Type Assault rifle Manufacturer FB "Łucznik" Radom | Place of origin Poland | |
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Used by Ministry of National Defence (Poland), The Representative Battalion of the Polish Army, Prison Service (Poland) Weight 3.7 kg (8.2 lb) normal, 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) bullpup Length 980 mm (39 in) normal, 720 mm (28 in) bullpup, folding stock extended | ||
MSBS-5,56 (short for Modułowy System Broni Strzeleckiej kalibru 5,56 mm or English: Modular Firearm System 5.56mm Calibre) is an assault rifle currently under development as a future service rifle of the Polish Army. There are two basic variants currently being developed, based on a common upper receiver: a bullpup version and a standard version with folding, retractable stock. Thanks to a variety of modules, both variants can be easily transformed into a carbine, sniper rifle or squad light machine gun. Additionally, plans exist to develop a 12-gauge combat shotgun based on it, as well as rifles in common Soviet calibers for export.
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MSBS-7,62 is the designation of the battle rifle variant of the MSBS that has entered the prototype phase, chambered for the full-power 7.62×51mm NATO rifle round, to be featured during MSPO in the Fall of 2016. Planned variations include a designated marksman rifle, a sniper support rifle, and a support weapon for deployment with parachute infantry.
Currently the standard issue service rifles of the Polish armed forces are a variety of kbs wz.96 Beryl-based rifles, all of them direct descendants of the kbk AKM (a modernized variant of the AK-47 Kalashnikov), developed since the 1940s. However, that design is considered both outdated by modern standards and impossible to improve further. Because of that, work on a completely new family of assault rifles was started in Poland.
History
The rifle has been in development since 2007 by the WAT (Military Academy of Technology) in Warsaw in cooperation with the arms manufacturer FB Radom. The weapon is said to be operating on completely distinct internal mechanics. No further information has been disclosed however. The external design was conceived by a separate team (Adam Gawron, Bartosz Stefaniak, Grzegorz Misiołek, Maciej Sajdak) working alongside mechanical engineers.
On SHOT Show 2015 representatives of Łucznik said that in 2015 they plan to open a factory in Texas and make MSBS available to the US customers possibly as early as December.
For economical reasons the main advantage of the modular weapon system is the simplified logistics because of the interchangeable parts between weapon types of the same family. Fewer parts need to be stored or if necessary, a soldier can sacrifice, for example, one standard assault rifle to repair a light machine gun. Another benefit may include ease of barrel changeability, as found in the Steyr AUG. This means a soldier may be able to adapt his rifle based on the environment he is in, such as converting a carbine to a longer barreled sniper rifle to be able to fire at a longer distance, if the situation so called for that. The benefits of this feature allow a squad to have less individual munitions. This benefit can be seen on the M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System, which is a lightweight shotgun capable of mounting below certain assault rifles.
Variants
The following variants were designed according to requests by a primary user - the Polish Armed Forces, to replace currently used firearms like AKM and Beryl rifles, Mini-Beryl carbine and Pallad grenade launcher.