Tears of the Sun is a 2003 action film starring Bruce Willis as LT A.K. Waters, a US Navy SEAL commander who leads his team into Nigeria during a coup to extract Lena Kendricks (Monica Bellucci), an American doctor. When she goes with the team to the extraction site along with the 80 some refugees from her village, Lena discovers that the SEALs' mission is only to take her. After a change of heart, Waters and his SEAL team then become determined to get the doctor and the refugees to the border before the rebel militants can find them. The film was directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and former SEAL Harry Humphries served as the chief military technical advisor.
The real life favored handgun of the Navy SEALs, the SIG-Sauer P226 is seen in the hands of Danny 'Doc' Kelley (Paul Francis) and Demetrius 'Silk' Owens (Charles Ingram).
The most commonly used assault rifle on the African continent, AKM rifles are seen in the hands of militants, refugees, and Doc (Paul Francis), who took it from a dead militant. He is never seen using it, but after the village raid, he most likely gave it to a refugee, as they acquired a lot of them then.
Lieutenant Waters (Bruce Willis), Flea (Chad Smith), and Lake (Johnny Messner) use M4A1 carbines as their primary weapons. "Flea" has a Combat Military Optics LTD Marksman Series Model 100[1] scope on the carry handle, a cheek pad on the stock, a suppressor, and a custom paintjob of green and black (there is no such thing as a 6x48 Sightron S33). Flea and Lake have suppressors on their carbines. Both Lake and LT Waters have M68 Aimpoint scopes fitted on their weapons. When the team first arrives in Africa, their M4A1's are fitted with PVS-14 night-vision scopes which are removed once morning arrives. LT Waters' also has a D-LAP Laser sight, essentially a more compact PEQ-2A. It is worth noting that they use the correct, modern flash hiders rather than the A1 style used on so many movie M4A1s and M16A2s.
A few of the Marines disembarking the helicopter in the beginning of the film are carrying M16A2 rifles, as well as a few Marines at the end of the film.
M16A1 rifles are used by Nigerian soldiers in the opening scene of the director's cut of the film.
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Norinco Type 56-1
The Norinco Type 56 is seen being used by several soldiers. Some are full-stocked variants while others are under-folding stocked Type 56-1s.
An Springfield M1A with an aftermarket scope mount is carried by Silk (Charles Ingram). It is covered in heavy custom camo and mounts a Leupold & Stevens Mark 4 LR/T 10x40 M1 rifle scope. He uses the weapon throughout the movie. It is noted as being of an M1A not a M25 Sniper Rifle by the notch which would normally contain the fire-selector switch. M21/25 rifles are fitted with a selector lock, preventing the Selective fire mechanism from working in anything other than semi-automatic. When a Civilian M1A is put into a Military M14 stock there is a great big empty notch in the stock where the selector lock should be.
Slo (Nick Chinlund), the team's designated heavy-gunner and tech-guy is seen with his paratrooper version of the M249 SAW throughout the movie, until he is killed in a shootout with the rebels. Silk (Charles Ingram) then uses the weapon during the climax firefight.
Red (Cole Hauser), the team’s designated heavy-gunner is seen armed with a M60E4 machine gun throughout the film, which has a "duckbill" flash hider on the muzzle. Doc (Paul Francis) wields the weapon when Red runs to set-up a Claymore. Another Navy SEAL who accompanies Captain Bill Rhodes (Tom Skerritt) also wields a M60E4.
The M72 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) is seen having been carried by Red (Cole Hauser) and Slo (Nick Chinlund). The two weapons are fired by Lake and Flea.
The team’s forward scout, Lake (Johnny Messner) carries both a Remington 870 in addition to his M4A1. The shotgun is equipped with an extended magazine tube, a side saddle shell holder, and a "duckbill" muzzle attachment (Designed to make the shot spray into a horizontal pattern). The squad’s designated marksman, Flea (Chad Smith), takes the shotgun after Lake is shot, but the weapon was dropped and Flea switches back to his M4A1.
The team’s demolition man, Red (Cole Hauser), carried three M18A1 Claymores into the field with him. He uses two to ambush the militants and later uses the last one to hold back enemy troops.
At the climax of the film, a pair of F/A-18A Hornets are launched to provide close air support for the SEALs, the Hornets being armed with M61 Vulcans as secondary armament, though the Hornets engage the rebels with air to ground missiles instead of their guns.
