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The Polish Modular Small Arms System calibre 5.56 mm (MSBS-5.56) family of assault rifles in bullpup configuration. Source: Fabryka Broni
Polish small arms manufacturer Fabryka Broni unveiled its entire Modular Small Arms System calibre 5.56 mm (MSBS-5.56) assault rifle family, currently on order for the Polish Armed Forces, for the first time at the MSPO defence exhibition in Kielce.
Equipped with a quick-release barrel, the MSBS-5.56 is small arms system chambered in 5.56x45 mm with a unique feature: a common upper receiver for both classic and bullpup configurations.
The MSBS-5.56 upper receiver is a base to which other modules are attached: a barrel, a handguard, and a lower receiver with a classic folding and telescopic stock or in bullpup configuration. The MSBS system has been under development since 2007 by Fabryka Broni in co-operation with the Military University of Technology in Warsaw.
The family of MSBS-5.56 small arms has 11 rifle variants. The classic (MSBS-5.56K) and bullpup (MSBS-5.56B) designs each have five variants: an 11-inch barrel carbine, a 16-inch barrel standard assault rifle, a standard assault rifle with GL underbarrel grenade launcher, a 16-inch precise barrel designated marksman, and a 16-inch heavy barrel light support rifle. The classic version also comes in a parade rifle variant designed for the Polish Honour Guard Battalion (Batalion Reprezentacyjny), equipped with a 18-inch barrel designed for blank cartridges and a strengthened fixed buttstock with a steel stock.
The rifle is to be a successor of Soviet SKS carbines in use since the 1960s.
Pawel Madej, technical director of Fabryka Broni, told IHS Jane's , "We are in the middle of the armed forces trials of the MSBS-5.56 standard assault rifle, to be finished in 2016. However, the system passed all qualification tests and is ready for serial production. This year 100 MSBS-5.56 rifles of low-rate initial production will be manufactured."
Poland ordered 14,000 MSBS rifles in May 2014 for its Tytan (Titan) Advanced Individual Battle System (AIBS) programme. IHS Jane's understands that the first phase will include the delivery of the standard 16-inch barrel versions both with and without underbarrel grenade launchers. The second phase will involve the delivery of the specialised MSBS-5.56 variants (carbine, designated marksman, and light support).
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MSPO 2015: Fabryka Broni unveils full MSBS-5.56 rifle family - IHS Jane's 360
