The Steyr AUG is an Austrian-made bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartirdge. The AUG is often cited as the first successful bullpup assault rifle design, seeing service with the armed forces of over twenty countries and becoming the standard-issue rifle of the Austrian and Australian armed forces. When adopted by the Bundesheer in 1977, it was considered a highly advanced weapon design, combining the bullpup configuration, a polymer housing, dual vertical grips, an optical sight as standard, and a modular design.
Overview[]
The Steyr AUG is a bullpup design — in other words, the firing chamber is located behind the trigger. This allows the weapon to have a far longer barrel in a smaller overall package, while also placing the action in the stock, utilizing space that is wasted in a conventional layout and also giving the weapon improved recoil characteristics. Other notable features include its translucent magazines, allowing the amount of remaining ammunition within to be determined with a quick visual inspection, its vertical foregrip and the integrated scope of early variants. The weapon can also be quickly and easily converted for a left-handed shooter.
The Steyr AUG is often incorrectly cited as the first bullpup assault rifle. However, this is not true, as the British-designed EM-2 preceded it. However, the AUG was the first bullpup assault rifle to see widespread use as the EM-2 was dropped after the prototype stage.
Notable Users[]
Several Colombian Scorpions were armed with Steyr AUGs during a firefight with the LAPD.
Thales F90, similar to the ones used by the crew of the Covenant.
The security detail aboard the USCSS Covenant were armed with modified versions of the F90, an improved version of the Steyr AUG produced in Australia. The F90s were fitted with an extra railed handguard ahead of the receiver and ACOG scopes.
Predator: Hunting Grounds's G-ROW assault rifle uses the F90 as its basis, serving as Fireteam Voodoo's early unlock rifles.
Appearances[]
- Predator 2
- Alien: Covenant
- Predator: Hunting Grounds (video game; as the G-ROW)
Gallery[]
