When the M18 submachine gun is the 'soul mate' of Vietnamese special reconnaissance forces

The People's Army Newspaper has just published a series of photos of combat training activities of the Special Reconnaissance Company, Reconnaissance Battalion (General Staff, Military Region 9).

Currently, through a number of parades and demonstrations of force by special forces and special reconnaissance units throughout the army, we have seen the appearance of two new generation carbines: Galil ACE 31 or CTAR-21.

Special forces soldier carrying CTAR-21 carbine.

However, in actual combat training, besides the AKMS, the second most popular weapon for this special force is a gun of American origin, the M18 made in Vietnam.

The M18 features an 11.5-inch (292 mm) barrel and is a compact carbine. It shares many similarities with the Colt Model 733 (M16A2 Commando).

The Colt Model 733 is essentially a modernized version of the XM-177E2 with some technology applied to the M16A2. It was once widely used by special forces units of the US military and police before being replaced by the M4.

Colt Model 733 submachine gun.

The reason why some Vietnamese special reconnaissance units still trust the M18 instead of the CTAR-21 or Galil ACE 31 may be due to the following reasons.

Firstly, compared to Galil ACE 31, M18 is lighter (2.5 kg compared to 3.05 kg), has a longer barrel (292 mm compared to 215 mm) leading to a longer effective range, and uses 5.56 x 45 mm NATO M855 ammunition, which is more suitable for units that require compactness in combat compared to 7.62 x 39 mm M43.

Second, when placed next to the CTAR-21, the M18 is many times cheaper because it is domestically produced in Vietnam, making it much easier to mass equip. The operation of carrying the M18 is also considered more convenient than using a bullpup like the CTAR-21.

Special reconnaissance soldiers of Military Region 9 carry M18 guns in training.

Next, due to the characteristics of the unit stationed in the southern provinces, there were still many spoils of war captured after the liberation of the country, so training in the use of both system 2 weapons was necessary to maximize their effectiveness.

In addition, the M18 gun has also been applied by Vietnam with several important improvements, making its reliability higher than the XM-177E2 prototype, so it is not surprising that this weapon is still "favored" in special forces and special reconnaissance forces.

According to Baodatviet