The Polish Army look set to renamed the MSBS-5.56 rifle the ‘Grot’, according to a recent report from MilMag. The move to rename the MSBS comes as Poland looks to make another large order for the rifles made by FB Radom. Radom confirmed the name change in a press release last week.

While to English speakers ‘Grot’ might seem an odd choice of name for Poland’s premier new service rifle however, in Polish ‘Grot’ means Spearhead or Arrowhead. Additionally, the name has a deeply important national sentiment to it as ‘Grot’ was the codename of General Stefan Rowecki, a Polish army officer who went on to command the Polish Home Army which fought back against the Nazi occupiers in 1944.

Members of the new Territorial Defence Force pose with the new GROT rifle at MSPO 2017 (Photo: JPW)

As TFB reported earlier this week the Polish Ministry of Defence has signed a 500 million Polish złoty ($140 million) agreement with the Polish firearms manufacturer FB “Łucznik” Radom. The first batch of 53,000 rifles will soon enter service with the Polish Army and the newly formed Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej – WOT (Polish Territorial Defence Force).

The move to rename the MSBS, may come as a more general change in Polish military nomenclature. Currently, Polish small arms such as the FB Beryl, have been nemed for minerals such as Beryl or Onyx. It remains to be seen if the ‘Grot’ is uniquely named or future Polish small arms will be named after famous Polish military heroes.

Here’s a recent video showcasing Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), FB Radom’s state-owned parent company, showcasing the MSBS and a number of other infantry weapons.

The Grot/MSBS is due to complete the Polish military’s qualification trials in early 2018 before full scale adoption.