Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle Reflex Optical Sight

The Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle is a new bullpup design rifle of South African origin. Despite the looks of the weapon, the Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle is basically an R-4 modified to bullpup design and with improved operation. (Vektor also manufactures a kit to convert existing R-4 rifles into CR-21s.) The body is made entirely of polymer injection molding, and is designed to take up the shock of an accidental dropping to prevent unintended weapon discharges. The CR-21 Assault Rifle has a reflex optical sight that offers no magnification, but provides a superior sight picture to iron sights whether day or night. This sight can be removed and replaced with a MIL-STD-1913 rail. 40mm grenade launchers of South African or Western design can be mounted under the barrel, but an interface kit is required.

Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle

 The weapon can uses plastic/nylon magazines designed for it, but the plastic 35-round magazines designed for the R-4 can also be used. The firing selector switch is separate from the safety switch; both are ambidextrous, but the safety is on the stock while the fire control switch is just above the trigger guard. The CR-21 Assault Rifle itself is not ambidextrous; it can only be fired from the right shoulder, due to the position of its ejection port. The trigger guard is large enough to be used with fingerless mittens. The stock also has space for a small cleaning kit.

Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle

The South African National Defense Force has plans to replace the R-4 series with the CR-21 in the next few years, but they have had these plans for a while, with money being the stumbling block. It is produced in the three calibers commonly used in African militaries, but most CR-21s are built to fire 5.56mm NATO ammunition; the other two chamberings have been built only in small numbers mostly for experimental and evaluation purposes. Ejection of the spent round is very violent and the spent cases are normally not usable without considerable work.

Vektor CR-21 Assault Rifle With GLM

A further variant, a carbine with a shorter barrel and slightly shorter stock, is under evaluation by SANDF and the South African Police. This model is some 100mm shorter and so far has been evaluated only in the 5.56mm NATO chambering. As of 2006, it is still considered only an experimental variant. The CR-21 was adopted by South Africa in 1997 and saw limited international sales. Unfortunately, there was never enough money to replace anywhere near all the R-4 series rifles, and the polymer body was difficult to manufacture after 1999 or so. The carbine variant does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

The CR-21 sold better on the international market than it did to SANDF; the South African government just
didn’t have much money for new assault rifles, and didn’t see a need for them as long as R-4 series weapons were still functioning.