Spectre M-4
Summary
| Country | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Category | Submachine gun |
| Manufacturer | SITES |
Technical specifications
| Spectre M-4 | |
|---|---|
| Fire Rate | 850 rounds/min. |
| Caliber | 9 x 19 mm Parabellum |
| Magazine | 30 - 50 rounds |
| Length | 580 mm (22.8 in) |
| Weight | 2.9 kg (6.4 lb) |
| Range | 50 m (164 ft) |
Description
The Spectre M4 is an Italian submachine gun developed by Roberto Teppa and Claudio Gritti in the mid-1980s. It was produced by the SITES factory in Turin until 1997, when SITES closed. Limited manufacturing continued in Switzerland until 2001 through Greco Sport S.A., a company established by Gritti. The weapon was designed to be compact and light, providing immediate firepower for close combat at short distances.
The Spectre M4 functions as a striker-fired blowback firearm, firing from a closed bolt. It features a double-action trigger group with a decocker. Activating the decocker drops the striker while retracting a flap that contacts the firing pin. Pulling the trigger in double-action mode cocks and then drops the striker, firing the weapon. This system allows safe carrying with a round chambered, permitting immediate firing without the need to manually cock the weapon first. A manual safety is also incorporated. The Spectre accommodates unconventional 50-round and 30-round four-column magazines, in addition to standard two-column magazines. All models were equipped with top-folding buttstocks and were offered with or without a forward handgrip located ahead of the magazine housing. The construction is primarily steel, featuring polymer overmolded components for the grip, magazine release, and safety/selector levers.
Civilian versions of the SITES Spectre M4 submachine gun were manufactured from the mid-1980s through the late 1990s. Production was impacted when the US Federal Assault Weapons Ban restricted their import and sale in the American market. These civilian-grade variants include:
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the semi-automatic pistol known as the SITES "Falcon," marketed in the United States as the "Spectre-HC,"
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the semi-automatic sub-carbine designated the SITES "Ranger."
These variants maintain the basic layout of the original submachine gun but are limited to semi-automatic fire. Magazine capacities were reduced to meet legal requirements in certain markets, such as Italy. The "Falcon" or "Spectre-HC" pistol could be found with or without the original top-folding stock and foregrip. US-market "Spectre-HC" versions generally lacked these features, while Italian-market "Falcon" versions included both, with the foregrip being removable. The SITES "Ranger" sub-carbine, primarily an Italian market offering, features a removable foregrip and a longer barrel. Its top-folding stock was fixed in the open position to comply with Italian laws regarding minimum length for civilian long arms, although it was designed to be easily removable for storage. In Italian versions, stock removal required tools, with unauthorized removal potentially considered a criminal act to prevent weapon shortening, whereas this was often easier in versions sold in other countries.
The Spectre M4 has seen use in specific operational contexts, such as the Lebanese Civil War, the Kosovo Liberation Army and the National Liberation Army in Kosovo.