Daewoo Precision Industries K3

Daewoo Precision Industries K3 was the third indigenous firearm developed in Republic of Korea by the Agency for Defense Development, following the Daewoo Precision Industries K1 submachine gun and Daewoo Precision Industries K2 assault rifle. The K3 is inspired by FN Minimi and the United States-issued M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. It is manufactured by Daewoo Precision Industries, current S&T Motiv. The K3 is capable of firing both 5.56x45mm NATO and .223 Remington rounds like the K2 assault rifle, but use of .223 Remington will decrease its effectiveness in performance. The K3 light machine gun entered service since 1989, replacing M60 machine gun from frontline use.

Description
The K3 is a light machine gun resembling the FN Minimi and uses a standard 5.56 mm NATO cartridge. Its greatest advantage is that it is lighter than the M60 and can interchange cartridges with both the K1A and K2. The feed can come from either a 30-round box magazine or a 200-round metal link belt. It can be used with a bipod for the Squad Automatic role, and fitted with a tripod for sustained fire support.

The rear sight is adjustable for elevation and windage, and the foresight can be adjusted for elevation for zeroing. The barrel has a built-in carry handle for ease of changing the barrel. The gun is gas operated, with a rotating bolt.

The weapon system was not designed for customization, due to the fact that most soldiers of the Korean military will not see extended use of their weapons.

Foreign sales
One example of the K3 was purchased by South Africa in 2006, and two examples were purchased by Thailand in the same year. A controversy broke out 2007 in the Philippines when the country's Armed Forces initially selected the FN Minimi rather than picking the K3 or the 5.56 mm Ultimax from Singapore. The AFP's Modernization Program was attacked for showing favoritism towards a Western firearms company over Asian arms manufacturers.

Ultimately, 5,883 K3s were acquired by the Philippine Army for their SAW requirement. They, and 603 newly delivered Kia KM450 trucks, were first shown in public on February 18, 2008.

Variants

 * XK3: Experimental prototype.
 * K3: Standard mass-produced variant.
 * K3Para: Shortened version of K3 with RAS and minor modification.

Users

 * 🇨🇴 Colombia: 400 K3s acquired in 2006.
 * 🇫🇯 Fiji
 * 🇬🇹 Guatemala
 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia: 110 K3s acquired in 2006, and additional 803 in 2011. Used by the Komando Pasukan Katak (Kopaska) tactical diver group and Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) special forces group.
 * Republic of Korea
 * 🇵🇭 Philippines: 5,883 units were acquired in 2008.