Small Arms Malfunctions Due to Silica Grit

Wind blown, fine silica grit in desert regions has been
the cause of small arms malfunctions, in some cases involving
arms designs that had proven very reliable in other climates.


This occurred with the British Martini-Henry in the Sudan
during the Mahdist war, with Israili FN-FAL rifles, and
with several types in Iraq recently.


Is there a standard test regimen that can replicate this
type of malfunction in the laboratory? Are there any general
design characteristics (for example, too tight tolerances)
that are shared by firearms subject to this type of malfunction?

If memory serves, H&K demonstrated that they had solved this
problem with respect to the redesigned British assault rifle
by burying said rifle in the desert and then driving a truck
over it. Does this technique reliably cause malfunctions in
FN-FALs, Martini-Henrys, etc?


Thank you,
Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

.