The design of the FX-05 Xiuhcoatl includes telescopic, red-dot and mechanical sights; cold-forged barrel; folding and adjustable butt stock; as well as the capability to semi-automatic, three round burst and full auto fire. The weapon can be chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO or the 6.8x43mm SPC round. It has a cyclic rate of fire of 750 rounds per minute. Most of the rifle's receiver is constructed of a polymer reinforced with carbon-fibers with an underlying titanium frame and comes in black, dark-green and desert-tan colors as well as the SEDENA digital camouflage patterns used by the Mexican army.
The internal mechanism and barrel are made of advanced corrosion-resistant stainless steel. An Indigenous programmable air-burst grenade launcher is currently under development for the FX-05, which will be able to fire standard NATO munitions in addition to Mexico's new RSE-7 fuel-air grenade round but until it is finalized the FX-05 will use the AG36 grenade launcher as used on the G36. The FX-05 is one of the worlds few assault rifles featuring polygonal rifling, which eliminates the normal grooves of a weapons barrel replacing them with a system of "hills and valleys" in a rounded polygonal pattern.
| FX-05 Xiuhcoatl | |
|---|---|
| Type | Assault rifle |
| Place of origin | Mexico |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2008–present |
| Used by | Mexican Army |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 2005 |
| Manufacturer | Dirección General de Industria Militar del Ejército |
| Produced | 2005-present |
| Number built | Approx. 50,000 |
| Variants | Assault rifle Carbine Light machine gun Sharpshooter |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.89 kg (8.6 lb) (Assault rifle) 3.22 kg (7.1 lb) kg (Carbine) 4.23 kg (9.3 lb) (Light Machine Gun) 4.02 kg (8.9 lb) (Sharpshooter) |
| Length | 1,087 mm (42.8 in) stock extended / 887 mm (34.9 in) stock folded Assault Rifle 980 mm (38.6 in) stock extended / 780 mm (30.7 in) mm stock folded Carbine 1,244 mm (49.0 in) stock extended / 1,044 mm (41.1 in) stock folded Light Machine Gun 1,204 mm (47.4 in) Sharpshooter |
| Width | 56 mm (2.2 in) |
| Cartridge | 5.56x45mm NATO |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 750 rounds/min cyclic |
| Muzzle velocity | 956 m/s (3,136 ft/s) |
| Effective range | 200–923 m sight adjustment |
| Feed system | 30-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights Picatinny rail for mounting aiming optics on receiver |
