Poland’s MSBS-5.56 GROT Completes Initial Adoption Testing

[Zarvan]

Polish Troops with MSBS/Grot rifles

Poland is another step closer to issuing the new MSBS 5.56 (AKA the GROT) as the rifle completes its first round of operational testing ahead of schedule.

Milmag report that samples of the new rifle completed the first part of qualification testing on 11 October, five days earlier than scheduled. The MSBS 5.56 / GROT has been issued for troop trials along with FB Radom’s 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher and the GROT’s bayonet.

Interestingly, the grenade launcher being tested appears to differ from from FB Radom’s concept design. With its trigger in the more traditional position to the rear of the grenade launcher’s receiver rather than forward, beneath the tube. The two are compared below:

MSBS 5.56/GROT C16 FB-M1 with ‘bullpup’ grenade launcher (FB Radom)

Milmag report this is the grenade launcher currently being tested by the Polish military (Milmag)

The Wojskowy Instytut Techniczny Uzbrojenia (WITU) – the Polish Army’s Military Institute of Armament Technology – is due to carry out the next round of acceptance testing by the end of November 2017. The newly formed Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej – WOT (Polish Territorial Defence Force) will receive their second batch of GROTs in December. In total 53,000 GROT rifles and carbines have been ordered in a contract worth 5,538,400 Polish Zloty ($1,540,000). In 2018, both the WOT and the Polish regular army will also begin to receive MSBS-5.56KA1 / C16 FB-M2 carbines.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...5-56-grot-completes-initial-adoption-testing/

 

[Zarvan]

MSBS “Grot” Modular Assault Rifle from FB Radom Displayed at [AUSA 2017]

At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, gunmaker FB Radom was present at the Polish pavilion, displaying their MSBS modular assault rifle, recently named “Grot” (arrowhead) by the Polish government. The new rifle has been selected by the Polish government to replace their legacy AK fleet, many of which are the upgraded 5.56mm “Beryl” variant. The first order for the new rifles was signed in mid-September, and will result in the delivery of 53,000 rifles to the Polish government, which is expected to be completed by the end of November.

Most of the rifles displayed at FB Radom’s booth appeared to be the same weapons the company has taken on the road to previous shows, but one rifle below sported a non-fluted barrel and two-chamber muzzle brake with threads, presumably for a flash suppressor. Other than that, the rifle seems similar to previous iterations. This variant may be a civilian version, as it lacks a bayonet lug, but I am not sure.



Although we haven’t heard much about the bullpup variant of the MSBS, representatives of FB Radom told me at the show that it is still under development, and may be considered for special roles or some other purpose by the Polish government. It seems FB Radom does intend to continue marketing the MSBS as a dual configuration platform, despite the higher profile the conventional version has had of late.



Representatives confirmed that the civilian version of the MSBS is expect to hit European markets sometime in 2018, though it will likely take longer for FB Radom to import them into the US.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...r-assault-rifle-fb-radom-displayed-ausa-2017/