Austeyr

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F88 Austeyr
F88 Austeyr
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Austria
Service history
In service	1993 - present
Wars	East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq
Production history
Designer	Steyr Mannlicher
Designed	1977
Manufacturer	ADI
Produced	1988—
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	3.6 kg, empty
Length	790 mm
length	508 mm

The F88 Austeyr is a derivative of the Austrian designed Steyr AUG assault rifle. The F88 replaced the SLR L1A1 in the early 1990's, the L1A1 is also a derived design of the FN FAL. The first unit to be issued with the F88 was the 6RAR, who received them in January 1989.

The F88 is manufactured under licence to Steyr Mannlicher AG by Australian Defence Industries (ADI), in Lithgow, New South Wales, and has been sold to the armed forces of Australia and New Zealand among other countries.

1 Variants
2 Potential Future replacement/upgrade
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Variants

The Australian Defence Force uses several F88 variants:

F88: Standard 5.56mm F88 Austeyr rifle with 1.5x magnification scope and 508mm barrel, similar to the Steyr AUGA1 but with a bayonet-lug under the barrel.

F88C: The Austeyr F88c is a Carbine version of the regular F88 which has a 407mm barrel (10cm shorter than the standard issue F88). The F88C is generally used as a personal defensive weapon where space is an issue, such as in armoured vehicles. It is also issued to reconnaissance units and 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR).

F88S: The Austeyr F88s have 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 rail is uncomfortably close to the cocking handle; this feature frequently results in knuckle injuries after prolonged use.

F88 GLA: This version of the F88 differs from the standard models as it features an Inter-bar interface (replacing the foregrip and bayonet lug), allowing the user to attach a M203PI Grenade Launcher. It also has a quadrant sight to which a Firepoint red dot sight is attached.

F88T: ADI has developed a .22 calibre training rifle for use by the Australian Army. The weapon provides an economical training alternative, with very low ammunition cost, which can be used in environmentally sensitive training areas and indoor areas for special forces training with reduced risk to trainees and instructors. Also used by the Australian Defence Force Cadets.

F88A4: ADI’s Austeyr F88 A4 will incorporate multiple picattinny 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. also it must be noted that the A4 has only been bought in limited numbers (reportedly only 10 units) for testing purposes.

The F88 Austeyr is still in use today by all services of the ADF and some police tactical units. It is also used by the New Zealand Army.

It should also be noted that special forces of armies using the F88 as their main rifle, (For example, the Australian SAS) tend to prefer the M4/M16 family of weapons despite finding the F88 to be a reliable weapon. This is due to the greater adaptability of the Colt produced weapons, as well as the relative awkwardness of the bullpup format. Furthermore, the F88 is in some cases prone to stoppages after being submerged in water, due to hydrostatic locking.^{[citation needed]}