The thesis aims to find out how the procurement process of the Automatkarbin 5 assault rifle resulted in the adaption of the rifle by the Swedish military. To accomplish this the author uses Social Constructionof Technology (SCOT) to explain how different actors behaved during the adoption process. Three central principles of SCOT are utilized to explain and analyze these behaviors. These concepts are the technological frame, relevant social groups and interpretative flexibility. The three research questionsposited are:
• Which role did the actors have during the procurement of the AK 5?
• Why did the FNC assault rifle and the SS109 cartridge emerge victorious over the otherweapons?
• How and why did Sweden choose to adopt the AK 5?
The author finds that the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (Försvarets Materielverk) was a key actor in the beginning of the process with a lot of power, which waned as the procurement went on. This power was then shared with the Army Staff (Arméstaben) and the Infantry Combat School (Infanteriets Stridsskola) in later stages. They used this power to influence the Chief of the Armys selection of the FNC over the FFV 890C for further trials and eventual adoption as the AK 5. The recommendation of the FNC over the FFV 890C was based on conclusions that were in turn based on very strange and logically inconsitent interpretations of test data. The Infantry Combat School would in later trials argue that the AK 5 was of poor quality, and lamented that the AK 5 by 1985 had to be adopted despite serious flaws in it’s construction quality. The AK 5 was therefore adopted and issued to troops despite being unfinished.