Place of origin South Africa Designed 1977 | Used by See Users Manufacturer Denel Land Systems | |
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Type General Purpose Machine Gun Wars South African Border War | ||
The Vektor SS-77 is a general-purpose machine gun designed and manufactured by Denel Land Systems—formerly Lyttleton Engineering Works (LIW)—of South Africa.
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History
In the late 1970s, South Africa was involved in an international controversy over apartheid and the South African Border War in Angola. As a result, it was subject to an international arms embargo and had to, out of necessity, design and manufacture its own weapons. The SS-77 was developed to replace the FN MAG. It was designed in 1977 by Richard Joseph Smith and Lazlo Soregi, hence the name "SS-77". "SS" for Smith and Soregi, "77" for 1977, the year it was designed.
Mini-SS
In the early 1990s, a light machine gun version, the Mini-SS, chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO was introduced. LIW also manufactured kits to convert existing SS-77 to the Mini-SS. Changes include the weight decrease from 9.6 to 8.26 kg (21 lb 3 oz to 18 lb 3 oz) with a folding bipod and fixed butt.