Steyr AUG

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Steyr AUG refers to a family of firearms, first introduced in 1977 by the Austrian company Steyr Mannlicher. It is often used to refer to a specific version, especially the initial version which was 5.56 mm NATO bullpup assault rifle, with a distinctive green frame and integrated scope. It has since spawned a variety of related weapons including a submachine gun, a sniper rifle, and light machine guns. It has been adopted by a number of armed forces and organizations and is the standard service rifle of Austria, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Luxembourg, and Ireland.

AUG stands for Armee Universal Gewehr, meaning "Universal Army Weapon". The AUG has gained notoriety in popular culture, and has made numerous appearances in films, television shows, comics and computer and video games such as Counter-Strike.

1 Design
2 Users
3 Characteristics
4 Variants
5 Popular culture
6 External links
7 See also

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Design

The AUG is one of the first rifles to enter service designed on a bullpup principle; this makes it 25% shorter than other rifles with similar barrel lengths, without compromising ballistic performance. Most versions come factory-equipped with a 1.5x magnification optical sight/carrying handle. The AUG is generally regarded as a modern ergonomic design for a combat rifle. Other features are ambidextrous controls and use of clear/translucent plastic magazines.

Barrels of the Steyr AUG can often be changed relatively easily to a different version, such as from a shorter barreled carbine (short rifle) to a longer barrel. There is even a modification kit which allows the Steyr AUG to be converted into an submachine gun. Some versions, like light machine gun or heavy sniper barrel tend to have more extensive differences and are factory pre-configured.

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Users

The AUG is said to be well liked by the soldiers who carry it. It has been used by the British SAS and other organisations in a counter-terror role. It is also currently in use by the U.S. Customs Service. In Austrian service it is designated StG-77 (for Sturmgewehr 77). The Steyr AUG and Steyr AUG HB (HBAR) are used by Luxembourg's army as well. In the Philippines, the elite Scout Rangers use the Steyr AUG as their primary weapon. In Pakistan, the Army and Naval Special Service Groups also use it as their primary assault rifle. The Pakistani ASF (Airports Security Force) is also a user of this weapon. The Tunisian police also use the AUG.

There are semi-automatic versions that meet U.S. gun law restrictions; these have met with some popularity as a civilian rifle.

An AUG family based on the AUG A3 was rumoured to compete for the U.S. Army's OICW Increment 1 competition, a program to replace the M4 carbine, M16 rifle, and M249 machine gun. However, the OICW Increment 1 competition was put on hold and eventually cancelled in 2005. If there is a new competition to replace the M16 family, then it is likely that Steyr will field an entry. Steyr had competed in the 1980s era Advanced Combat Rifle program with its Steyr ACR.

The AUG also has a modified Australian variant, the F-88 Austeyr, which is the standard service rifle of the Australian Defence Force, although some units (mainly special forces units) use other weapons. There is also a shorter carbine variant (with a shorter barrel) which is used primarily by corps operating in vehicles (such as armour, transport and cavalry regiments). It is also used by the Royal Australian Navy.

The safety catch on the Australian F-88 Austeyr has had its serviceability called into question on a number of occasions. The safety catch slides from side to side through the weapon, with one position (pushed fully right) being "safe" and another (pushed fully left) being "fire". In the past, however, there has been a tendency for the catch to lose its ability to lock in either of the positions (i.e. the "click" is lost and the safety catch slides freely (or too easily) from side to side) and thereby risk compromising the safety of the weapon. As a result, the Australian Defence Force has improved maintenance schedules and instructs its members to constantly check the condition of their weapons in a large range of situations (for example, when picking up or putting down the weapon, when handing it to or receiving it from someone, when changing between most degrees of weapon readiness, etc).

In the Irish Defence Forces the Steyr AUG was selected after more than two years of exhaustive technical assessment by the Army Ordnance Corps and field trials by units throughout the Defence Forces. Initially a total of nine weapons from various countries were evaluated technically in firing trials, each firing thousands of rounds while their accuracy and reliability were gauged. Deliveries of the Steyr AUG to the Irish Defence Forces began in 1988. Today the Steyr is the primary infantry weapon of the Permanent & Reserve elements of Ireland's military forces.

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Characteristics

Manufacturer: Steyr Mannlicher (Austria)
Licensed to: ADI Limited (Australia), National Aerospace and Defense Industries (Malaysia)

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Variants

Image:F88 A4.jpg

Steyr AUG A1— this is the standard version that was first introduced in 1977. Initially they were only green and had 20" inch barrel.[1]
Steyr AUG A2 — the A2 is very similar to the A1, but the upper sight is removable. In its place, a Mil Std 1913 rail can be placed, or other equipment.[2]
Steyr AUG A3 — this is more heavily modified;the upper rail has an integrated Mil Std 1913 and the front barrel section has short rails as well. Testing in 6.8 SPC. [3]
F88 AusSteyr— a modified AUG A1 slightly modifyied for Australian conditions.
Steyr AUG P— essentially a AUG A1 but with a shorter barrel.
Steyr AUG P Special receiver— same as AUG P but with a raised rail rather than integrated scope on the raised area.
Steyr AUG 9 mm (aka AUG SMG, AUG Para) — this is a AUG fitted to fire 9 mm Luger cartridges.[4]
Steyr AUG M203— a AUG modifed for use with the M203 underbarrel grenade launcher.
Steyr F88— See F88 AusSteyr.
Steyr F88-S— A version of the Australian F88 Austeyr with a picatinny rail in place of the standard optic sight to allow the attachment of various other sights (such as night vision or high-quality long range sights such as the Elcan C79 Wildcat, ACOG or Aimpoint). This version of the Steyr is notorious amongst Australian infantry soldiers because the positioning of its picatinny rail is uncomfortably close to the cocking handle and almost always results in shredded knuckles after prolonged use.
Steyr F88 GLA— Australian Army version with M203. It features an Inter-bar (armourer attached) interface, an R/M Equipment M203PI, and Knights Armaments quadrant sight assembly to which a Firepoint red dot sight is attached. The bayonet lugs and forward vertical foregrip is removed.
Steyr F88-c— A Carbine version of the Australian F88 Austeyr, it has a ten centimetre shorter barrel.
Steyr F88 A4— ADI’s Austeyr F88 A4 will incorporate multiple Picittiny rails for the fitting of legacy systems such as the M203 P1 40mm grenade launcher assembly (GLA) as well as both commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and military off-the-shelf (MOTS) sighting and numerous additional battle enhancement accessories.
Steyr AUG LSW (Light Support Weapon) — a family of light support versions of the AUG
Steyr AUG HBAR (Heavy-Barreled Automatic Rifle [HBAR])— a longer, heavier-barreled version for use as a light machine gun but still firing from a closed bolt.
Steyr AUG LMG (Light Machine Gun)— based on the AUG HBAR, but can fire from an open bolt, has 4X rather than 1.5x scope of regular AUG.
Stey AUG LMG–T— same has LMG, but has rail similar to the AUG P special receiver.
Steyr AUG HBAR–T— a sniper rifle based on the HBAR.
Steyr AUG Z— a semi-automatic version somewhat similar to the A2, intended primarily for civilians.[5]
Steyr USR— a Steyr AUG A2 modified to meet BATF regulations
DSTO Advanced Individual Combat Weapon— experimental weapon combining barrel, action and magazine of a Steyr F88 with an enlarged receiver and stock/body that also incorporates a multiple-shot 40 mm grenade launcher.