Vektor CR-21

Assault Rifle

South Africa | 1997

"The CR-21 remains a promising prototype assault rifle design - with no customers on the horizon."

Right side view of the Vektor CR-21 assault rifle; color

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/17/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Vektor CR-21 is an indigenously-designed South African assault rifle meant to compete with the current standard R4 in South African Army service. While the CR-21 has been marketed as a lightweight, reliable, compact and accurate system, the gun has found little interest in the vast global firearms market on any level despite these inherent advantages. The weapon was unveiled by Vektor in 1997 but the series still exists only in prototype form as of this writing.

The Vektor is characterized by its highly-contoured look featuring smooth curved lines and a futuristic overall shape. The weapon is arranged in a "bullpup" configuration, meaning that the magazine feed is situated behind the pistol grip and trigger group (associated more commonly to the Austrian STEYR AUG universal automatic rifle). The grip and trigger unit are protected by a handguard running from the base of the pistol grip to just forward of the trigger. The body aft of the magazine feed is large and becomes the integrated buttstock, housing the weapon's cleaning kit. The body forward of the handguard becomes the integrated foregrip. The foregrip can be removed to accept underslung weapons such as a single-shot grenade launcher. Optics (1X magnification with illuminated reticle is standard) are mounted atop the weapon receiver while the cocking handle is situated just below this mounting. The barrel of the weapon protrudes some distance away from the forward body and sports a flash suppressor. Construction is of high-impact polymer.

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The Vektor CR-21 is chambered to fire the universal 5.5x45mm NATO standard cartridge. The weapon is fed from a 35-round Vektor R4-type magazine. The firing action is gas-operated with a rotating bolt. Rate-of-fire is listed at 700 rounds per minute when in full automatic fire. Muzzle velocity is a reported 980 meters per second. The Vektor CR-21 weighs in at just 8.2lbs when fully-loaded. Overall length is 760mm with the barrel making up 460mm of this length.

The CR-21 has also been developed into a shortened carbine form.

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Performance
Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Vektor CR-21. Information presented is strictly for general reference and should not be misconstrued as useful for hardware restoration or operation.

700
Rounds-Per-Minute
Rate-of-Fire

3,215 ft/sec
980 m/sec
Muzzle Velocity

Physical
The physical qualities of the Vektor CR-21. Information presented is strictly for general reference and should not be misconstrued as useful for hardware restoration or operation.

760 mm
29.92 in
O/A Length

460 mm
18.11 in
Barrel Length

8.20 lb
3.72 kg
Weight

Gas-Operated; Rotating Bolt
Action

5.56x45mm NATO
Caliber(s)

35-Round Detachable Box Magazine
Feed

Optional
Sights

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle family line.

CR-21 - Base Assault Rifle

CR-21 (carbine) - Shortened Barrel Form

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Vektor CR-21. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national small arms listing.

Contractor(s): Denel (Vektor Division) - South Africa

[ None ]

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Right side view of the Vektor CR-21 assault rifle; color

Going Further...
The Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle appears in the following collections:

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