Just when we thought that we have seen most of the SCAR variants, here comes a report from the French Defense Ministry about a SCAR Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) that was put on display during the last Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition that was held last month. FN Herstal USA mainly focused on their HAMR during that event, not on this latest iteration of the FN SCAR.

The FN SCAR PDW follows the concept for the Personal Defense Weapon as developed by others ahead of it. It is aimed for vehicle crews, crew-served weapons people, artillery, and those who need a lighter rifle and operate in tight spaces such as armoured vehicles.

Looking at the photo, which is the only photo of it out in the wild, the SCAR PDW is really a shortened weapon which is almost as short as the KAC PDW, but at first glance, you'll think of it as an MP5 that was modified to take in a 5.56 x 45mm NATO round. But for those who are already familiar with the FN SCAR family, it cannot be mistaken for another weapon, it is a true-blue SCAR rifle. The stock is where it departs as it it looks like to be a retractable skelelatl one rather than a folding stock. It still maintains the ambidextrous weapon, and according to the French Defense Ministry article, its performance will increase with the new M 855 A1 cartridge. This is an enhanced round that replaces the existing M855 round and is being issued to US troops in the Afghan theatre. The M855 has better accuracy, higher velocity, and reduced muzzle flash. It can also penetrate vehicle windshields where the previous round doesn't.

The SCAR-PDW has the flat-top picatinny rail for mounting optics, and still maintains rails on all sides at the front area.

Time for some airsoft manufacturers to retool again and work on redesign of their existing FN-SCAR to accommodate the baby SCAR (I like the name better than PDW), The main items that will have to work on is in shortening the front area, changing the flashhider, and reworking the rear to accept a retractable stock.

I wonder why FN Herstal USA didn't make some grand announcements when they first revealed this. It took the French to write a story about it a month after the event. But of course, they have the HAMR as they're trying to compete on the Infrantry Assault Rifle (IAR) Program.

So here's looking forward to more details on the FN SCAR PDW and we might just see an airsoft version next year if some certain airsoft manufacturers play smart and quick. Whether it'll be a gas blowback or an AEG, we won't care, just get one to the airsoft market real quick.

Hat tip to our French Friend, Étienne., for giving us a heads up on this story.