jonathanferguson1211 hopefully they're better at their jobs than the Selous Scouts.

@@jonathanferguson1211 Is the Ranger concept a British or American invention? Rogers: "Yes."

@@jonathanferguson1211 Parallels with Selous Scouts with their connection to apartheid regime and war crimes aren't going to look all that well in the press, are they?

and the short stroke system is very adaptable to different roles. It's better for sustained automatic fire than the DI system in the AR15. The design lends itself to modularity in that the same gas system components can be used for different barrel lengths if you use shorter rods. The Brits could have stuck with the AR18s until the patents expired, and then used it to make any number of improvements. We might have seen the Brits come up with their own version of the BRN-180 before Brownells did.

Had Stoner designed the AR-18 _first,_ he'd have shown it to the U.S. ARMY & they likely would've chosen the AR-18. Had that happened, few if any Militaries & Law Enforcement Orgs would have interest in the dirtier Di design of the AR-15.

RA - the Royal Artillery? (RAF, RN, but British Army)

Lol. The delusional KAC fanboys are here everyone! (I own an SR-15 - they're very average).

@@OFFICIALUND ? not many systems better than what is shown here, LMT, maybe SIG spear series. hard to beat this with the new upgrades.

@@brighthought11 I was expecting gas over DI for modern-day..

@@brighthought11 LMTs are also garbage. I’ve had three that were defective: one was a 300BLK that they hadn’t finished reaming the chamber. When I called they said “yeah, we knew some bad ones got out, but we don’t have a method of tracking where we send the rifles. Another one the lower receiver was so poor (it had a curve upward such that the upper receiver basically took a clamp to close, but that curve was only on one side. Their QC is garbage, and when you realize they make a whole lot of KAC’s parts, it all makes sense. My first SR-15 had to go back to KAC…..twice, and they blamed it on a bad BCG (gas key) and they said they don’t make their own BCGs..: and other than the SR-25, we know they don’t make their own barrels. It’s all on AR15.com. I don’t like Marty Daniel, but he builds a better rifle. So does LWRC, but they have the strange monolithic thing. If they dropped the monolithic concept, they’d be blowing the doors off of other companies. Larue builds a better large frame rifle and so does JP. KAC is all hype and mythology.

Not an AK, can’t be best.

Its ok. Not everyone can have good taste.

ARs may be bland, but it is undeniably the best modern service rifle

@@P90XGetRipped no argument, it's proven in every way possible, just doesn't butter my parsnips you know 🙂

This isn't an AR15 as it has a third hole in the lower receiver...

@@aaronkinder2807 wrong my guy. 100% an AR-15. AR15 has nothing to do with 3rd hole or full auto capacity

Maybe they named it automatic in the same way semi auto pistols used to be called automatics?

Seems strange to me. I thought the AK5 was a perfectly good rifle and could be modernized just like an AR-15 can.

@@rays5073 That's certainly possible, but slightly more archaic than I would have expected of even the swedish armed forces.

I believe it is a joint program with Finland. Here's hoping they select an actual AR-15 type, but nobody would be surprised to see them end up with HK416 like the French. Short stroke pistons can have some upsides with suppressor use, but the internal piston design of the AR-15 makes for a better handling rifle overall. Less weight and better recoil management.

Sako has been selected.

the US govt going from DI to gas I think shows gas is favored by most.. I think gas has more advantages but I guess preference in the end, both have some downsides

On the drawing board there are plenty of advantages to "direct impingement" however in real life those don't hold up. In small arms, no gunpowder burns completely, carbon and gunk is the byproduct and in most gas operated weapons just gets blown out into the world NOT back into the works! Literally the last place you want the gun's firing gases to go, is back inside the lower receiver yet that is exactly what the DI design does. The sole reason Stoner chose direct impingement for the M-16 was "weight savings" his logic being a rifle using D.I. has fewer parts. Now if you were to actually weigh the additional parts that an M-16 type WITH a gas piston has vs. a DI rifle without one, you are looking at a few ounces. If the soldier farted that day it weighs more than the additional parts of a piston rifle. Yet what does the rifle "gain" from a DI mechanism? I'll grant that the balance of the rifle is slightly better than it is for a piston gun. Other than that the drawbacks are overwhelming in favor of the piston rifle. A piston rifle runs cooler and cleaner in battle which means the soldier is not handicapped by his own rifle, which if its a D.I. gun has overheated twice by the time the piston rifle even starts getting warm. Even worse, all the firing crud that's been blown inside the rifle is starting to gum up the works, at some point the soldier will need to break out the CLP and give a good long squirt inside his lower + bolt carrier just to stay in the fight!

@@edxlee There's "Di" and there's "Piston"- those are the two most commonly used terms by far to describe "Direct Gas Impingement" and "Pushrod" designs. What did you mean by 'gas'? I'd agree that, at this point in history it really makes little sense for most direct action troops to be carrying Di carbines because they dump hot dirty gases & heat directly into the action. Piston carbines run cleaner when suppressed, too. The FN SCARs, HK 416s, LMT piston models, LWRCi piston models, Sig's MCX SPEAR models and 516 models, are all great rifles.

@@robertmaybeth3434 I have an extensive firearms collection (over 400) firearms. I have at least 20 AR (DI) variants. First of all both gas and DI produce roughly the same heat. With pistons which are solid metal and springs they act as heat sinks....i.e.absorbing heat. As for gunk. A DI system doesn't get ANY debris, carbon in the lower. Even the upper receiver stays relatively clean. Both system produce carbon. I'll give you an example. I shot my 14.5" barrel AR about 5000 round without clean it. All I did was add a few drops off gun oil on the bolt head and the sides of the bolt head. And the gun only failed to feed 3 times. Which was magazine related. I don't shoot at public ranges. I have a rifle and 2 pistol ranges on my property in TN. The lower is sealed from the upper when in use. One a round is discharged the bolt carrier group is moving rearward which is covering the internal parts like trigger group. Before people comment on which is cleaner or dirty. Perhaps, people should extensively shoot and compare. With gas gun the dirt is in the front at the gas block. With DI dirty is in the rear that remains in the upper receiver of an AR.

*Chortle*

Legend has it that the magazine goes up to 31 rounds...if you're SAS.

Eh? Both the SAS and SBS were formed from the Scots Guards. The only UK regiment to fight in every war the UK has fought. The majority of commando training took place in Scotland, so the Scots Guards and other Scots regiments were the first volunteers for special operations units.

@@Mark-Haddow I'm a former Army infantry combat grunt I absolutely love learning new information thank you

6 foot 4 Bavarians outclassed 5 foot 6 coal miners rickets English boys in WW1. We know this gentleman.

@@jaypee389 Yeah ..Those tall Germans won WW1 and WW2 ...

@bigtony4829 I'm joking. WW2 was a damn waste.

That was the Sterling :)

Given the budgetary issues at the MoD, shouting "BANG!" was the back-up if this procurement program failed.

Yup, the best..

New to us lol

good

Have to understand logistics for the military though, there’s a big reason why the M4/AR platform is adopted always functionality over being *UNIQUE*

ARs are boring as hell

Yeah, it’s a popular weapon for terrorists.

Yes indeed. I thought I referenced that but perhaps not.

@jonathanferguson1211 omg he replied to me (keep it cool) 🥵

Not all the Irish, just the terrorists.

I'm currently making an L1A1 ( US based now) My dad had one when he was in the army. A SR-15 is on the list too unless Knights will sell KS-1.

KS1 will never be the replacement...some one wanted to be flashy so decided to get a small number of these at over £7000 a piece. Whatever replaces the l85 will be a direct result of what the Americans do regarding the new "common cartridge" And I'll eat my hat if the KS1 ends up being it...again at £7000 odd a go, no way.

I used M14s, M16A1s, M16A2s, and M4/M4A1s in the Army. M16A1 and M4A1 were my preferred. M21s were for Sniper Support weapons in 2 of the Recon units I was in, but our primary Sniper systems were M24s. KS-1 is the epitome of a highly-refined AR-15 carbine.

Wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Brits keep the current L85A3 in service beyond 2025 and slowly phase in something new. Once the US Army has had a chance to use its 6.8x51 XM7 rifle and XM250 machine gun, the rest of NATO will be able to make a more informed decision on what to standardize on. It's become apparent that 5.56 NATO has kind of hit the limits of its capabilities. You might see some countries adopt 77gr versions but I think the way forward will be the 6.8x51 replacing the 7.62 NATO and a new intermediate cartridge being adopted, probably something in 6mm, 6.5mm or 6.8mm. There are already several good choices in those calibers and plenty of good rifles around today.

Cost too much

There is a decent argument for replacing the M249 with the M27. Being able to still bring the same amount of fire on target without needing to field a different weapon, sounds pretty reasonable. It does mean changing tactics and training but I do see the appeal. Of course, the M27 can't sustain the rate of fire that the M249 can which means you now need two or three men to do the job previously done by one, so there is a drawback. Pros and cons both ways.

Marine Vet here... Its great to see the Corps finally finessing the system. Marine infantry battalions are arguably better equipped than our 11B bros for the first time in history.

@@ryanh2479 last time that happened, the army was shooting the Krag and the USMC (through the Navy) had the 6mm Lee Navy rifle.