Sterling Arms R18 MK3
- Thread starter Horilka
- Start date
AKDAS company profiles - https://www.defenceturkey.com/en/content/the-success-story-of-akdas-arms-3498 and https://www.akdassilah.com/kurumsal/sirket-profili/ say they supply grenade launchers to Army. Also they manufacture parts (not specified what parts) for state-owned manufacturer of small arms MKEK.
The Bore and Chamber are chrome-lined on the R18 Mk3. Yet another durability upgrade over the Mk2, which was nitrided.
Edited to Add: There has been a production change and the Chamber and Bore will now be Melonite, a form of Nitriding. This is being done to control costs. SAI will publish the Barrel specifications and machinist drawings online so that anyone wanting a specific custom Barrel can have one made and installed.
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For anyone wondering about "Chicken and Egg", the AKDAS rifle was based on the R18 Mk3 when the SAI design and production teams partnered with the company for offshore (cheaper labour) parts production. The "Turkish MCX" is a copy of the R18Mk3, not the MCX per se. It just so happens that SAI borrowed the MCX concept for its unitized Bolt Carrier Assembly.
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Just popping in to clarify: Yes, have been working with Akdas for awhile now as they wanted to get into rifles; since they primarily built grenade launchers (and a lot of them). Making rifles is a completely different beast. We love these guys.
The Canadian market want advancement and quality at a reasonable price. The only way we can do that is to partner with offshore manufacturing.
The R18MK3 and the R9MK1 is joint IP with them. Admittedly, the R9 is mostly them… But its a great sub gun and we think we’ve made a great product for Canada at a reasonable price.
We had working designs available for the RCMP last year, which is why we can use Stanag magazines: Design predates C-21.
The rifles at TacCom were and are our pre-production rifles for us to beat up before making final tweeks for our production rifles. Better to make 25 full rifles, shoot the crap out of them and then go into mass production once issues are identified; we didn’t and won’t use the client as the beta tester.
To be clear: we changed the markings on the R18MK3 and the R9MK1 to “assembled” from “made in” Canada and we are doing a lot more when we get all of the outsourced parts in Canada than just “repackaging” them as some have suggested. There is still a bunch of assembling, testing and then packaging. As with anything assembled; there is a ton of QC needed.
For the old guys out there: Remember when you use to buy Toyota because it was “cheap”… now you buy it because it holds its value. Our partnership with Turkish companies raises both of us up. We get a value item and they get an experienced team of designers / engineers to increase their expertise and experience.
Right now, we are working together on the next project which is the R20 (.308 system). I enjoy working with our overseas partners.
The Canadian market want advancement and quality at a reasonable price. The only way we can do that is to partner with offshore manufacturing.
The R18MK3 and the R9MK1 is joint IP with them. Admittedly, the R9 is mostly them… But its a great sub gun and we think we’ve made a great product for Canada at a reasonable price.
We had working designs available for the RCMP last year, which is why we can use Stanag magazines: Design predates C-21.
The rifles at TacCom were and are our pre-production rifles for us to beat up before making final tweeks for our production rifles. Better to make 25 full rifles, shoot the crap out of them and then go into mass production once issues are identified; we didn’t and won’t use the client as the beta tester.
To be clear: we changed the markings on the R18MK3 and the R9MK1 to “assembled” from “made in” Canada and we are doing a lot more when we get all of the outsourced parts in Canada than just “repackaging” them as some have suggested. There is still a bunch of assembling, testing and then packaging. As with anything assembled; there is a ton of QC needed.
For the old guys out there: Remember when you use to buy Toyota because it was “cheap”… now you buy it because it holds its value. Our partnership with Turkish companies raises both of us up. We get a value item and they get an experienced team of designers / engineers to increase their expertise and experience.
Right now, we are working together on the next project which is the R20 (.308 system). I enjoy working with our overseas partners.
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Well, Akdas SA-9 was presented in 2022, does this mean SAI shared their now PCC design back then?
It's not like I care who was the first. I just would like to see combination of proven designs and not some wild phantasies like first WKs and some other Canadian 180s. There is no need to invent the wheel, take the best and adapt for our legal requirements and for our market. So far I see many good things in Mk3 and very few concerns, I really hope tests will prove both design decisions and quality of the product.
P.S. I see TSE JR elaborated on SA-9/ R9 while I was typing this. I like how the company is open about this partnership. I see nothing wrong with such partnerships, everyone benefits from them - customers, companies.
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Almost the inverse of the NoDaked 180 Canadian Jakl, which converts a verboten AR-15 compatible firearm to a Canadian compliant 180 based firearm, should it ever be released, where is AKDAS converted the 180 based R18 MK3 into something more AR-15-like for the U.S./European market, with the AR-15 rear charging handle and does the AKDAS use a standard AR-15 lower?
We’re not just rebranding and bringing these in. We’ve embarked on a solid partnership to refine and quantify the QC and production standards. We also are adding other components once we get the “core” and completing our own QC and testing.
This isn't Sterling partnering with some garage/back alley family shotgun copying shop in a Turkish backwater. This is more like them partnering with the Turkish equivalent of Diemeco or SIG U.S.A. , a manufacturer of military equipment, even if not rifles before now. Having a military-grade manufacturer is a good thing, and that increases my hope for the quality of the MK3.
Two reasons:
1) we needed to keep close to the R18MK2
2) additional costs
Every $1 at the shop floor adds at least $2 to the retail price
One of our main goals was to achieve as close to H&K, B&T, CZ, DD level of quality as possible while staying under $2k (CDN) retail. This is no easy feat.
The new Spectre WK180 Gen 3 is now $1899… only 5 years ago Wolverine launched it as a $1000 rifle. How times have changed.
This is our 5th and 6th rifle (SAI 102, SAI TSR, SAI Sporter, SAI R18 MK2, SAI R18 MK3 and the R9 MK1). We think we keep going from strength to strength.
Our philosophy in working on this project was also to make rifles that would survive the removal of the rifle OIC: These rifles are stand alones
; with great features and benefits.
Any plans on selling the MK3 to the States? I could see it being sold beside AKDAS SAM, for those who prefer either side or rear charging, as a budget MCX/Spear alternative, especially when a big-boy .308 is released. Best of wishes to all the Canadian manufacturers out there, its been fun watching the wild ride!
