Australian Army Fielding F90 (EF88) For Trials
The Australian Army’s program to produce a successor to the F88 “Austeyr” is on the verge of bearing fruit. Army.gov.au reports that the F90, formerly designated “EF88” is now being issued for trials, in preparation for final modifications and production. The F90 is a lighter, more modular system that fixes many of the flaws of the original Steyr AUG design:
Equipping 1 RAR with what has been described by those who participated in trials as an exceptional weapon and a sign of things to come, with the introduction of the EF88 being provided by Project Land 125-3C.
Colonel Scotty Palmer, of Army Headquarters, said the EF88 being issued to 1 RAR this year was a comprehensive enhancement to the current F88.
“Trial results have confirmed our soldiers consider this weapon to be remarkably modular, balanced and accurate during combat and longer range shooting,” Colonel Palmer said.
Operations Officer 1 RAR, Major Peter Van de Peer, said the EF88 was already a popular weapon with the soldiers who used it during trials to date.
“We are very much looking forward to employing the new EF88 during coming support company courses, Tully jungle training rotations and Exercise Wantok Warrior in Papua New Guinea,” Major Van de Peer said.
Private Jake Whitlock of 1 RAR was involved in a previous trial of the EF88.
“The EF88 impressed everyone with its accuracy, reliability and design,” Private Whitlock said.
The EF88 being issued to 1 RAR will be equipped with an enhanced day sight, foregrip and, for grenadiers, a grenade launcher attachment.
Lessons learned from the rollout of the EF88 to 1 RAR will influence the introduction into service of the EF88 and ancillary packs provided by Land 125-3C from 2016.
Land 125-3C Project Officer Major Mick O’Sullivan of Army Headquarters said in addition to the introduction of the EF88, Land 125-3C would include a range of state-of-the-art weapon ancillaries to optimise the performance of the EF88.
“Land 125-3C will deliver the EF88 with ancillary packs configured to the tier and role of the recipient,” Major O’Sullivan said.
“These ancillary packs, combined with creative, persistent and challenging training, will empower Army’s Tier 2 and 3 combatants to achieve superior competence in combat shooting and marksmanship.”
I was originally skeptical of the Australian government’s ability to reduce weight and increase the capability of the excellent Steyr rifle, but it seems they have indeed achieved this. The Rogue Adventurer has additional information on the EF88/F90 and the F1A1 ammunition it will be issued with, as does Maxim Popenker’s excellent website.
The F90 is set to become “top dog” in the bullpup world, if all goes well for the Australians.
Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
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I'm curious, where did they manage to shave the extra weight off of the AUG? I've never held a real AUG before but it doesn't look to be all that heavy, it seems pretty slim as is and I can't imagine where the weight savings comes from.
As a former Aussie infantryman I would disagree with a few points made here. For one, soldiers always whinge about their gear hoping for some magical fix to all their problems... you can't take that all as gospel. The original plastic fantastics (well before my time) were pretty shithouse, but the F88SA1's and A2's were good enough for me. All the small issues (and let's be honest fellow digs, they were fairly insignificant) seem to have been ironed out with the ef88:
Fixed barrel, light as hell, removable side-opening GL, no changing stance for new GL sight, the new optics are finally 21st century, better cheek meld... Just to name a few. This weapon is a long stretch from an Austrian AUG now.
And 1RAR have confirmed that Thales is delivering these capabilities as promised.
And yes I've fired AR platforms (in the US cause our gun laws are too hectic). They're good in their own right but there's nothing wrong with the ergonomics of a bullpup if that's what you're trained to use. I still prefer having a 20inch barrel in a small package that is manoeuvrable as. Not to mention we're fielding HK417s in the DMR role now so it's not just SF using those platforms. The reason our SF love the M4a5 is because of its modularity (I.e. Heaps of picatinny rails and suppressor options) The new EF88 has both.
In my opinion, the EF88 is just what the AUG should have been all along... It's been a long time coming but they've done it right. And chances are the French might be adopting this bad boy too. Score one to Aussie ingenuity :)
Just wish I was still in so I could have a crack with it.